Mice: A Commercial Nightmare

The legendary Mus musculus. PMPs all have stories of epic battles and certainly lost sleep these animals have caused. As pest management professionals, we deal with them in any place, in any location, where human activities have created structures. The purposes of these structures vary dramatically covering every aspect of human endeavor: the handling of food, housing needs, manufacturing, storage of products, transportation requirements, sale of goods, and even medical operations. In all cases, mice introduced into these environments will cause economic hardships and health/safety issues for the people involved. Commercial structures are particularly crucial because their very nature allows extensive potential for contact — directly and indirectly.

USE YOUR SENSES. It falls to the PMPs and their ability to understand what has happened to unravel rodent issues, then present solutions. A strong partnership must be established with the client so that the mice can be dealt with and the site secured from future concerns.

Dealing professionally with a mouse infestation is not just a matter of saturating an account with traps and bait. The first task is to identify the distribution of the mice. This is done by assessing the site for the resources mice need to survive. They are: access, food, water and harborage. This short list has been discussed many times, but, for some reason, is often forgotten.

Knowing where to look is the next step. You need to identify mouse resources as well as signs of the mice themselves. Remember: underneath, around, behind and on top of — but it has to be more than just looking.

In addition, we have five senses to bring into play: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Four of them can be used very effectively. The fifth, taste, we can probably leave out of this discussion for obvious reasons. Always remember the famous question: “Where was the last place you saw (heard, smelled) any sign of the pest?”

All of this helps a client, be they residential or commercial, focus and form a working partnership with you. Unless the client is part of the solution, you will fail in your efforts.

The value of our senses, beyond the obvious sighting of the signs of mice, cannot be over emphasized. When a properly trained PMP is making an assessment, they learn, over time, to use all the right senses to completely gather the information needed. Sometimes you just can’t readily see the signs of mice — but you can smell them and that will lead to a deeper investigation and reveal more of the concern. Hearing is also very important. An assessment might be best conducted when human activities have ceased for the work day. It’s the after-hours investigation that may show the PMP what is really happening. You can hear the mice moving around, focus on where the sounds are coming from, and then investigate. Touch can come into play when you feel the gnaw marks, droppings, or sticky deposits where the mice have been. As always, wear appropriate protective equipment.

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Pest Control Company Partners with Nationwide Arena
In 2006, when Jason Carpenter, owner of Environmental Pest Management in Columbus, Ohio, heard that Nationwide Arena was looking for an official pest control company with which to partner, he quickly explored the details. After learning about the opportunity to provide not only pest prevention services for the 18,000-seat facility, but to be termed “The official pest control provider of the Blue Jackets and Nationwide Arena,” he couldn’t pass up either opportunity. Not only was the arena seeking a pest management company, but they were seeking an additional marketing partner as well. After winning the contract, Environmental Pest Management became the only pest control company to partner with the arena.

Nationwide Arena has a zero tolerance for rodents but because of its revitalized downtown location, the number of concession areas within the facility and the number of different types of events held there, it is a prime spot for potential rodent problems. Arena management is well aware of the negative PR that would result from rodent sightings and/or damage. And they are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the area rodent free. It’s not unusual for the facility to host a hockey game on Wednesday, a rodeo on Friday and a concert on Monday. Each event requires a complete re-set of the facility causing a constant state of flux between events.

Carpenter says his Bell Laboratories’ technical representative was instrumental in helping set up the rodent prevention measures that now protect Nationwide Arena. “We installed more than 120 pieces of Bell Labs equipment and products. We feel that Bell has the most complete arsenal of rodent products that enable us to protect all areas of the arena. We used measures such as glueboards, snap traps, rodent baits and others, to create a complete rodent protection program that management required.”

Carpenter believes that preventive pest management is a joint effort between Arena management and his pest management company. “Management cooperation is vital to the success of such a complex challenge. The products we use are excellent but without this kind of cooperation, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to conduct the kind of rodent prevention program that we do.”

As part of the marketing partnership between Environmental Pest Management and Nationwide Arena, Carpenter is provided signage in the main concourse of the arena. His company also receives event tickets that he uses for prospects and customers, as well as other benefits. He’s found his name has become well-known in the area and among executives of Nationwide Arena and other venues throughout the city. “As a relatively new company, this has been our most effective marketing activity,” says Carpenter. — PCT contributor June Van Klaveren

Editor’s note: Bell Labs offers a full line of pest control products including Contrac, Final and Protecta. For more information, visit www.belllabs.com.

