5 Ways to Protect Your Business from Rodents

Rodents can pose a significant threat to your business, from damaging property and inventory to spreading diseases and tarnishing your reputation. To safeguard your establishment, it’s crucial to implement effective rodent control measures.

This article will explore various strategies and tactics to help you protect your business from rodents, ensuring safe, hygienic and pest-free business premises.

Keep the Staff Room Crumb and Spill Free

To prevent attracting rodents into your business, ensure that the staff room and working environment are crumb and spillage-free. This can be achieved by enforcing a morning and afternoon cleaning schedule to promote a hygienic work environment for all.

This simple act of maintaining cleanliness can protect staff members from contracting illnesses such as salmonella or gastrointestinal infections, which can result from food contamination by rodent droppings and urine. It will also save the business financially on costs associated with staff turnover and recruitment expenses as well as protect your business’s reputation.

Clean and Secure Bins

Rodents are notorious for drawing out scents of food waste and can easily access unsecured bins. To keep rodents from disrupting the workspace and pose a health risk to your employees, it’s essential to regularly empty and clean bins. It’s also worth investing in bins that can be tightly sealed. This will prevent rodents from accessing them.

Keeping up to date with the latest industry hygiene guidelines and regulations demonstrates a commitment to responsible business practices, which can help your business avoid potential legal issues or fines. It will also help you to implement a routine pest control program, promoting hygiene, employee well-being and overall professionalism within the workplace.

Maintain the Building

With so much flooding each year due to climate change, rodents, particularly rats, are forced out of their burrow. According to Dee Ward-Thompson, BPCA Head of Technical, rats are excellent swimmers. They can swim up to 72 hours nonstop and even travel along flooded drains searching for new, warm nesting places. Therefore, businesses must take proactive measures to ensure they’re pest-free.

Where to look and what steps to follow for common inspections:

• Drains – ensure all are appropriately fitted with covers
• Exterior walls – seal any gaps or cracks
• Kitchen cupboards – keep clean and place dry food in tight lid containers
• Under the sink cupboard – fix any leaks and keep the area clutter-free
• Behind fridges or stoves – Inspect regularly and keep the area clean
• Windows and doors – keep closed and add a seal to the bottom of the door

Declutter Rooms

Maintaining a clean and clutter-free environment, both inside and outside the building, discourages rodents from seeking shelter and food sources. It will also make it challenging for rodents to sneak about the premises collecting nesting materials unnoticed.

If you’re struggling to declutter due to the presence of essential and non-essential items, it may be worth purchasing a self-storage unit. They allow you to store excess inventory, equipment or documents off-site. By doing so, you not only create a more organised and spacious workspace but also eliminate the potential risk of rat infestation. Without the clutter, you can detect rodent activity like droppings and gnawed wires quickly.

Call an Expert

Professional rat control experts possess the knowledge and experience to assess the extent of the infestation, locating nests, entry points and potential hiding spots that may go unnoticed. While ensuring the safety of staff and the environment, they can implement pest control treatments free from toxins. Pest control experts can also guide you with long-term prevention measures. Safeguarding the health and well-being of your workforce and the reputation of your business.