Rats in a restaurant, are you sharing your meal?

Rats in a restaurant can be disturbing to the owner and patrons alike.  After all who wants to share a meal with a rodent.  The shocking part about rats is that they’re everywhere including a restaurant near you.

Connecticut, although smaller than many states has it’s share of rats.  This is true at both commercial and residential addresses and it’s not limited to just big cities.  The most common rat that we deal with is the Norway rat.  All rats and mice are called called commensal rodents.  This translates into living with or among man (or woman).  Rats in restaurants as you’d imagine a fairly common place for rats to be found.

Rats need water to survive

In order to survive rats need all the same things you and I do, food, water and shelter.  Unlike other rodents however their biggest need of the three is water.  In order to survive Norway rats need about an once daily.  That’s one reason they’re so prevalent around areas where water is present.  What about food?  Rats in restaurants and the surrounding area are drawn by poor sanitation around dumpsters and the area outside the restaurant.  Once they gain a foothold outside the next step is inside.

Rats outside a restaurant is only the beginning

Rats in a restaurant
Damaged sausage roll in a rural CT restaurant

Having a Norway rat issue inside a restaurant or food storage facility is no laughing matter.  The reason (aside from the obvious) is that rodents are responsible for billions of dollars yearly in damaged property and stored food.  A Norway rat can literally eat you out of house and home.

Can a restaurant owner get rid of rats on their own?

Those of us in the pest management industry are not nieve.  We’re aware that many people don’t want to spend money on a pest control service unless they absolutely have to.  However, here’s the problem.  If you try it yourself and make one of the three following mistakes you’ll make the problem worse.  What are the mistakes?

  • You leave the outside of the property cluttered and dumpster area unkept
  • You set a rat trap and the trap snaps, but you didn’t catch anything
  • You clean clutter inside and rearrange the rats environment
Do you need professional help? Yes, you do

As is the case with most issues that can have serious consequences it’s better to call a professional.  As a pest management professional we can recommend the proper way to exterminate rats.  We also have access to anticoagulant baits, tracking powders, granular baits, expanded trigger snaps, tamper resistant snaps and knowledge of a rats biology and habits.  All these things can have even the worst of rat issues under control in a short period of time.

There are some things you can do yourself, rats likely isn’t one.  If you have a rat problem (residential or commercial) call 1-888-879-6481.  Envirocare Pest Control can help.