The end of summer is rapidly approaching and for Sprague Pest Solution’s commercial clients, especially those in agriculture and food processing, that means the start of a busy harvest season and an uptick in rodent activity.
Late summer is traditionally the time of year when rodents start looking for fall and winter harborage locations. However, the dry and warm conditions the Pacific Northwest and Inter-Mountain regions have experienced in 2015 is moving that timetable up and commercial clients need to be prepared.
A rodent’s curiosity increases in the late summer and fall as they start looking for food, moisture, especially with the dry summer, and a place to nest over the winter. The key with rodents is to deny them access in the first place and take away their incentive to try and gain access to your facility.
Rodent management in and around food processing facilities is a vital part of a client’s overall food safety and pest management program. No facility or quality assurance manager wants to hear the words “food borne illness,” “contamination” or “rodent infestation.”
The negative impact to a product’s integrity and safety, brand reputation, and manufacturer’s bottom line should a rodent infestation occur is significant.
Nothing is standard when it comes to preventing and controlling rodents in a food processing or agriculture facility and that the variableness associated with rodents makes them a challenge to manage.
Comprehensive inspections on the interior and exterior, sharing regular progress reports and consistent communication between the facility and its pest management partner are the keys to properly assessing the threat level and staying one step ahead.
The Sprague Pest Experts recommends commercial clients perform a thorough inspection of the exterior of their facility to identify potential access points that rodents could exploit to their advantage.
☑ Check caulking and sealing around window and door frames and utility openings and repair when necessary.
☑ Install door sweeps on loading dock and exterior doors to keep rodents and other unwanted pests out.
☑ Check the roof for gaps or openings, especially along the roofline near gutters, and make sure heating and cooling unit vent screens are not damaged.
☑ Keep landscape shrubs and bushes trimmed and eliminate ground covering plants near structures; maintain a 12- to 18-inch barrier between the structure and plants.
☑ Thoroughly inspect incoming shipments of food commodities and other deliveries for signs of rodent activity.