[Vertebrate Pests] Pest Management practices for detached storage containers, part II

In part I of this topic last month, we examined how residential and commercial storage containers and structures are affected by pests and the dynamics of how pests utilize the various storage structures. This month, let’s consider the sales opportunities, inspections and servicing of storage structures.

SALES OPPORTUNITIES. Detached storage containers and structures (storage sheds, rental closets, semi trailers, etc.) provide a universal function. People or businesses have items, materials or goods that have value, or that need to be kept and protected for a myriad of personal or economic reasons. And thus, the service of protecting detached storage containers from pests is a service that has value to the public.
 Whether the client is residential or commercial, sales professionals should not miss the opportunity to add additional pest control services for storage structures at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, storage containers are usually either overlooked during the sales session or automatically assumed to be included as part of the contract covering the primary structure or operation (this is especially true for  residential contracts). Either way, this is a missed opportunity. Even if a residential client has a relatively small exterior storage container (e.g., a backyard storage shed), the shed should be evaluated and discussed during the contract phase, not after.
Pest management companies can provide value-added services, or offer various types of sales enticements to the prospective clients by “waiving” the “additional” charge associated with routine inspections of any storage structures that might otherwise be charged to the client. However, not waiving a routine inspection charge is not necessarily the same as waiving the costs of pest elimination services associated with the more serious pest issues.
For commercial clients, the sales professional should always inquire as to the presence of detached storage containers and the use profile of such containers. For the various reasons discussed in Part I, it is risky from a callback perspective to not include commercial-level storage structures as part of the routine service and to sell it as such.
Nor is it considerate to the technician who will inherit the account after the sale to not sell the time that will be required to inspect and service on-site storage containers. More often than not, properly inspecting and servicing detached storage containers at the commercial level can require up to 30 minutes or more in additional service time.

INSPECTING CONTAINERS. The vulnerability of detached storage containers and structures to specific pests varies significantly according to their construction and type, location, and, of course, the container’s condition. Still, certain types of storage structures are more prone to certain pests than others. Some are more vulnerable to only small rodents and insect pests, while others are vulnerable to urban and bird pests.
For example, the typical small residential storage shed, elevated on laterally positioned 4-by-4 posts, is highly attractive to urban wildlife pests because of the shallow void created below these sheds. For the most part this void acts as a substitute for a fallen log or an earthen burrow. The exterior of the shed must be inspected all around the perimeter and more importantly below. Woodchucks, raccoons, opossum, skunks and feral cats often utilize the dark void created below the shed.
Inside the shed, these same species may exist, as well as the smaller animal species such as white-footed mice and deer mice (reservoirs of Lyme disease and hantaviruses), Norway rats and pack rats. And, in addition to the mammal pests, these storage structures are often highly prone to attracting stinging bees’ and wasps’ nests beneath and inside the structures. With either group of pests, these are not exactly quick and easy “service stops.”
With commercial operations, the semi-trailers parked around the exteriors of plants, warehouses and retail stores and used for ancillary storage warehouses, are highly prone to mouse infestations. I have inspected literally hundreds of these trailers in my work over the years. Most times, the trailers that are employed for ancillary storage functions are the classic “worn-out” trailers that are no longer suitable for quality transport functions of foods and other goods. For instance, the pull-down door’s threshold cushion gasket is often badly deteriorated and thus can no longer exclude insect and rodent pests. It is also typical of these trailers for the floor or sidewalls to contain cracks and holes allowing pests from below through the floor.
For these reasons they will need to be carefully monitored inside and out to prevent the containers from becoming rodent shuttles between the trailer and the facility using the trailer’s contents.

SERVICE TIPS/RECOMMENDATIONS. Let’s take a look at some tips/recommendations for servicing detached storage containers.
1. Homeowners should always be informed as to the pest vulnerability of detached storage sheds. And these sheds must always be inspected and possibly serviced by the pest professional servicing the home. If a new storage structure is delivered or built after the residence has been on a service schedule, the client should be encouraged to add the storage structure to the service contract.
2. Commercial clients employing semi–tractor trailers for overload storage should be informed of the risks of employing trailers that are no longer suitable for quality transport functions. Animal pests can build up inside these trailers in significant numbers unbeknownst to the commercial client and the servicing pest professional. Over time, it is possible the entire contents of the trailers could be ruined or significantly damaged. At the least, deteriorating trailers should never be used to store food items of any sort, or even items of any value. Such trailers can be used to house construction equipment spare parts, tools, and so forth.
 3. One of the most important practices a commercial client can perform to minimize the chances of having the trailers become infested is to make every effort to park the trailers as far away from fields, woods and vegetation zones as possible. And if this is not possible, extra efforts should be made to ensure the trailers are pest-tight.
4. Commercial storage trailers should be inspected at least monthly along with the routine service of the store, plant or warehouse. This includes the exterior and interior of the trailer. Obviously this means setting up the procedures early on (i.e., during the sales event or during the very first service visits) to have a client representative accompany the servicing pest professional with the keys.
5. Should mice invade storage trailers and infest only a part of the contents, it will be costly from a time aspect to determine what is infested and what isn’t. Certainly, goods cannot be brought into the primary structure until each pallet, box, or item is inspected and cleared. This only emphasizes the importance of being proactive and employing quality trailers. The pest professional is obviously the most qualified to provide a diagnosis to the client and a prospective plan of action for when the infestations are minor, moderate or severe.
6. For minor infestations of mice inside storage trailers, (e.g., mice holed up inside a few pallets), the infested pallets can be disinfested by isolating the pallets in a designated area and surrounded with a ring of glue traps (i.e., a “glue moat”). The pallet and contents can then be disassembled.
Disinfesting efforts of course are conducted away from the building. And it may be necessary that each pallet or box be inspected individually. The client staff, not the pest professional, most often performs these disinfesting procedures. (For more detailed procedures on this aspect, refer to “Pallet Mice,” PCT, June 2001). For severe mouse infestations, it may be most cost effective to fumigate the trailers.
7. For proactive management and monitoring procedures, pest professionals can install snap traps into trap stations. These trap stations can house two to four snap traps for mice. One station can be installed at the front, middle and end of the trailer and will provide for excellent monitoring as well as control of new exterior “migrant mice” entering the storage structure.
8. Rodenticide baits also can be used for the same purposes, but each situation must be carefully analyzed to avoid any pesticide translocation threats. For example, only block bait formulations installed into tamper-resistant mouse or rat-size stations are appropriate. Packet baits, or loose baits as either pellets or block formulations, should never be used.
9. Packet or block baits should never, ever be thrown into the hard-to-reach spaces in any type of storage trailer or storage structure.
10. If the contract for the services to the commercial client is not explicitly worded stating that ancillary storage pest containers and structures are not covered, the pest professional can be placed in an awkward predicament when pest infestations develop in these areas.
In a nutshell, it is most progressive, most professional to offer pest inspections and corrective services to the public’s storage structures. But even though many of our storage structures tend to be relegated to areas and sites out of sight, out of mind, such areas should still receive quality monitoring and pest management efforts.

The author is president of RMC Consulting, Richmond, Ind., and can be contacted at rcorrigan@gie.net.