Rats Find Home in Forked River, NJ Facility
Challenge
Recently, I was sent to a restaurant in Forked River, NJ that found itself with a rat infestation. Needless to say, this was a problem that needed to be resolved and resolved quickly! With any rodent infestation, a thorough inspection of the building’s exterior perimeter is necessary to find potential access points and indications of where there is rodent activity. Burrowing is common with many animals, both insects, and mammals. Common burrowing nuisance pests include chipmunks, ground squirrels, skunks, mice, and rats. Burrows provide shelter and a way to escape predators and the harsh outdoor elements.
Here, I found several rat burrows in the mulch beds and burrows underneath the asphalt and concrete in the corners of the storage garage. Rat burrow holes are usually 2 to 3 inches wide and smooth from repeated use. Rat burrows usually contain a main entrance and one or two exit holes from the main entrance. They will repeatedly run along with the same areas, so they’ll leave paths in the grass. Rats create these underground pathways from their nest to food sources, and you’ll often find them under bushes or other vegetation. Rats, although they thrive in human habitats, prefer to stay hidden and they do their foraging at night. If you happen to see rats during the daylight hours, it usually means that there is a heavy rodent infestation and rats are forced o come out during the day to compete with each other for food. I also found their major access points. They were able to enter the building through broken vents leading into the crawl space. Rats and mice usually enter buildings through gaps or cracks around the foundation, and once inside, travel through wall voids. Management informed me that they would fix the vents immediately to block further rodent access.
Solution
To treat this infestation, I dusted the rodent burrows, which will eliminate any rodents traveling through the treated areas. The product gets on their skin and is ingested through grooming. I also set up exterior rodent bait stations around the building and garage as well as snap traps in the crawl space activity where rodent travel was evident. Mice and rats will leave dark greasy track marks along foundation walls as well as droppings along their runways or in areas where they have been feeding. While the rats themselves stay hidden, they will leave clear signs of activity behind.
Good news! On my two-week follow-up visit, the restaurant staff had told me that there were no more indications of rodent activity. I checked the traps and the crawl space and removed two rats that were caught.
