Now, obviously I’m going to say this… I’m in the business, However there are several genuine reasons why using professional pest control is recommended. Hey, some DIY pest management for ants in the porch, fill your boots but when it comes to rodent control its the professionals I would always recommend.

It simply is not a case of putting poison down and forgetting about it, some of the things I have seen some customers do before calling me are not only incorrect but in many cases absolutely horrendous. And in many cases costing the customer twice. Traps for mice in the shed, of course, you go for it but when you have a internal rodent infestation within the property there are so many things to take into consideration. Target pest, level of infestation, origin of infestation, resistance, environmental impact to name a few, and if you do manage to gain safe control how do you stop it from happening again…?

Method selection in pest management is based on the results of several assessments carried out on site by Pest Controllers and in many cases the use of anticoagulant rodenticides are not always required, after all there have been many recent studies carried out confirming the fact that traces of anticoagulant baits have been found in birds of prey and other none target predators. This can be devastating to the wider environment not just whats in your garden.

None Bioaccumulation baits can now be used in areas where previously they could not be, these products require extra certification to use so are not available to the general public. Then we have traps, if placed and baited correctly will almost certainly assist in the control of a rodent infestation, very effective for external use, like rats in a garden where there are many secondary risks to be considered, not so effective if there is internal rat problem that is originating from a drainage issue. Ultimately identifying the points of entry and correcting them in many cases removes the requirement for repeated rodenticide use and trapping.

These methods in nearly all cases are used to assist in identifying the points of entry if you know how to apply them and not just to bait indiscriminately. Saturating your home in brightly coloured rat poison is not the way forward.

Any pest controller worth his certificates should put animal welfare front and foremost when assessing the situation and providing treatment plans going forward. While we obviously take into consideration the customers dog or tiddles the cat we also have to think of the kindest and most controlled way of dispatching the very pests we have been called to eradicate.

Glue Boards…

Imagine walking into your home and stepping onto thick glue, as you take a further step forward you fall and land on your hands…. feet and hand stuck fast, over time you become tired to the point of exhaustion, you pass out and hit the glue face first, in shock you come too, through fear and shock you attempt to lift your head resulting in your eyes being pulled out of your skull and you skin ripped from your face.

As you are stuck face down in excruciating agony your lips seal shut through the glue and the mucus blocks your nasal passage, If you are lucky your heart will burst through the stress your body is going through, not so lucky you will slowly suffocate.

Young rat left alive on a glue board for two days because the customer didn’t know what to do with it..!!

Glue boards even when used as instructed are in my opinion simply the worst methods of control, they are inhumane and indiscriminate, I have seen garden birds and domestic animals stuck to these things when customers have used them incorrectly. Putting them down around the home where their pets reside, in gardens where they feed the birds which have contributed to the very rat issue they are trying to control. Putting glue boards at the base of a bird feeder is not the brightest thing to do.

Its one thing gluing a animal to the floor… but to then let it suffer is not only inhumane but vile. luckily glue boards could soon be a banned product and no longer available to the professional industry or the domestic customer.

Rats or Mice in the home, call the experts, field mice in the shed, tidy the shed or catch and release (A drive out will be required) a few miles should do it, tidy excess bird food at the end of the day, rats under the decking, set a few covered traps. You don’t always need poison baits and you certainly do not need industrial glue.