Rodent Inspection

How To Inspect For Rodent Activity

It is critical to inspect rodent activity before any rodent control program.

Look for these rodent signs:

• Fecal Pellets
• Tracks
• Grawing Damage
• Burrows
• Runways
• Grease Marks
• Urine Stains
• Live or Dead Rodents
• Rodent Sounds
• Rodent Odors
• Pets

Using a flashlight to inspect dark, recessed areas that rodents (mice and rats) frequent would help you discover problem areas.

Tracks: Footprints and tail drags of rats can be seen in dusty areas. Use a dust like baby powder or flour and lightly dust the suspious area to see if rats rodents are using a pathway.

Droppings (Pellets ): When inspecting, keep in mind that you are looking for signs of activity: gnawing, droppings (fecal pellets ) and tracks. A fresh dropping is softer in texture than an older dropping of three days or more. They will also be darker in color than older droppings. This will help you determine if your rodent population is current. The more droppings you have, the larger the rodent population.

Gnaw Marks : Newer gnaw marks will be rougher around the edges than newer gnaw marks.

Grease Marks: The older grease marks can be smeared, at they age they become dry. Look for grease markings around rafters, beams, pipes, vertical surfaces, and active runways that do not have dust or cobwebs.

Runways:

Their pathways or runways will be between nesting areas and feeding areas. Rats will reuse the same path, relying on kinesthetic memory.

Outside, look for a narrow path in the dense vegetation or a pathway that has been packed.

Inside, look for their runways along walls. They use the walls for guidance. They can also be found behind appliances or stored boxes and furniture. Look for their grease or smudge marks along walls, pipes, beams and rafters.

Urine Stains: Rodent stains are visible in a UV black light. You may detect a musky scent.

 

Pets: Often pets will often begin to get excited or upset. They may start pawing. When the rodent first enters, a pet can demonstrate excitement. The longer the rodent stays, the pet is less exciteable.

Most people underestimate the size of the infestation and under-bait or under-trap, without proper and adequate bait and trap placements.

Begin the inspection from the exterior to the interior.

Focus on areas that may provide water, food or harborage: vegetation, refuse or wood piles, bird feeders, waterways, garages, carports, attics, crawl spaces, cupboards, closets and food storage areas. Entry points are important to consider when inspecting: windows, door thresholds, utility lines, rooftops and downspouts.

Rodents have oily hair leaving smudge marks where they consistently travel. Droppings, urine trails and gnawing marks all are signs of rodent activity.

Feces are critical in determining the type of rodent and measure of activity. Under each individual catergory of the Norway Rat, Roof Rat and Mouse the feces are discussed in detail.

. This UV light is able to detect the presence of urine, making rodent inspection easier and more efficient

UV Rodent Tracker is an industrial grade professional UV LED light.This increases your ability to detect the animal urine with more efficiency. This ultraviolet flashight, uses 12 ultraviolet LEDs shining at 390 nanometer wavelength, offering a deep UV frequency.

 

RECOMMENDED USES:
For Detecting: Animal Urine

Use with yellow goggles will enhance ability to see urine, but is not necessary.

 

 

Rodo Fiber

Use it in conjunction with a detection system that uses cotton balls with fully RodoFiber- non-toxic fluorescent powder that will coat their bodies for easy tracking rodent or animal urine.