Pest Management Professional, September 2010
Rodents What You Need To Know Part6 continued from previous page and a subway station and we still have two more lower Manhattan sites to visit before its time for group presentations This is an exercise in putting the knowledge we learned in the classroom during the previous two days to practice You must be a keen observer Corrigan emphasized You have to look beyond what appears obvious Thats exactly what our group has been trying to do all day look beyond the obvious Under Ground The alley was an obvious location to find rat activity This alley in particular is a famous rat infested location featured in movies and books so its no surprise our group was able to find obvious and not so obvious signs of rats The subway station was more challenging Though subway stations have a reputation for being rat infested its not as common a place to find rats as you might think Theres too much activity in The many lines running througout subway stations or any structural area can be attractive to rats for traveling undetected from one area to another subway stations for rats to feel really comfortable Corrigan taught us But thats not to say there arent rats in the subway When they do show themselves in such public places its a big deal In my groups trip under ground our keen observations similar to street level areas saw many signs of rodent activity There were small holes all along the bottoms of some of the older looking walls rats can fit through a hole the size of a quarter mice a dime and gaps under all the doors making these areas easily accessible to rodents Everything in the subway is linear tracks pipes conduit straight walls and ductwork Rats we learned love to travel in straight lines guiding themselves along walls tracks pipes conduit and ductwork They constantly explore and re explore their surroundings and the linear nature of rail lines alows rats to use them as travel paths In the subway station we visited the trash cans werent overflowing though there was some discarded food on the tracks Standing water between the tracks is also noticeable Norway rats require water daily and are always looking for water sources They consume 1 to 2 ounces of water daily Whats also noticeable between the tracks if you observe are rodenticide continued on page 80 JOIN THE ARROW FAMILY Looking for a new place to call home for you your customers and your employees arrowexterminators com Circle 136 Joe Thomas Chairman CEO Emily Thomas Kendrick President COO 78 PEST MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL SEPTEMBER 2010 www mypmp net
You must have JavaScript enabled to view digital editions.
