If you’re a farmer or you work in the bagged and bulk animal feed industry, there’s nothing more heartbreaking than the signs of rodent ingress into your product. At one glance, you could be looking at months of hard work straight down the drain.
Times are tough.
You can’t afford the financial or emotional implications of a rodent infestation in your bulk feed.
The good news for you is bulk feed pest management services are our speciality!
What do you mean you didn’t know it was a service we offered?
It’s one of our specialities! In fact, we love working with clients to ensure their bulk feed (bagged or loose) is safe and sound for consumption.
To tell you more about one of our recent triumphs, we’re talking to our pest technician, Laura, who tells us more about a recent project involving rats, animal feed, traps, tunnels and rodenticides. As far as stories go, this one has plenty of twists and turns to keep your attention span!
When it comes to bulk feed pest management, the devil is in the details
Come on, Laura, tell us the details – it sounds like you had a big job on your hands when you were asked to deal with rodent control for bagged and bulk animal feed
“This was definitely a tricky project to work on. The client specialised in animal feed, providing bagged and bulk feed for commercial livestock such as pigs and poultry. Some clients wanted the product ready-bagged and loaded on pallets, while others wanted the feed delivered loose.
There was a significant problem caused by rodent issues. The client had spotted them all around the premises and was worried their presence was going to cause significant contamination issues.
As soon as I arrived on site, I also observed the obvious presence of rats; there were plenty of droppings to be found, and we needed to make sure we could combat the ingress.”
Sounds tricky – no one wants to have a rat nesting in animal feed. Was the solution to lay down a feed rodenticide?
“No. We felt the scale of the problem was more complex than that. When it comes to bulk feed and pest management, it’s always harder to deal with because you’re constantly thinking about whether the solution could harm the end product. This is where a dedicated feed rodenticide is normally used.
However, in this circumstance, we had bigger problems to deal with, which changed the way we worked. A key challenge was the fact the rodents were harbouring all over the site. If we only dealt with the rodent ingress issue, it wouldn’t tackle the main cause of the problem.
I wanted to first figure out where the rats were living. If we could find out where they were harbouring, we could start to tackle one of the primary causes of the infestation. We needed to work out how they were getting into the premises and seal those entry points.
Then, alongside this, it was about tackling the hygiene issues, such as removing any particular food source which could encourage them to keep coming back.”
Where did the traps and tunnels come into play for the plan of attack?
“Straight away, the plan was to give the client regular reports focusing on the hygiene issues and the ingress points. I felt it was essential to be honest and open with the client about the scale of the issue and how only tackling one small part of it wouldn’t resolve the whole problem.
I decided as soon as we knew where the rats' ingress points were, we could then make the most of contact rodenticides. By regularly monitoring and reapplying them, we could reduce the number of rodents gaining access to the site. The use of tunnel traps was incredibly effective, and we were able to demonstrate to the client we were making regular catches. I believe rodent control for bagged and bulk animal feed needs a slow and steady yet consistent approach.
By focusing on gradual improvements, we could be more confident we were genuinely tackling the root cause of the issue.”
So, you went for “slow and steady” rather than “wham bam thank you ma’am…” There are a few jokes we could make there…What was the lasting impact of your approach?
“Before we started, the client had seen numerous evidence of a nearby rodent infestation. They were seeing the rats in person and also spotting lots of droppings all around the premises. But at the moment, we’re confident the activity has almost ceased. We haven’t seen anything for a long time, and the droppings are few and far between as well.
It’s a real tale of triumph!”
Was the client happy with the outcome?
“Everything comes back to being open and honest. I like to have clear reporting mechanisms for clients so they can see the continual progress from the very beginning. By benchmarking the impact of our strategy, we could show what was happening in real time.
This is essential to creating long-term positive relationships with clients because they are then more likely to listen and accept our recommendations. While we always come in with the solution clients need, they will only work effectively when the client is willing to listen and change their own habits to overcome hygiene issues, which may have contributed towards the problem in the first place.
I love being able to walk into a client meeting and hear the good news they’ve had no more reported sightings of rodents. It’s a real buzz and confirms we’re genuinely doing the great job we’re known for.”
Need to kick unwanted rats and mice out of your bulk feed?
If you’re in search of bulk feed pest management, then our rodent-rescue squad is at your service.
In just a short phone call, we can swoop in and size up your situation. We can evict those intruders quickly and easily, with minimal fuss and maximum celebration. Our pest control experts know how to deliver pinpoint precision and accuracy and maintain a stealth approach to your barns.
In no time at all, you can pretend that nothing ever happened.
And with complete confidence, you can trust we’ll keep our lips sealed and your secret safe.
