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Rodent Inspection Tool

Difficulty Measuring Holes

Rodents, such as mice and rats, cause significant damage to property, food supplies as well as vector diseases dangerous to humans. Pest control operators (PCO) and wildlife control operators (WCO) know that mice need 3/8 of an inch to enter a building, while a rat needs 1/2 an inch. But if you have ever been frustrated trying to use a tape measure or ruler to measure gaps around your building, then you know that there has to be a better way.

Rodent inspection tool (front side).
Rodent Inspection Tool (front side) used to quickly measure mouse and rat entry points, scat length, and gnaw marks.

Fortunately, there is. The Rodent Inspection Tool is a simple yet powerful device to help you quickly and easily determine key mouse and rat entry points.

Rodent Inspection Tool

Does that hole look large enough to allow a rodent to enter? Stop guessing. Simply insert the appropriate end, e.g. narrow end for mouse entry and large end for rat entry, and quickly determine whether the opening is sufficient for the respective rodent. Does the Rodent Inspection Tool do anything else? Yes, it does.

The narrow tip end can be used to measure mouse scat length. The rat side end also measure rat-sized scat. If the scat is wider than the end then it is likely Norway rat. If the scat is shorter than the rat end, then it is likely Roof rat. But there is more to the Rodent Inspection Tool, namely it also helps you distinguish gnaw marks made by rats and those made by mice. If the gnaw marks are wider than the narrow point of the tip then they have been caused by rats. If narrower, then they have been made by mice.

Rodent Inspection Tool Ad
Rodent Inspection Tool features.

Finally, the device has measuring hash marks to both inch and centimeter scale so you can quickly and easily determine hole size dimensions if you have to. The hole allows for easy attachment to your tool box or key ring.

Purchase Rodent Inspection Tool

Rodent Inspection Tool is $10.00 ppd to the U.S.

Paypal  Send $10.00 to StephenVantassel@yahoo.com  along with name, full mailing address, phone number and e-mail.  Order two for only $16.00 post paid.

Phone orders: 402-489-1042  leave name, address, and credit card information along with 3 digit code on the machine.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

 

 

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Rodent Academy

Dr. Robert Corrigan pointing to a diagram of a Norway rat burrow.
Dr. Robert Corrigan, founder of the Rodent Academy, discussing the structure of a typical Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) burrow. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel.

The Rodent Academy is a 3-day training event designed to help pest control operators (PCOs), health and sanitation officials, and regulators improve their control of commensal rodents. Commensal rodents are those mammals within the Order Rodentia that “share the table with humans. Unsurprisingly, rodents that “share our table” include Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), house mice (Mus musculus), Roof rat (Rattus rattus). These three species are not native to the United States and are significant threats to human health, safety and property. Unfortunately, these rodents are highly successful in human environments and thus are very difficult to control. Thus, the Rodent Academy was developed as an intensive training event to give humans the information and insight needed to maintain the upper hand against rodents.

Content of the Rodent Academy

Day 1 and Day 2 consist of classroom instruction. Rodent biology, behavior, and impact to human interests are reviewed. The majority of the time is spent on connecting inspection and rodent behavior to control tactics. Dr. Corrigan strenuously asserts that pest control is not about equipment. It’s about the PCOs’ ability to “read” the signs and initiate appropriate control tactics to accomplish the needed reduction in rodent population. Special attention was paid to inspection, sanitation and exclusion. The days of simply relying on toxic bait to resolve rodent issues has ended (though too many PCOs haven’t quite learned that truth yet).

Day 3 of the Rodent Academy is the field day. Dr. Corrigan breaks the class up into teams and then sends each team to inspect several locations for rodent sign and conditions that are conducive to rodent presence. This practice helps solidify the classroom learning by incorporating real-world experience. The group learning also allows rodent academy attendees to learn from each other.

Bottom Line

If you want to up your game in the area of rodent control, you can’t do much better than attend the Rodent Academy. Dr. Corrigan deliberately keeps classes small (about 30 students). So if you get the chance to attend, do NOT let the opportunity pass you by.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Types of Attractants

Trappers and wildlife control operators (WCOs) are fascinated baits, lures and other types of attractants for enticing wildlife to traps. Most of the effort tends toward bait or food-based attractants. But did you know that there are various types of attractants or perhaps categories of attractants? In fact there are at least 4 types of attractants. The attractant categories are taste, smell, sight and sound. Taste and smell are closely tied together, obviously. But trappers and WCOs ignore the other categories to their detriment.

