5 Signs You Have Rats On Your Premises
Rats, like many other pests are constantly on the look out for food, water, and shelter, and they are not at all fussy about where they set up home.
They can get into your business premises through the slightest crack in a wall or a hole in your pipework and once they're in, they breed like wildfire and cause property damage, disease, and product contamination.
Rats are nocturnal animals, so just because you might not have seen one, it doesn't mean they aren't there. In fact, if there are rats around, you'll probably notice some tell-tale signs before you seen an actual rat.
5 signs you have rats on your premises
Droppings: If there are rats on your premises, droppings are one of the first things you'll probably notice. They look like dark brown pellets and you'll usually find them in corners, near entry and exit points, in boxes, and behind machinery or appliances.
Nests: Rodents usually gather things like shredded paper, cloth, and cardboard to make their nests, and you'll usually find a nest in dark, hidden areas like crawlspaces or even inside of cavity walls.
Burrows: Rats and mice sometimes hide their nests or store their food in burrows, and either create underground tunnels or just dig a hole.
Grease marks: Dirt and oils from a rat's fur tends to transfer to any surfaces it rubs against, and because they have poor eyesight, they use walls and skirting boards to guide them. If you see greasy stains on your walls and skirting boards, this suggests that there are rats on your premises.
Gnaw marks: Rat's teeth don't stop growing, so they constantly gnaw on things to file them down. Unfortunately for you, the things they like chewing on include walls, wires, furniture, even pipes aren't off limits. This can mean a hefty repair bill for any damage they cause.
Suspect there are rats on your premises?
If you've seen one or more of the 5 signs of rats, or you've actually seen a rat scurrying about, you need to act fast, before you have an infestation on your hands.
This is especially important if you have a food business; if you don't act, you could find yourself in legal hot water.
Contego can help you protect your business, your employees, and your reputation by dealing with the infestation and working with you to put a robust pest monitoring, prevention, and control programme in place.
We can help you implement anything from simple pest proofing measures to intelligent smart pest control systems to get rid of pests and keep them out of your premises.
Need help now?