Mice are extremely adept at living in many a man-made environment and will happily take up residence in your home, office, factory...
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Pest Management Professionals (PMPs) all have stories of epic battles and lost sleep attributed to the presence of these animals.
As PMPs, 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 endeavour: 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.
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 harbourage. 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 emphasised. 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.
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 harbourage. 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.
Article provided by Dynamic Pest Control