The Covid-19 pandemic is having a big impact on another population that’s making its presence felt – rats! With restaurants and hotels closed and businesses deserted, rodents’ regular food supply has dried up.
Rodent experts say that rats are going into ‘panic mode’ and are coming out of hiding into broad daylight. With their usual sources of food from restaurants and commercial scrap heaps unavailable. It’s likely that rats will turn on each other and also look for new food sources. That means home rubbish bins and empty businesses are now prime rodent targets!
The good news? Pest control and Hygiene services are deemed as essential services, and rodents in particular can pose a threat to public health. There are also ways for businesses to monitor rodent problems from offsite.
Flick’s SMART, Non-Toxic Solution For 24/7 Remote Rodent Monitoring
Australia’s leading pest control and hygiene company, Flick, is providing businesses with digitally-monitored SMART Anticimex Multi-Catch rodent stations.
While traditional bait stations use poisons to trap rodents within a box, the Flick SMART system uses non-toxic and mechanical methods to eliminate rodents that enter the catch system. This removes risks posed to children and animals by poisonous baits, and is environmentally friendly.
It’s also ideal for unattended businesses. The Flick SMART system records and transmits data in real time to the offsite Flick team, so that rodents are detected immediately. This means that a rat problem can be tackled immediately and prevented before it gets out of hand.
The Flick team takes care of assessment, installation, surveillance and maintenance. They also attend the premises for inspections and proactively manage your rodant issues using specific data collected from the SMART system installed.
Rats are a Serious Health Concern for Business Owners
Rats are known carriers of around 35 diseases, including Weil’s disease and Salmonella. Although there is as yet no conclusive evidence, some researchers have also theorised that rats could potentially be intermediate hosts of the coronavirus.
“Regardless of whether the business is in use, owners need to invest in a robust rodent eradication program that detects the problem early,” said Jussi Ylinen from Flick Pest Control. “The last thing you want to return to after the quarantine lifts is a rat infestation!”
Hungry Rats Attracted to Spoiling Food Dumped by Covid-19 Panic Buyers
Another concern is that hungry rats are being attracted to residential areas by spoiling food that pandemic panic-buyers have dumped due to it passing its used-by date.
It’s a problem that, without intervention, will get a lot worse. In Sydney, it’s estimated that somewhere between 500 million and one billion rats call the city home – and that Covid-19 is forcing more and more out of their hiding places to search for food. The City of Sydney’s rat catching team caught more than double the number of rats in March 2020 than they did in February.
Home-owners also need to be vigilant. Flick’s residential rodent control services take an integrated approach which will eradicate the problem using the latest technology.
To find out more about Flick Pest Control’s solutions, contact Valerie Petersen, National Marketing Manager – valerie.petersen@flick-anticimex.com.au