Photo Album: Sanitation tips to keep mice out of Princeton, NJ restaurant.

Recently, I was dispatched to one of our commercial accounts, a restaurant in Princeton, NJ. We were contacted after the manager was made aware that there were mouse droppings underneath a few of the customer booths in the dining room.The booths in question were against an outside wall of the building. Because of their location, I believed that there was a good chance that there was an access point nearby on that wall. Mice can easily squeeze through a 1/4” gap, so finding their entry points requires a close, detailed inspection of the interior and exterior building perimeter. Here, I located several potential entryways — gaps in the wood baseboard molding — that were more than enough for mice to enter. I put an end to those access points by sealing them with a chew-proof copper mesh. The long-term resolution of a rodent infestation requires that their entry points be identified and properly sealed.

Gap around pipes.

We conduct a thorough investigation to find all the areas mice could exploit.

Exclusion.

Exclusion of rodent entry points into a building and proper sanitation (eliminating food attractants both inside and outside) are mandatory, especially for restaurants and other food-related businesses, to prevent rodent and other pest infestations.

Before exclusion.

During my inspection, I found another potential entryway under a sink in the bar.

After exclusion.

Using copper mesh, I closed that particular mouse "highway."

Just asking for trouble.

I then walked out these doors toward the dumpster area where I observed what was likely drawing the mice toward the building. The dumpster was overflowing with garbage and food debris. Often there are outdoor attractants that bring rodents onto the property, and once there, they then find their way inside. With dumpster areas, it is important to keep all of the garbage inside the container and have the doors closed. Anything else is inviting trouble. Here, there were bags of garbage from the restaurant piled on top of it and along side it. There was even spilled garbage just waiting for rodents to eat. If the dumpster size is not enough for the restaurant garbage, either the frequency of pick-up must be increased or a larger dumpster is needed.

Gap in door invites mice.

I made my way to the kitchen to identify entryways there as well as attractants that could be enticing foraging mice. I made note that the exit doors from the kitchen to the exterior needed new door sweeps on the bottom. Gaps underneath doors are a common mouse route that are easily overlooked