Rats in the royal kitchens
Posted on 23rd June 2019 at 09:33
The Queen has a rat infestation in the kitchen at Buckingham Palace? Not really news to those of us involved in pest control, the cleanest and most expensive of kitchens are as prone to rats as the poorest and dirtiest of kitchens although hygiene is an important part of keeping rodents at bay.
The Queen will not be happy to discover rats in the kitchens at Buckingham Palace and so she should be, no doubt they have a monitoring contract in place and questions must be raised over the implementation of the works done.
Rats are attracted to kitchens through stored items and external storage areas. These maybe subject to natural weathering and rot weakens woodwork allowing for easy access by all types of rodent.
Stored items attract insects and rodents and larger areas can be overlooked on routine inspections and on daily use visits.
Waste whether stored inside or outside in bins will undoubtedly attract rats - with commercial bins ALWAYS check to see if the bottom bung is fitted - this bung is to allow for drainage should the bin fill with water, when they are missing its just a rat flap.
Hygiene is one important factor in keeping any infestation down, waste oil, grease and food detritus building up beneath kitchen units gives mice and rats a food source; any infestation may be missed because the animals are eating this and out of sight. Only later will the presence of rats be noted when they start eating other items around the kitchen or gnawing on items kept within.
Kitchens and toilets all have water pipes that cut through the internal wall of the property, often we see that rats will squeeze through the gap between the brickwork and the pipe itself gaining access into the interior,
Proper building maintenance can correct this or the use of Integrated Pest Management. IPM is the service that we provide for commercial and domestic properties, we are always looking for external access points no matter where they are.
Rats will not differentiate between neighbouring properties so we always survey the ENTIRE structure to see what faults exist, we then block these meaning there is no chance of further access.
Effective rodent control is much more than just installing bait stations and filling these up with rodenticide.
Rats are extremely clever and versatile animals, they are true opportunist and will take advantage over any lack of vigilance or faults with a building, here at Reading Pest Control we never underestimate the resourcefulness of rodents and provide regular monitoring for commercial and occasionally domestic properties based on IPM.
Our customers are our priority and we go the extra mile to get you rat free and to keep you that way.
Tagged as: Rats and mice
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