Structural Issues Biggest Rodent Conducive Condition in Residential Accounts

CLEVELAND – As pest management professionals will attest, their ability to solve rodent problems in residential settings is more dependent on fixing underlying problems than using products.

Residential settings include a variety of rodent conducive conditions including untrimmed/manicured vegetation, poorly managed trash, available food sources and structural issues, such as door gaps and gaps around pipe entrances, to name a few.

As veteran pest management professional Edward Chesiek posted on PCT’s LinkedIn page: All of the above [can be a problem], it just depends on what setting you’re in.

But results from PCT’s recent poll indicate that – far and away (60 percent) – the biggest rodent conducive condition PMPs encounter in residential settings are structural gaps. Seventeen percent voted that untrimmed/manicured vegetation was the No. 1 conducive condition they encounter, while 12 percent choose poor trash management and 11 percent said available food sources.

Josh Erdman, owner of Erdye's Pest Control, Green Bay, Wis., said he encounters all four of these conducive conditions to varying degrees, but when it comes to structural issues, “definitely always some type of structural issues, even with new houses!”

Erdman and his team explain to what the customer can do to seal up gaps – giving the option to do it themselves – or they can contract with Erdye’s to have them professionally seal it, which Erdman said is the option that 95 percent of customers choose.

Participate in PCT's newest poll question: Does your pest control business use billboard advertising?