Pest
control is changing – and it will affect you!
The history of pest control is a
chequered one. Some aspects of it, we agree with – for example, trapping and
baiting the bacteria spreading rat or the cockroach – other methods we are not
so comfortable with, such as hunting and gassing.
However, there needs to be a
balance. Without professional pest control in urban and rural settings, the
countryside would soon encounter problems and issues, especially as one species
would undoubtedly dominate over another.
The
rat
A virulent pest, hated and feared
in equal measure is the rat. There are all kinds of sayings, including the
often quoted ‘fact’ that no one is ever more than 10 feet away from a rat.
Whether there is truth in this and what the distance there is between us and a
rat is not really known.
Rats are very common. They seem
to be able to survive, breed and thrive in the harshest of conditions thus,
when they roam in the sewers, gardens and so on of urban homes and buildings,
it is no wonder they can grow to a large size with such an abundance of food
and shelter.
And this is in spite of
professional pest controllers, game keepers, farmers and the home owner using a
variety of rat poisons over the years.
The
problem with poison
As hard as you try, the
destination and distribution of poison cannot be controlled.
Rats are a serious issue –
spreading disease and causing untold damage – their rampage of destruction
needed curtailing hence, poison was, and is, laid.
Second Generation Anticoagulant
Rodenticides (SGARs) are a group of insecticides that have been traditionally
used to control and eradicate rats from various sites. The poison is eaten, and
then causes the rat to die. Death is quick but there is a problem: the poison
remains active within the carcass for a long time after death.
A beautiful yet hungry owl, on
its nocturnal prowl for food, may spot the dead rat and swoop in.
Unfortunately, the owl itself may be poisoned as can other animals who may come
across the dead rat.
There
are changes coming
Clearly, this is unacceptable but
there needs to be a balance and so, various organisations, professionals and
associations are looking to introduce changes that prevent this happening as
far as is possible.
Professional pest controllers
will need to hold qualifications in order to buy rat poisons; they will also
need to adhere to a code of practice which includes returning to the site of a
poisoning to collect and destroy carcasses.
For the amateur, this may mean
that by the middle of 2016, the opportunity to purchase rat poison could be
minimal, although this is yet to be decided. It will certainly come with a
bigger responsibility that simply throwing down a bit of poisoned bait.
In
summary
With any pest problem, but
especially when you think there is a rat infestations, the responsible solution
lies in professional services. Our Pest control services are competitively
priced as well as effective.
For any pest control issue, call SOS
Pest Control today.
