Preventing Rat Infestation Inside-Out in a Restaurant

Here’s the story:

“This is the second time in a month you are calling your pest control company to report the same complaints: you still find filthy live rats in your restaurant’s kitchen even though your pest controller has already done the treatments consistently every month and diligent housekeeping habits have been implemented among your staffs”.

The usual complaint and accusation will be to assume that your pest control company you have engaged is not doing a good job, and thus unable to solve your rat problem effectively at your restaurant’s kitchen. Ever wonder why such scenario occurs commonly among restaurant owners?

Here are the answers to clarify your misperception:

Pest infestation can be spread like a disease! Applying proper rat control for your restaurant is ideal and the assuring solution to undertake, but unless your neighbors take the same efforts in rat control, your restaurant would potentially be implicated.

Normally, restaurants within the shopping malls are interconnected from one property to another. These interlinked roofs are practically hot spots for rats’ entry. Thus, your effort in preventing rats in your property through applying diligent housekeeping habits and regular treatment from your pest control company may not work as well as rat infestation may actually be coming from your neighbor.

One of the species of rats, roof rats is known as the highly adaptable pest who prefers to live and nest in the upper parts of building. Roof rats are agile climbers and fast runners, which enable them travelling from one place to another very quickly on the roof. You can request for your pest control specialist to limit the access of roof rats on the roof by installing stainless steel wire mesh to seal gaps, so roof rats from your neighbor are unable to freely enter your restaurant’s roof easily.

Rats are nimble, versatile and make the most of any opportunity to enter your property at ease. Hence, it is not surprising if rats are able to squeeze through holes and door gaps as small as 1 cm. Help yourself to do the early DIY rat prevention such as:

• Cleanliness is important! Regularly clean your waste area. Do not leave garbage overnight inside your kitchen because this practically serves as an open invitation for rats to come
• Always kept the doors and window closed when possible
• Seal any cracks or holes inside and outside your restaurant– on the roof board or walls which are adjacent to your neighbor’s or tenants property to avoid rats’ crossing over to your place.

When you hire a pest control company, it is important for them to extend their expertise in conducting a thorough inspection and site survey, to identify key risk areas and detect potential entry points. You may also work closely with the provider to share more insights and habits, so that the pest control specialist can recommend the relevant and targeted rat control for your restaurant. For example, placing rat traps at strategic locations and apply proofing at key risk areas to limit the population and activity of rats effectively.

Rentokil understand it can be distressing for food safety sensitive businesses such as restaurants to experience rat problem, especially if these problem is recurring frequently. Contact Rentokil Indonesia today for more information about our Primary Rodent Protection (PMP) program at 150808 or [email protected] to gives you peace of mind.

Stagnant water has arguably become the breeding ground for a mosquito to complete their life cycle. Most of the types of mosquitoes will lay and hatch their eggs directly into the stagnant fresh water that can be found around the property.

Adult female mosquitoes breed in large numbers (approximately 100-400 eggs), and it hatches within 48 hours to begin larvae stages depending on water temperature.

Look around at your property, and try to eliminate any items that could be the sources of stagnant water:

• Buckets
• Tin cans
• Used or discarded tires
• Plate flower vase
• Kiddie pools
• Pet water dishes

2. Keep the water moving

Mosquitoes lay their eggs in stagnant water, so if you have a pond at home you have to ensure that to keep the water moving.

Installation for water features, such as a water fountain or a water agitator will help you to limit the opportunity for mosquitoes to lay their eggs - due to the fact that larvae can only survive in stagnant water and not on the moving water.

Also, don’t forget to keep your ponds tidy with regular cut off to any vegetation that may grow around the pond edges.

3. Install insect screens to windows and doors

While it's almost impossible to protect your yard and home completely from mosquito problems, it's important to ensure that you keep them outside all the time.

Installing insect screens to your windows and doors, not only will block mosquitoes and other small pesky insects from coming indoors but also an ideal way to let you keep that cool breezy run through your home.

4. Grow some mosquito-repelling plants in your garden

Besides adding beauty to your garden, growing some of the mosquito-repelling plants is the easiest and cheapest way to reduce the number of mosquitos in your property naturally.

Many plants emit strong scents and very repulsively for many insects that can be used to deter mosquitoes too. There are at least 8 plants that repel mosquitoes naturally you can grow at the garden:

• Lemongrass
• Lavender
• Rosemary
• Catnip
• Lemon balm
• Geraniums
• Basil
• Mint

5. Remove mosquito resting areas

The most common mosquito species most active at night - during the dawn and evening hours. While during the daytime, they prefer to harbour in a dark, sheltered and undisturbed place. To reduce the likelihood of mosquitoes flying around your home is by removing any areas that potentially could be promoting mosquito harborage both inside and outside your house.

Although mosquito resting places may vary between species, yet there are some generalities about mosquito resting behaviour.

• Outside your house – mosquitoes like to rest on tall grass and shrubs. Trim your lawn regularly and keep the shrubs away from the foundation of your house to make your yard less attractive to become mosquitoes' resting area.
• Inside your house – Aedes Aegypti is one of the mosquito species that are commonly known for their indoor resting preferences. There are a couple of places that become Aedes mosquito resting sites inside your house, including under the furniture, hanging utensils in the kitchen and hanging used clothes in the bathroom.

Did you know? Aedes mosquito likes to rest on the hanging used clothes because it consists of some substances that can attract them to come, these include humans amino acids, body heat, odour and sweat.

6. Keep your gutter clean and free from debris

It is important to always keep your gutters clean from debris all the time. Not just important as a part of home maintenance, but when leaves and other debris could clog up the waterways it will become a perfect place for mosquito breeding grounds.

7. Keep the cool temperature inside the house

Mosquitoes are weak fliers, so by placing an air fan on the house patio and/or turning on the air conditioner throughout the night while you’re sleeping might become the best mosquito deterrent inside the house.

The temperature always goes side-by-side with mosquito feeding habits. That is why the idea to keep the cool temperature inside the house is a simple trick to make mosquito go away, because:

• Mosquitoes are a cold-blooded insect, meaning they will be more active in warm temperatures instead of cold or cool temperatures.
• The wind released by the fan or air conditioner will make it difficult for mosquitoes to fly near you. As a comparison with other flying pests, Aedes mosquito flies 6 times slower than a housefly, and even 30 times slower than horse fly.
• Although they will not go away, many mosquito species will be gone and hide to look for warmth spots when the temperature turns cooler.

Professional mosquito control

The best way to control mosquitoes around your home is to prevent or minimize mosquito breeding sites around the property. The abovementioned prevention tips are definitely complimentary things you can do around your home to help get rid of mosquitoes, but professional mosquito control always becomes your best bet!

The expert in Rentokil offers you the latest methods to find where mosquitoes like to rest and treat those areas, as well as to kill off all the stages of the mosquitoes life cycle from around your home.

If you are looking for help controlling mosquitoes in your home, get in contact with the experts at Rentokil today.