Inspection and Exclusion: Key to Low Callback Rates

The PCT State of the Rodent Market survey reflects an industry of PMPs who seem to have this rodent thing pretty well wrapped up. The callback rate on rodent work averages less than 5 percent (4.8 percent, to be exact); in fact, the median callback rate is a mere 3 percent.

What’s the secret to low callbacks? According to many, it’s the concept of eliminating rodents’ access to a building. If they have no way to get in, they have no way of infesting the building. So you begin with a thorough inspection, followed by exclusion measures. These are both areas that PMPs tell us they wish their technicians better understood.

Wally Melendez, who offers a 10-point home inspection at A&R Pest Solutions, and Mike Maggard, who became established as a real estate inspector prior to establishing Dancing Frog Pest Management, plus Phyllis Farenga, who has the distinction of battling rodents in the outback of Arizona, share some insights into finding the secret passages rodents are using to gain entry into buildings so that exclusion measures can be taken to keep them out for good.

“We start with a full home inspection, providing a written report, complete with photographs, to the customer,” says Melendez. “We educate the customer about what’s going on and why, and then we offer to do the exclusion repairs. If the customer agrees, I guarantee that they won’t have rodent issues again. Typically after one or two follow-up calls, the account is pest free.”

• Roof, including chimney, cap and crown, etc.
• Roof vents
• Dormers
• Soffit vents
• Other vents — gable, exhaust, dryer, etc.
• Foundation vents
• Attic space
• Crawlspace
• Interior, including the garage interior — behind appliances, under sinks and around other plumbing, under access panels, etc.
• Exterior — holes, gaps, burrows, etc.

Maggard adds, “Look closely at the exterior of the building anywhere you have different materials butting against, or at right angles to, each other. These spots can be vulnerable to rodent and insect activity.” He encourages strategic thinking and exhaustive visual examination. “Some rats got into my garage, and I couldn’t see where they could possibly be getting in,” he shares. “Then I realized there was a tiny opening where the siding meets the brick wall. I couldn’t have seen it without a mirror. You can examine all the places you consider to be “the usual suspects,” but these rodents will still humble you by getting creative and finding new entry points you might never have thought of.”

“Like a doggie door,” points out Farenga. She shares the story of one of her first rodent jobs: A hysterical mom called when her son got up one morning to see a rat sitting on the kitchen table eating an apple. “I followed the grease marks,” she said, “and realized the rat was coming and going via the dog’s door. This activity had apparently been going on for years, because when I took apart a barbecue grill in the home, we were showered with about 50 pounds of dog food, diamond jewelry, toys and other random treasures.”

Although this was an unusual case, Farenga says that understanding the usual behavior patterns and preferences of the species you’re dealing with is extremely helpful. She uses Google Earth to view satellite images that help her determine where the problem rodents are coming from, and where they are headed.

She also looks for evidence of characteristic behaviors: “Pocket mice will eat through the bottom lip of the stucco wood frame homes and then pull out the insulation and replace it with seeds for overwintering,” she says. “Rats, on the other hand, nibble around the vents on the roof or go into the eaves. In older homes, they will eat right into the joists supporting the ceilings.”

“If you pay attention, they teach you everything you need to know,” adds Maggard.

Bottom line? Be a good detective. Then provide exclusion repairs yourself or recommend that the customer get a contractor. Typically exclusion involves basic repairs to structural issues or simply plugging exposed holes, cracks and other entry points with copper mesh or other gnaw-proof metallic materials. It’s an easy solution for keeping rodents out, and it also provides another advantage: “Exclusion repairs can be a great revenue generator,” says Melendez.