Rodents
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The three common pest species of rodents are the Norway Rat, the Roof Rat, and the House Mouse. These three rodents are known as commensal pests, which describe their ability to successfully cohabit with humans. Since early times, rodents have been responsible for the loss and contamination of feed from the crop stage through to the storage of processed food in both domestic and commercial premises.
As climatic conditions become less favourable with the onset of winter, rodents move indoors looking for both shelter and food. However, in commercial premises rodents can be a problem all year round and in certain instances mice can attain plague proportions in rural areas.
Rodents construct their nests close to areas where they scavenge for food and water, utilising soft materials such as shredded paper or fabrics. These nests are usually situated in wall cavities, roof voids or under floor areas and in the case of Norway Rats, in burrows, garbage tips and other similar sites. The adult female is capable of giving birth to 4-6 litters per year with each containing between 5-10 young. Because they become capable of reproduction just three months after birth, the mating of a single pair of rodents can result in a population of 400-700 within a year.
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Simple Prevention
As previously mentioned, rodents are nocturnal and therefore activity is seldom observed during daylight hours, so it is important to recognise signs of their presence.
Rodents deposit their droppings on all surfaces over which they travel. This, together with the stains and odour caused by almost continual urination provide obvious indications of the presence of rodents. Greasy smear marks can be seen along their main routes of movement where they make contact with obstacles.
The importance of achieving and maintaining a high standard of hygiene and sanitation and decreasing food and shelter available cannot be overemphasised in controlling rodents. Use sound rubbish containers with tight lids, clean up any rubbish heaps and overgrown weeds around the building.
There are many documented cases where building fires have been started by short -circuits caused when rodents gnaw electrical conduit.
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