How To Effectively Keep Rodents Out Of Your Bay Area Business

When it comes to keeping mice, rats, and sometimes squirrels out of your business, it pays to get help from someone with training and experience. While you can certainly do many things to keep rodents out on your own, there is no replacement for the skills, training, and experience a commercial service technician brings to the table. Today, we'll look at some of the pitfalls of rodent exclusion and control and discuss the challenges related to managing rodent problems in the Bay Area. We'll share industry secrets and give you some helpful prevention tips to get you going in the right direction. But, you'll quickly take note that rodent control is hard work and there are many ways things can fail to go as planned. Our hope is to keep you from making mistakes that can impact your reputation and bottom line.

Before we get started, we want to remind you that you don't have to read an article about rodent control to deal with a rodent problem in your business. Contact Bay Pest for rodent pest control in The Bay Area. We offer industry-leading, comprehensive rodent management and control. We can take care of this tough job for you. 

Rodent Exclusion Techniques For Commercial Spaces

We have several common rodents in the Bay Area. Exclusion work helps keep all of them from gaining access to your business. But exclusion work isn't easy. That is why it has the word "work" in there. But, if you want to handle exclusions yourself, there are some things you should know.

• Cans of spray foam are great for quick and ugly patches. Yes, ugly. It is often hard to apply this product without creating an eyesore. You're not going to want to use expanding foam on the side of your business where curb appeal is important. Sprayed foam is also super sticky. Wear gloves when applying it. The good news is that it works great. While mice and rats can chew through expanding foam, they don't have any reason to if you have completely sealed a hole or gap. They're attracted to tight spaces, and this product does a great job of filling in these spaces.
• A caulking gun is what you'll want to use for pretty patches. You can get silicone caulk that matches the color of building materials and apply it in a way that preserves your curb appeal. As with foam, mice and rats can chew through caulking material. But they won't consider doing this if you've patched entry points appropriately.
• Metal flashing is the product you'll use to bolster your defenses. Apply metal flashing over wood that rodents are gnawing on or use it to cover gaps.
• Hardware cloth is the product you'll use to block louvers, gable vents, and other openings. It allows air to go in and out but prevents rodents from doing so.

A licensed commercial service professional offering exclusion work as a part of your Integrated Pest Management strategy will use these methods to seal potential entry points and do this hard work for you. But there are some exclusions you can do that your service professional won't.

• Install door sweeps on doors that don't have them to stop rodents from squeezing under exterior doors.
• Replace weatherstripping around exterior doors that have gaps.
• Align double doors to remove gaps.
• Replace rotting wood with new timbers.
• Install vent covers on vents where covers have been removed, damaged, or chewed off.

General maintenance projects can get your business into shape and help keep domestic rodents out. A quality trapping program can protect vulnerable areas if you don't have the budget to address maintenance at this time.

How To Bait Rodents Out Of Your Walls 

All rodents are not attracted to the same bait. Squirrels, rats and mice have different preferences. If you hope to draw rodents out of your walls, you need to use a bait that appeals to the particular rodents that have infested your business. Along with selecting appropriate baits, you need to use devices that keep kids and pets from gaining access to them. Bait stations used to catch mice are smaller than those used to catch rats. Rats are bigger rodents and require bigger traps. Squirrels are another matter altogether. You won't need bait to address a squirrel problem. There are other techniques used for those furry-tailed rodents.

Even after you've selected the right bait and the correct bait stations, you're not quite done. You need to consider some important facts when attempting to bait rats and mice.

• The federal government has regulations regarding the use of rodenticides. If you attempt to take care of rodent control, you need to familiarize yourself with these rules.
• It is essential to weigh bait stations down so that they cannot be picked up by children or moved by pets. If children or pets access the bait, it can lead to a medical emergency. You'll also have a potential lawsuit. 
• There are regulations regarding bait station placement. You can't place bait stations more than a hundred feet from the exterior of structures. Compliance safety and health officers will flag this during inspections. 
• Improperly positioned bait stations near your exterior walls will have little or no impact on rodent populations. Rodents have behavior patterns that help them avoid traps. 

Commercial pest control providers are familiar with the guidelines associated with the installation and maintenance of bait stations. It is best to let a professional handle this job. Your technician will use tamper-resistant bait stations and deploy them where rodents are sure to take the bait. They also do the unsavory job of routinely emptying rodent bait stations during service visits. 

Deterring Rodents From A Particular Area In Your Business

Some businesses have sensitive zones. These zones need extra protection from rodents. How do you deter rodents from entering a particular area of your business? The solution is multi-pronged. Before we explain how it works, we need to cover one product that does not work.

As you search for a way to keep mice and rats out of sensitive zones within your business, you're likely to read that ultrasonic pest repellers can help you do this. A recent university study examined the claim that ultrasonic sound devices keep rodents away. The study's conclusion revealed that these devices have little to no impact on pests.

Okay. Ultrasonic devices don't work, but what does? We recommend the following:

• Remove the smells that attract rodents. Mice and rats are looking for food. Sanitation can remove the scent of food and the food sources themselves. If possible, remove food from sensitive areas or store the food in sealed containers. A sealed container traps the scent of the food.
• Remove moisture sources. Leaking faucets and other plumbing issues can provide water sources for rodents. Address all leaks in the area you need to protect. 
• Remove clutter. Mice and rats prefer areas that have lots of hiding places. Remove objects rodents can hide under or behind. Use materials to block access to voids underneath objects that need to stay in the room.
• Seal interior gaps, cracks, and recesses. Use the exclusion products we mentioned above to patch holes and gaps rodents can use to go in and out of wall voids. 

On their own, these tips can keep rodents out of sensitive zones within your business. But, as you can probably guess, sometimes rodents require more control than this. It has to do with rodent pressures, conducive conditions outside, the age of the structure, etc. It is best to contact a commercial service provider when more pest control is needed.        

Humane Rodent Infestation Treatments In The Bay Area

Are you in the Bay Area? Contact Bay Pest for rodent control and ongoing rodent management. 

• We use construction-grade materials to seal entry points that are 1/4 inch or larger.
• We may install one-way doors to allow rodents to exit your business, leaving these in place for two weeks. During your follow-up visit, we'll remove the one-way doors and seal the entry points.
• We apply traps to capture rodents in your business and check these traps during your service visits.
• We provide sanitation services to help address the issue of rodent-attracting smells and potential food sources.
• We may recommend attic insulation replacement. The insulation product we install offers protection against a long list of pests, including rodents.
• We may install bait boxes around the exterior of the structure if needed.

There is no simple fix for rodents. Your rodent control program needs many layers. The service technicians here at Bay Pest use training and experience to address the difficult challenge of rodent control.

Mice, rats, and squirrels are destructive pests that can damage structures and the belongings inside. They're also known to transmit many harmful diseases. There is no room in your business for even one rodent. Contact Bay Pest today to schedule a service visit. We'll help you find the right rodent control solution for your Bay Area business.