At Attic Projects, we understand the serious threat that rodent infestations pose to residential and commercial properties. The risk can be particularly severe for commercial property owners, potentially jeopardizing your business operations.
Our goal is to provide you with the information you need to effectively navigate the challenges of rodent removal. We offer solutions tailored to commercial properties, ensuring your establishment remains rodent-free and your business continues to thrive.
Why Rodent Removal Is Vital for Commercial Properties
A rodent infestation poses a serious health and safety risk to your employees and customers. Remember, though, that it’s not just physical contact with rodents that spreads disease. In many cases, their waste also spreads various viruses and parasites.
Outside of personal health risks, rodents can also cause physical damage to your property, raising the risk of bodily harm. They can gnaw through electrical wires and various structural components. They can even work through many materials that you wouldn’t think they’d be able to, including solid wood and plastic. As a result, your property could fall into disrepair or face potential fire hazards.
But even beyond the potential of the rodents causing serious harm, their presence alone can seriously impact your business and its reputation. Customers simply won’t want to frequent a company with clear signs of rodent infestation, which means you’ll lose out on potential revenue, thus stalling the growth of your business.
Lastly, organizations across different industries face various regulatory compliance risks related to rodents as well. If you’re in any type of food service or other sensitive industry, a rodent infestation can easily see that your establishment gets shut down.
Common Challenges in Rodent Removal
Rodent removal is often easier said than done, as rodents are adept at avoiding humans even when they inhabit homes and businesses. Addressing this challenge requires professional solutions for several reasons:
Hard-to-Reach Nesting Areas
Rodents often nest in difficult-to-access places such as wall cavities, attics, crawl spaces, and other hidden areas. With their varied layouts and structures, commercial properties may have numerous entry points that are not easily secured against rodents. Rodents can squeeze through surprisingly small gaps, making it practically impossible to track down their nests without proper training and experience. Residential rodent-proofing solutions may be less effective in retail establishments, necessitating a custom assessment and solution for your property.
Rapid Reproduction
Rats, mice, and other rodents reproduce quickly, with multiple litters each year. Removing rodents one by one is ineffective, as the infestation will soon rebound to its original numbers unless all rodents are eliminated simultaneously.
Adaptability of Rodents
Rats, in particular, are intelligent and can adapt to traps and other removal attempts. Rodents may outsmart traditional removal methods without a carefully planned approach based on expertise and experience.
Rodents You May Encounter on the West Coast
It’s important to be aware of the specific types of rodents you’ll likely encounter on the West Coast, as many species can pose problems for residential and commercial properties. Understanding their behaviors is crucial to keeping them outside of your property.
Two of the most prominent pests are the roof rat and Norway rat. Together, this delinquent duo covers a wide range of potential habitats:
- Roof Rats: Roof rats prefer high nests in trees, attics, and other elevated structures.
- Norway Rats: Norway rats typically inhabit lower-ground areas such as basements and crawl spaces. Due to their adaptive behavior, no property is completely safe from rats.
House mice are also pervasive throughout the region and pose health risks:
- House Mice: While smaller than rats, house mice carry a variety of diseases and can squeeze through tight gaps, necessitating professional rodent removal and proofing services to secure your business.
In addition to rats and mice, other rodents you may encounter on the West Coast include:
- Squirrels
- Gophers
These species tend to stay further away from human activity, but depending on your business’s location and structural components, you could find yourself dealing with various pests simultaneously. Professional rodent removal services ensure proper techniques are used to address each type of rodent effectively.
A Humane Approach to Rodent Removal
First and foremost, it’s crucial to avoid poisons and similar rodent removal methods. These approaches are not only inhumane but also pose health risks to humans. They can leave a lingering residue with negative health effects, potentially requiring your business to shut down during removal.
Other options like spring or glue traps cause needless suffering for rodents and are highly ineffective:
- Spring or Glue Traps: These traps only deal with a few rodents infesting your property, while others will learn to avoid them. Given rodents’ rapid reproduction, this method will lead you back to square one in no time.
Instead, focus on humane capture techniques that work best for everyone, including your business, your customers, and the rodents:
- Live Traps: Professional rodent removal technicians strategically place live traps to capture rodents, which are then released into the wilderness.
- One-Way Doors: These doors are fixed to likely entry points, allowing rodents to exit your property but preventing them from re-entering.
Once the existing infestation has been addressed, your business may still be at risk of future infestations. Professional rodent proofing is essential to prevent recurrence:
- Rodent Proofing: Experts can assess your property to identify entry points and seal them using various techniques tailored to your specific situation.
The end result is that rodents won’t be able to find their way back into your property. Since there’s an endless supply of pests outdoors, any effective solution must focus on the current infestation and preventing future risks. This approach ensures a humane and long-lasting solution to your business’s rodent problems.
Protect Your Business With Professional Rodent Removal
If you suspect rodents may be at work in and around your business, don’t wait until the damage is done. Instead, contact Attic Projects for humane rodent removal and expert rodent-proofing services. We’ll provide a lasting solution to keep rodents out of your business.
Updated: July 17, 2024
