Photo Album: Commercial facility rodent control in Hightstown
Traps don't trick adult rats
At first, the owner did not want me to apply any rodenticide inside the building because he was concerned that rats would die inside, and the last thing he wanted was to compound the problem with rotting rat carcasses. I understood his concern, but explained that there would be a significant trade-off in effectiveness by not using product. As long as the carcasses are timely removed, it's generally not a significant issue, and it's well worth the trade-off of getting rid of these disease-carrying vermin. Nevertheless, based the customer's request, I initially set up mechanical "snap traps" above the ceiling tiles where the majority of the rat droppings were found. This method was fairly successful for capturing the juvenile rats that did not know any better. However, it was unsuccessful in capturing any of the adults. Adult rats are very wary of changes to their environment, and they are often not "tricked" by such traps.
Large dead rat in Hightstown, NJ.
There are many potential access points that rodents will find to enter a structure. And they are not all at ground level. Rats, for example, can burrow underground and they are also excellent climbers. If that weren't enough, rats are amazingly good swimmers and can enter homes by swimming up sewer pipes and climbing out of toilets. Mice have no real issues getting inside, due to their small size, they can enter through a hole the size of a dime. Rats, on the other hand, require a hole about the size of a quarter. However, these creatures are very intelligent and if they can't find an access point, they usually have no problems enlarging a hole using their razor-sharp incisor teeth. While inspecting the building's exterior, I found such an an access point behind some pipes that would easily allow rats to come and go as they pleased into the structure.
Rat droppings found in Hightstown, New Jersey
How did I know these were rat droppings as opposed to a mouse, squirrel, or some other wildlife infestation? An important way to determine the type of animal infesting a building is through fecal identification - the size, shape, coloration of droppings, and even how they are disbursed, speaks volumes. I have a saying that a dropping's worth a thousand words! A rat's droppings tend to be rectangular, about 1/2 to 3/4" long, with blunt ends. They are generally found in small groups. The droppings of a house mouse are much smaller, granular in shape, about 1/8 to 1/4" long, with one or both ends pointed. Also, the volume of droppings is a good indicator of how big an infestation I'm dealing with.
Dead rat discovered in Hightstown, NJ
Soon thereafter, the customer agreed that the only way to eliminate the infestation, especially considering its large (and likely growing) population, was using a rodenticide inside the structure. Once this product was applied, I made sure to inspect the building on a daily basis to remove any dead rodents. After all was said and done, I wound up removing over thirty dead rodents from the building! Even for an experienced technician like me, that was a lot of dead rats to clear out of one building. With the entry point sealed and the infesting rats dead and gone, this customer's rat infestation was finally resolved.