Dale E. Kaukeinen

The continued availability of wax block rodenticides for commensal rodent control has been assured by the May 2008 decision of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recommend the use of block baits in bait stations for homeowner use (PMP July 2008, pg. 90).

On May 28, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final ruling on rodenticide mitigation measures that will become law. These risk mitigation decision (RMD) measures have been the subject of much debate for nearly a decade, and the subject of some prior articles in the pages of...more >>

In my last column (Myths about Rodents, March), I covered some common misconceptions about rodent behavior and activity, and what follows are some additional tall tales. Check with your staff to see if they know the truth behind these and other myths. They may hear these as statements or as...more >>

The 23rd Vertebrate Pest Conference (VPC) was held March 17-20 at the Westin Emerald Plaza in San Diego. This conference has been held every two years since 1962, and typically alternates among various West Coast locations. This year's event attracted 273, representing 39 states, the United...more >>

Few pests generate as many persistent myths as do pest rodents and their management. Who hasn't heard stories about rats as big as cats, and how some rodenticides supposedly make rodents go outside to drink, or perhaps allegedly mummify them?

Is your rodent business up over the past year? The warmer weather across much of the United States seems to have extended the active rodent season. If climate experts are correct, we can expect this trend to continue. Delays in usual frost dates provide longer periods of vegetation for food and...more >>

There's an age-old adage that no good deed goes unpunished. Unfortunately, the saying applies to recent efforts by Dr. Bruce Colvin and me to dig into published city statistics and develop a system for rating municipalities for their vulnerability to having or developing rodent problems.

Restaurants should consider paying a little extra for waste management companies that provide dumpsters in good repair and offer dumpster cleaning on a regular basis.

In the May issue, we looked back at the evolution of bait stations that figure so prominently in today's rodent management programs. These began with simple stations that predated the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and led to more complex stations for pest management...more >>

Like the building of a better mousetrap, a review of these decades-old bait station patents indicates people's ingenuity.