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ASSESS AND EVALUATE.. The assessment and evaluation process requires you to take notes and create records. This is best done with a map or diagram of the site. Sometimes, these documents are available as printed fire escape maps or electronic files. Otherwise, you will have to draw the map yourself. In either scenario, the map is critical in understanding the distribution of the mice. Without it, you will forget important details or miss something that will set back the success of your program. Work through the site, assessing and taking notes as you go. Talk to your client and get their input to aid in the process. Digital cameras are another very useful part of the process (if you have permission to use them). Make the pictures a permanent part of the records for the account.

This assessment process is impossible without a flashlight. It should be the absolute best your firm can afford, backed up by another of the same. Current LED technology has given the PMP handheld lighting that is far better than any flashlights used in the past. Don’t skimp on flashlights. If a PMP can’t see clearly in the dark, they cannot do their job.

Spare batteries (rechargeable or not) must be on hand, ready to use. UV LED lights allow you to check for signs of mouse urine and can be very effective in identifying the travel paths used by the pest population. These lights are not cheap, but are a valuable resource for a PMP engaging in rodent control. Flashlight use is a learned skill requiring far more than just standing back and letting it shine on an area. Practice using it from different angles and ranges. PMP training classes on professional flashlight use should be considered.

PROCEED WITH CARE. Once you have identified the distribution and resources of the mouse population, elimination can begin. Keep in mind the importance of the partnership you have established with your client. Pest control rodent processes, such as baiting and trapping, alone are not sufficient to remedy the issue. Without cleaning, sanitation, maintenance and product rotation, any efforts to manage the mice will eventually fail. Then, what normally happens, is you (the current PMP) are replaced with another PMP, who, if they continue down the same path, will fail as well.

Trapping and bait interventions need to be tailored to the site where you are working. What worked in another location last week, may fail where you are today because you got the distribution pattern wrong or failed to establish one.
Take note of what the animals are actually feeding on and what they are using for harborage. Simply placing rodent control devices using a cookie cutter plan of every 10 feet, for example, won’t help. Place your interventions where the travel paths of the rodents dictate. Study these areas carefully, since being off only a few inches can cause the mice to miss your placement entirely.

Remember these creatures are very small and what seems like no distance at all to us is huge for them. Whatever devices you decide to use, mix it up a bit with your placements. These animals are intensely curious about changes to their environment and will readily examine new items. If these new items are effective rodent interventions, you will be more successful. Don’t be afraid to change up your plan as the work progresses — each change represents another opportunity for success. Depending on the situation, PMPs may find themselves at a site daily or even more often, to remedy the concern. This is the professional way to handle such an issue. Provide enough visits in your program to deal with the problem entirely. Clients are willing to pay for programs that allow the proper time to solve their concerns.

VIGILANCE IS NEEDED. Continually monitor and record the progress of the rodent elimination program. As items are identified for repairs, maintenance or cleaning, ensure that these tasks are completed. Meet with the client to discuss the progress of the tasks. If the client is unable to complete them, have a backup plan in place with a trusted contractor who can bid for the work. In some cases, this work can be completed by a PMP with the proper skills and professional licenses. Keep in mind that, without the cooperation of your client, nothing you do as a PMP will achieve the desired result of a rodent-free site.

When the site is assessed to be rodent free, it must be kept that way. This portion of the job is where continual site assessments are planned, scheduled and conducted. In most cases, the pressures that brought on the problem in the first place are still present. These range from the habits of the rodents to the habits of the human beings using the site. Changing the human habits at the site is an area where the PMP could increase revenues by offering training as part of a complete rodent program.

Mice are not an easy problem to rectify. They get out of hand quickly and, because of their secretive nature, we often don’t see a situation until it is serious. With regulatory officials more aggressively scrutinizing rodent concerns, even one mouse dropping represents potential financial disaster for your client. Bargain price pest control programs serve no good purpose in serious mouse elimination efforts. As a PMP, make sure your programs address the entire site and have a complete plan of execution. Programs of this type are not inexpensive, but they are a tremendous value when they protect the lives, property and reputation of your clients.

