Best practices for atypical rodent accounts

When it comes to rodent accounts, remember that homes, hospitals, schools, museums, warehouses and other structures are all unique in their own way. Let’s explore four examples:

1. Ritzy rats. Why would a wealthy, upscale neighborhood zoned with 5-acre plots have noticeable problems with Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus)? The answer lay beyond the property lines: Riding stables and private horse barns were the initial source, even from a mile away.
2. Into the void. In a large high-rise and high-end department store, it took hiring a third pest control company to locate the source of a severe house mouse (Mus musculus) problem. Unlike the previous companies, this team opened walls and floors and found a huge, enclosed void space that was a mouse haven. The current store personnel and owner had no idea the space existed; it was created by a remodel of the building many years before. 
3. Fire ant follies, Part I. In southern Florida, I observed a pest control firm lose accounts because customers complained the technicians were not putting out enough bait. The technicians were doing everything right, except that before the mice had a chance to find the bait in rodent bait stations (RBS), it was being devoured by fire ants (Solenopsis spp.). Many of today’s RBS feature sensors that would alert the team to a hit, but at the time, RBS inspections were on a scheduled visit basis only. We implemented a fire ant control program right away, which led to the rodent control program functioning as intended.
4. Fire ant follies, Part II. In another instance in “fire ant country,” I couldn’t figure out how the bait was going so fast in the attic, with no slowdown in mouse activity. I decided to place a few snap traps baited with dog food and waited 25 minutes. When I went back, hundreds of fire ants were on the bait. They originated from nests on the exterior adjacent to the home.

Night moves

When you are having difficulty with a commercial account for rats or mice and feel like you are losing the battle, visit at night. Once it gets dark, after people leave the building and it gets quiet, rodents become active and visible. Both for interior and exterior problems, you can learn so much by sitting quietly and watching. Infrared cameras also help, but I have solved many a rodent problem with a simple stakeout. Here are three examples:

1. I saw roof rats (R. rattus) travel down a tree, crawl up the side of a building, get on a roof and enter a building through an open vent. The tree (and vent) was not on my radar during a daytime inspection.
2. After dusk, standing on a landfill with 100 Norway rats running around makes you understand the magnitude of the problem you are facing.
3. At an office account, dozens of house mice poured out of tubing that housed wires at the floor level. 

Although I taught at a university for 12 years and all the classes were in the daytime, it was expected that at least four times a semester, we would make a trip that lasted from about 7 p.m. to midnight. The students loved it and so did I. One’s passion, desire to learn and enthusiasm reach new heights when you are on the front line, face-to-face with the enemy!

Among the many talented students I had the fortune of working with was fellow Pest Management Professional Hall of Famer Dr. Bobby Corrigan (Class of 2008). I have always believed that “the student better go further than the teacher, or the world goes backward.” He definitely has gone further. 

Rodent resource

In 2024, Stephen M. Vantassel, ACE, revised — and I must say, improved — the third edition of my Vertebrate Pest Handbook: Questions & Answers on Norway Rats, Roof Rats, House Mice, & Deer Mice. Both hard and electronic copies are available from select retailers or directly from WildlifeControlConsultant.com.