Rodent control can be tricky at times because mice and rats can have multiple entry points into a home or business, thus creating disruption, possibly spreading disease, and affecting the business or residents.

So, for pest management professionals, a few brief tips are important when putting together a rodent control program. Everything from taking into consideration the environment, the nearby structures and houses, the sanitation of the neighbourhood or at least neighbours – these all need to be reviewed when creating a plan.

The tips that should always make up that plan include:

• Moisture – review moisture surrounding the building and remove it if possible, to eliminate both water and food sources.
• Exclusion – rodents often “sneak in” to homes and businesses through very minor openings under doorways, door sweeps can prevent them from entering.
• Penetrations – like doorways, openings around utility pipes and penetrations can be another opening for rodents … seal them with caulk or temporarily with steel wool.
• Sanitation – keep all sanitation 15 feet from a home or business to prevent food sources from leading mice or rats to a new “home.” 
• Food Sources – eliminating any and every source of food is the best way to control rodents before they attempt to infiltrate a home or business.
  
  

The most important method for preventing mice and rats from entering under doorways is by using quality door sweep products, like those manufactured by Burrtec.

Burrtec USA is a leading manufacturer of door sweep solutions, providing quality exclusion products to PMPs and building material suppliers. It is the North American division of Burrtec Co., Ltd., one of Japan’s largest pest control producers. To learn more about Burrtec, visit our U.S. website.

One of the biggest issues relating to rodent infestations in and around school grounds is the risks of respiratory diseases, including asthma, rat and mouse bites, and infections. Preventing this from happening is a health and legal issue that all schools face.

School IPM (Integrated Pest Management) starts with having a clear, concise plan on how to protect a school facility (all buildings and adjoining areas) from rodents. This plan will have the duties and responsibilities assigned, detail the types of products that are being used for rodent prevention, as well as the outside support on the team like a local pest management professional.

Why is this important: Without a plan, rodents can inhabit a school and their urine contains asthma allergens that can affect students and teachers as it becomes airborne.

Good aspects of a school IPM program include the following:

• Dry food storage – keep it clean, organized and put away. It helps to have it in containers or locked up so rodents have no access to it.
• Trash – make sure not only that it is removed daily from the school, but do not put trash bins up against the school building. Dumpsters should be 10-15 feet from the school.
• Food – any food that can be a source for rodents, from cafeteria or external sources like fruit trees or disposed wrapper and lunch bags, needs to be disposed of properly every day.
• Maintenance – this is essential on every school day …. Clean the floors in every room in a school building. Even if food isn’t stored near a far classroom, students bring fruit-flavored waters and other drinks along with backpack snacks everywhere throughout the day.

Protecting doorways from openings that allow rodents into school facilities is tremendously important, as well. Burrtec makes state-of-the-art door sweeps that are protected with stainless steel, specifically the Burrat Armor Samurai Door Sweeps.

Burrtec USA is a leading manufacturer of door sweep solutions, providing quality exclusion products to PMPs and building material suppliers. It is the North American division of Burrtec Co., Ltd., one of Japan’s largest pest control producers. To learn more about Burrtec, visit our U.S. website.

Rodents are a massive health problem in most major cities, so much so that according to the Illinois Department of Health, that state receives more than 100,000 rodent-related complaints each year.

While residential issues can be handled by pest control firms to give consumers better peace of mind, commercial companies are subject to audits to ensure that their facilities are safe, meeting all regulations, and also pest-free when it comes to rodents.

Commercial facilities require rodent-proof containers to allow for safe disposal of sanitation that cannot be accessed by rats and mice. Keeping those containers 15 feet or longer away from the facility will keep rodents from trying to access a building as quickly.

Traps, glue boards, baits and other forms of control are important methods of protection from rodents. Being proactive is the most important aspect of control in order to prevent infestations.

Exclusion is critical to preventing rodents from commercial facilities. Door edges get bent from being propped open and even the size of a quarter is big enough to allow a rodent to squeeze in and start an infestation.

Burrtec helps many companies prevent mice and rats from entering under doorways with its quality door sweep products.

Burrtec USA is a leading manufacturer of door sweep solutions, providing quality exclusion products to PMPs and building material suppliers. It is the North American division of Burrtec Co., Ltd., one of Japan’s largest pest control producers. To learn more about Burrtec, visit our U.S. website.

Stainless steel to rodents is like kryptonite to Superman – it stops them! One of the first things to know about stainless steel and rodents is to know how strong their teeth are.

Rats in particular have tremendously strong incisors that can chew through many objects, including glass, plastic, wood, and even many forms of concrete. Concrete! Mice can chew through many items, as well.

But stainless steel is one of the few products that rats cannot chew through, so being able to prevent them from entering through typical entries like around plumbing and other penetrations, as well as under doorways, is critical.

While the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) suggests the use of steel, so do many other organizations. One is the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America Solution Center, a website designed to provide proven building and pest-related facts to professionals and consumers.

The Department of Energy suggests always using pest-resistant building materials for all uses, especially when attempting to prevent rats and mice. This is where stainless steel is the most important, because using it as a door sweep product truly stops rats and mice from biting their way through and creating an opening.

Burrtec makes state-of-the-art door sweeps that are protected with stainless steel, specifically the Burrat Armor Samurai Door Sweeps. These products also stop voles, insects and bats!

Burrtec USA is a leading manufacturer of door sweep solutions, providing quality exclusion products to PMPs and building material suppliers. It is the North American division of Burrtec Co., Ltd., one of Japan’s largest pest control producers. To learn more about Burrtec, visit our U.S. website.

– Part 2 of 3 –

Dr. Bobby Corrigan, one of the leading experts in rodent control, says that doors present many issues that can offer rats and mice entry points when not properly protected. He had some great insight about rodents and doors in both commercial and residential settings.

“Doors of all of all types are famous for letting in rodents,” says Dr. Corrigan. “You have typical front door of home, or you have the main door of a restaurant or anything like that. Often times, we don’t seal them correctly at the bottom, we leave that seal or gap because we don’t appreciate it when you’re standing up and you’re like 5’8” looking down a small gap of 6 mm you almost don’t see it. So, it’s the unseen open door of a closed door. It’s an open door for rodents.

“Doors of course come in different shapes and sizes we’ll have double doors in commercial accounts and in office buildings and hotels and even if we correctly seal them, we don’t often seal between the doors, that thing called the astragal gap.

“We get an ‘F’ in terms of school grades on how well we keep our doors sealed. And because of that rodents come in sometimes just at will. I don’t have any data to prove it, but it may be the number one type of gap for them.”

Corrigan’s tips:

• Check all doors, holes, and penetrations.
• Proceed down the path of Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
• Ensure that all doors are correctly sealed and have a device.
  
  

　
The most important method for preventing mice and rats from entering under doorways is by using quality door sweep products, like those manufactured by Burrtec.
Burrtec USA is a leading manufacturer of door sweep solutions, providing quality exclusion products to PMPs and building material suppliers. It is the North American division of Burrtec Co., Ltd., one of Japan’s largest pest control producers. To learn more about Burrtec, visit our U.S. website.