Jo Cooke-Symak, professional pest controller and founder of MozzyMak Pest Control Services, was pleased to secure a new contract for a catering facility. With the help of BASF’s Monitoring Paste, she quickly found a rodent infestation that was lurking. Here, we learn how she regained control and kept her client’s premises rodent free.
The Challenge
Jo had recently taken on a contract for a new food catering outlet situated on a large industrial estate. This business stored its supplies in a warehouse, and cooked and prepared fresh meals to be served at local venues around the area.
Due to the rural location of the premises, and with plenty of available food on site, Jo knew that the likelihood of rodent activity in the area was very high. As a result, Jo’s first task was to rodent-proof the building to the highest standards to reduce the likelihood of an infestation occurring in the first place.
Jo said: “We agreed on a non-toxic monitoring programme, using BASF’s Monitoring Paste. We placed the Monitoring Paste in secure bait stations around the perimeter of the building, and also added them internally as well, due to the high possibility of rodents being able to enter, despite it being as rodent proofed as possible.”
Within just a week, the monitoring strategy showed significant rodent activity, with rats quickly consuming the external baits and leaving visible signs of their attempts to enter the building, including gnaw marks on doors, burrowing around the perimeter, and even climbing into the roof space via the gutters.
Jo said: “We were surprised that the rats had entered the boxes so quickly without showing any neophobic behaviour. As the premises were located on an industrial estate surrounded by harvested fields, with little other food sources available, it was clear that the rats were determined to get onto the premises to access the food being stored!”
Despite the building’s extensive rodent-proofing, the rodents’ persistence and adaptability were clear, showing just how palatable the Monitoring Paste was.
The result
To address the rodent activity, Jo and her team promptly sealed the guttering hole, added rodent-proof strips to the roller shutter, and reinforced each of the fire doors. Following these initial measures, Jo switched the Monitoring Paste bait points to the cholecalciferol rodenticide, Selontra, placing boxes both internally and externally.
Internal areas showed no signs of infestation, as no monitoring baits had been consumed, there was no evidence of droppings, and no confirmed sights on the wildlife cameras installed.
Within seven days, the soft block bait in all external bait boxes had been consumed, and still no internal activity was detected.
External bait points were replenished, and by the tenth day, consumption was high, with two dead rats found in a bait box and three more in nearby vegetation. The dead rodents were promptly removed and the bait stations reloaded with more Selontra.
After 13 days, Jo reported that bait consumption significantly dropped.
She said: “Only a small amount of bait had been taken from two boxes near the vegetation area which had been cut back by the customer. A single dead rat was found by the front door, but no new signs of activity had appeared. We left the bait in place as a preventative measure.
“By day 18, there was no further bait uptake, no visible droppings, and no evidence of harbourage so monitoring continued, and at day 21, with no further activity, the Selontra was switched back to Monitoring Paste.”
Three months later, with bi-weekly checks in place, Jo noted no recurrence of rodent activity.
Jo said: “Working with Selontra has its benefits in different areas, and on sites where you can easily control the available food source, like this one, Selontra works brilliantly and control can quickly be gained very quickly.”
Not only was the customer impressed with Jo and the team’s effort to control the rodents and effectively rodent proof the premises, but a recent inspection by the Environmental Health Agency also shared praise for their efforts.
Jo concluded: “My customer was thrilled that we have not only prevented any rodent access into the food warehouse but also that we were quick to deal with the external infestation which has now resulted still in a ‘no fresh activity’ outcome.
“Not only that, but the Environmental Health Officer, who did a check on the food outlet, was impressed with the customer’s pest control company who acted swiftly and sharply to ensure their premises stayed a five-star rating.”
