A recent article in Global News reports that in the past two years, 754 establishments in Toronto were slapped with health citations, with 87 of them forced to close due to violations related to rodent and pest infestations. For a business, getting a citation related to health and sanitation not only results in profit losses due to suspended operations, but also to decreased patronage from customers who would certainly be alarmed by such a citation. This is why it’s necessary to be proactive by and seeking the help of a professional rodent control service to ensure that your place of work stays free of vermin.

Rats gnaw at everything around them, including cement, brick, lead pipes, wood, and even other animals. In fact, in some cases, such behavior was responsible for power outages and electrical fires due to chewed up wiring. The rats’ size and nimbleness allows them to fit through small holes and get in between walls and insulation, wreaking havoc to a structure without business owners realizing they have a problem.

These rodents also pose health risks which are unacceptable at food establishments. Rats aid in the transmission of diseases such as typhus fever, leptospirosis, and dysentery. Rat droppings can contaminate food and utensils, causing food poisoning. The lice, fleas, ticks and other parasites these rodents may harbor transmit diseases to both humans and pets.

Contamination should be dealt with immediately by professionals who have extensive knowledge on rodent biology and behavior. Remember that something as simple as a single bite, a scratch, or contact with feces, urine, or a rodent carcass can cause serious health issues for humans. Companies like Skedaddle Wildlife Control utilize cleaning and clearing tactics specially developed to ascertain that all contaminated material is removed from the site.

A pair of breeding rats can result in as many as two thousand individuals in a year. Therefore, it’s necessary to engage rodent control companies not only to take care of visible rats, but to effectively remove existing nests to ensure that the building remains rodent-free. Poison-free techniques provide the most effective and economical long-term solution to rat proliferation.

It’s easier to address pest problems right when they start, rather than having to implement damage control measures after your business has been slapped with citations for violations. Rodent control should be a major concern of any business, but most especially those that are located in older neighborhoods where buildings have walls that are weaker and easier for the rodents to compromise. As the article suggests, establishments should be more vigilant against these critters so that customers can rest assured that their environment remains free of pests and diseases.

SOURCES:
cdc.gov/rodents/diseases/direct.html
public.health.wa.gov.au/3/1183/2/rats_and_rodents.pm
http://discovermagazine.com/2006/dec/20-things-rats#.Ua2NYqNaorU