The author is a consultant with more than 30 years experience in the pest management industry. Learn more about his consulting business at www.jeffmcgovern.com or contact him via e-mail at jmcgovern@giemedia.com.

Editor’s note: See the short article on page 88 about rodent exclusion. Also, be sure to visit www.pctonline.com and click on the cover image on the homepage for additional rodent coverage.

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Exclusion Work Made More Effective

By June Van Klaveren
Imagine an add-on service that solves problems for your customers, increases your income and adds to your “green” program. Now imagine that you had a tool that would help enable these things to become a reality.
Brad Thorstenson, owner, Interstate Pest Control, Kelso, Wash., said that the Xcluder Rodent and Pest Control permanent fill fabric is helping him achieve this goal. “We found Xcluder to be easy to use and economical. And we really like the way it looks when it’s applied because it blends well with surrounding surfaces. We’ve completely switched to Xcluder for our exclusion work in our IPM program.”

Exclusion work is not new, but it continues to be one of the best IPM practices for preventing rodent and pest entry. Rodents access buildings through openings as small as ¼ inch or by gnawing or digging their way through walls, door frames, foundations or other barriers.  Modern IPM practices recommend that rodents be excluded from moving through these pathways by sealing the openings. Thorstenson says as part of his company’s IPM program they promote using the least amount of insecticide and rodenticide as possible.

Rodent expert Bobby Corrigan says simple, common sense methods like exclusion have been lost as the industry has come to rely on chemical applications. Careful inspections for structural access by rodents and pests take time and require a technician to think like a pest. “If exclusion work were a major part of all pest control companies’ procedures, many of the pest issues we face would not even exist,” Corrigan says. “The mayor of New York City is advocating that all buildings be energy efficient and pest proofing fits right in to that initiative.”

Pest control consultant Austin Frishman agrees that exclusion work doesn’t fit into the technician’s normal schedule because it requires extra work and time. He says that progressive companies establish special crews that do only exclusion work.

Brian Kelly, general manager, ABC Home & Commercial Services, Austin, Texas, said ABC established a division in which crews specialize in exclusion work for pests and wildlife.

Norm Soep of Global Material Technologies, the maker of Xcluder Rodent and Pest Control permanent fill fabric, says, “We saw a need for a new type of exclusion product for the pest control industry and developed Xcluder to fill this need. To ensure that the product worked as expected, we engaged the Department of Agriculture to do extensive testing on Xcluder before we introduced it to the market. The full report is available on our Web site.” Xcluder combines patented stainless steel with a polyfiber technology to produce an easy-to-install, chew-proof barrier against rodents and pests. The fact that this product has no impact on the environment, is non-toxic and is flexible and easy to install make it ideal for all exclusion work, both inside and outside the pest control industry.
Frank Morrissey, Great Southwest Construction, is an electrical contractor that installs high-voltage lines throughout the U.S. “We had been having long-term problems with pests getting into our equipment and control houses through a conduit system. We now apply Xcluder around conduits to prevent pests from getting into the equipment and causing difficult-to-correct problems.”

GMT, the makers of Xcluder, also offers a GEO product made of the same material that prevents turf damage by burrowing animals.

Rodents cause significant damage to humans and natural resources and effective barriers can prevent or reduce rodents’ access to resources, providing economic relief. Xcluder is one of the products that effectively keeps rodents and pests out of a structure. Because bats, bees, yellow jackets, spiders, scorpions, snakes...all can enter small openings and cause health problems, Xcluder can and should be used as a preventive measure to plug up all the openings a PMP comes across before the pest finds it, according to the manufacturer. 
For more information about Xcluder, visit www.getxcluder.com.

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Rodent  Video from Bobby Corrigan
Visit www.pctonline.tv, PCT’s 2.O Web portal, for rodent videoclips from Bobby Corrigan, noted urban rodentologist and PCT columnist. Corrigan spends a considerable amount of time at night in lower Manhattan observing and filming wild rats in the streets, alleyways and sewer catch basins. In the video that appears on PCTOnline.tv, Corrigan captures rat activity from an alleyway on Fulton Street in New York City. “This area is about three blocks from the old New York seaport where thousands of merchant ships from Europe used to unload their goods, and it is in this area where the first rats to New York likely arrived and became established,” he said.