Coronavirus has swept the entire country in the last four weeks, and the public reaction has caused many different measures to be taken into place, including a UK wide lockdown, that has seen all bars and restaurants shut down and fines for people refusing to stay inside their homes. A specific reaction that is causing a serious rodent issue in the UK is the amount of households stockpiling and hoarding food.
During this uncertain time, high standards of housekeeping is essential for keeping the pests at bay as we are spending more time at home, creating more mess and consuming more food inside our homes than before.
We have now seen that unnecessary stockpiling is causing a huge problem for pest control, as out of date food and overflowing bins due to the mass consumption is rife up and down the UK, attracting rats and other pests more than ever.
NPTA technical manager John Hope said: ‘Stockpiling will have an effect on public health because, if you’re stockpiling goods, there’s more food there to attract rodents.
‘It’s the same as when rubbish piles up on the street due to missed bin collections – the more that’s there, the more chance there is of attracting rodents without actually seeing them, because they can get in there unnoticed by time you get to bottom of the pile. ‘Public health pests such as rodents, cockroaches and houseflies are known to carry bacteria and can pass this on to people.’
At Advantage Pest Control we strongly recommend reducing your waste as much as possible, and refraining from allowing your outside bins to become over filled, even keeping your rubbish inside if you cannot fit it inside the bin.
Being more vigilant when checking your home for pests too is more important than ever, and if you do find rats it’s important to squash the problem in your home before it gets out of control.
In the home, we recommend using natural methods to solve rat problems in the first instance, and to only use chemical/poison based solutions if your pest issue persists and should be used with ultimate caution.
Overall, using common sense and using basic methods to prevent pest control issues should collectively be enough to keep pests at bay in your home. Being mindful of the warmer weather and the attraction of accessible leftovers overflowing from bins and piled outside your home is essential for keeping pests away in this already stressful time.
