Keep Mice and Rats Out of Dog Kennel

Bill Dillon of Plum Creek Kennels uses Fresh Cab in his kennel and RV 12 months a year to keep rodents out, without fail. Bill’s tip: place pouch in hanging suet cage off the floor to allow for easy spray-downs without having to move pouches daily.

Controlling rodents in dog kennels, dog training facilities, and hunting lodges is a big problem. When you take a prevention based approach, you’ll find out that pest control doesn’t have to be so hard.

Rats and mice have always been experts at getting what they want. Even modern pest management professionals need to use every trick in the book to outwit them!

Controlling rodents in kennels, boarding facilities, hunting lodges, and pet food storage areas is a special problem. Dog food is the #1 attractant to hungry rodents. Second to that are dog stools (due to the high nutritional content). Finally, traditional rodent traps & poisons contain baits or attractants to lure rodents. These three things attract mice and rats, further perpetuating the problem.

For the kennel owner, several musts include: Raising a healthy dog, keeping a clean kennel, commitment to a safe environment for workers and pets, and having a great reputation that speaks for itself. Fresh Cab can help on all counts.

Damage from rats and mice adds up to over $1 billion in losses annually. The demand for methods to control rodents effectively in “green” ways can challenge or frustrate dog kennel owners. Rodents are nearly unstoppable. Mice can survive and reproduce in temperatures as low as 24 degrees if they have adequate food and nesting space. In one year, one mouse produces up to 18,000 droppings, and a mouse couple can create as many as 15,000 offspring. Rats have been known to eat up to 2.7 ounces of dog food in a day—that’s 61 pounds of food per rat each year! Add to this, an accidental poisoning of a champion dog you have raised or trained.

To control rodents in an eco-friendly way, dog kennel owners need a reliable rodent control product. Fresh Cab is the first and only EPA-registered, indoor-use, botanical rodent repellent. Knowing the five structural areas most vulnerable to rodents, and understanding how to use Fresh Cab, can help dog kennel owners win the rodent battle in even the hardest-to-control situations.

To control rodents in dog kennels, pay special attention to these five areas:

1. Drop ceilings. Mice and rats love dark areas where they can live undetected. Ceiling crawl spaces and drop ceilings are hard for humans to get to, which makes it hard to monitor and control rodents. Fresh Cab rodent control effectively keeps rodents out of these areas for a month or more—or can be used to chase mice and rats into another area where they can be successfully trapped or baited.

2. Meters and electrical panels. In almost any business, rodents seek out meters and panels as points of entry, nesting sites, and places to cool down or warm up. They also love to gnaw on wiring. Check around water meters, electrical panels, junction boxes, and wiring harnesses. Pay particular attention to hollow blocks or transformers near an electrical panel—they may serve as a nesting site.

3. Utility lines. Rodents have sharp claws, are great climbers, and love to climb and run along electric wires, pipes, poles, ropes, cables, conduit, augers, conveyors, and even underground utility and communication lines. A kennel owner controlling the rodents who can “read the building lines” has a powerful tool, and Fresh Cab is highly effective when placed where it will disrupt a scent trail.

4. Pallet racks. Pallet racks and partially capped upright beams in warehouses and distribution centers can be a superhighway for rodents, allowing them to come and go almost undetected. Many facilities have seen excellent results from integrating pest management methods with perimeter trapping, bait stations, and Fresh Cab pouches placed on or near pallets every 8 feet.

5. Holes. Pest management professionals doing an inspection should always assume that the structure has changed or deteriorated since the last inspection. Construction defects, gaps in fascia board, and poorly caulked entrance areas around wires and vents lead to rodent infestations. (By the way, caulk and expandable foam are fillers but are not sealers and will not stop rodents from entering.) “Stopping rodents at the hole” can keep a business rodent-free and is the ultimate “green” solution.

Botanical rodent repellent prevents pests while protecting pets.

Stored items are a haven for rodent infestations. When an area offers shelter from the elements and limited human disturbances, as most storage places do, they are extremely appealing to rodents. If that storage area stores food stuffs for a food distributor, it will be exponentially more attractive to rodents.

Aside from inspiring you to grow, store, and prepare all of your own food yourself, this should serve as a reminder to people to follow a few common sense rodent prevention practices. We’ve developed a three step plan that makes rodent prevention safe, easy, and effective:

  1. Clean up.  Clean up crumbs, spills, or anything else that may offer rodents a potential food source.  Remove any standing water or moisture sources. Limit nesting materials, cover, and hiding spots by keeping things tidy and organized.
  2. Seal up.  Close any potential entry points. Pay special attention to cracks in a building’s foundation; dryer vents; plumbing or electrical outlets; doors; windows; chimneys and roof soffits.
  3. Pouch up.  Place Fresh Cab® rodent repellent pouches anywhere you have seen or suspect rodent activity.  For preventative use in non-infested areas, simply place one pouch for every 125 square feet, scent lasts up to 90 days. For use in currently infested areas, increase use to one pouch per 8 square feet of floor space and replace every 30 days.
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