Comparison of two bait containers.
Yogurt cup used for baiting is easier to see than the can of cat food. Note the plastic trash bag used as a make shift cover.

Types of Attractants Explained

Attractants under the sight category take advantage of the animal’s sense of vision. For example, some animals rely on sight more than smell to find food. Felines (cats), for example, heavily rely on vision to find food. You as a trapper could consider hanging a fake feather in the cage to lure cats into the trap. CAUTION: BEFORE USING ANY BAIT OR ATTRACTANT BE SURE TO FOLLOW ALL STATE REGULATIONS. SOME STATES PROHIBIT CERTAIN TYPES OF ATTRACTANTS. Placement of carcasses is another way trappers use sight (and smell) to attract animals.

Sound attractants rely on the target animal’s ability to hear. Many predators have excellent hearing and with the development of strong batteries and micro-technology, we now have squeakers that can be added to traps. Squeakers can emit noises to capture the animal’s attention and draw them to the trap. A downside of squeakers is that the noise may bother neighbors.

Use Attractants in Combination

As important as each of these categories are individually to attract animals, they work better when used in combination. So don’t just rely on a good tasting/smelling bait to attract a target animal, think of ways to include sight and/or sound. For example, some trappers when trying to attract raccoons may add white marshmallows to the cage to add a visual element to the honey and molasses bait they used.

Additional information can be found in the Wildlife Removal Handbook, 3rd ed.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Vinyl Siding is Noisy

Vinyl siding is a wonderful invention. It has saved countless homeowners, like myself, from the drudgery of painting their homes every few years. But did you know that sometimes vinyl siding is noisy? And for a few people, the noise can make them think that they have wildlife in their homes?

Characteristics of Vinyl Siding

It turns out that when vinyl siding heats up it can expand almost 1/2 an inch for every 12 feet of length.

Photo of vinyl siding on a home.
Vinyl siding on a house showing the number of breaks, edges and overlaps that can cause noise when expanding and contracting.

It’s the expansion that explains why there are seams in the siding. The installers have to ensure there is enough overlap so the siding doesn’t buckle when it heats up. What that means for you is sometimes when the vinyl is heating up, it can drag and scrap against other siding or in the track. The resulting noise may make you think that you have animals. Noises can also occur when the siding becomes loose as shown near the eave below the chimney in the picture at the right.

Bottom Line

So if you hear some squeaking sounds on a hot summer day and the noise is coming from the sunny side of the house, and you have vinyl siding, go outside and check. It might be that your vinyl siding is noisy.

Additional Inspection Resources

If you would like to improve your wildlife damage inspection skills, obtain a copy of the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd ed. Stop guessing and start identifying.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Regulations WCOs Should Support

In last week’s blog, I provided three reasons wildlife control operators (WCOs) should support regulations for their industry. Now, I would like to list several industry regulations WCOs should support. I contend that the listed regulations should be supported by WCOs because they will improve the professionalism of the industry, protect the environment, and safeguard the interests of consumers.

Regulations WCOs Should Support

The following regulatory suggestons are listed in no particular order.

Entrance to Minnesota State Capital Building
Wildlife control operators need to lobby state legislators to obtain industry supportive regulations.
  • Liability Insurance: State WCO regulations should require WCOs to carry at least $1,000,000 in liability insurance. This insurance is not prohibitively expensive and goes a long way to protect customers from damages caused by maloccurence, malpractice, and just plain bad luck, while simultaneously reducing fly-by-night WCOs.
  • Licensing Exams: State WCO regulations should require those who wishing to obtain a WCO license to pass an exam that assessess relevant knowledge of state wildlife laws and proper WCO practices.
  • Continuing Education: States WCO regulations should require WCOs to undergo continuing education training to maintain their licenses. Just as pest control operators must obtain continuing education credits to keep their licenses, so WCOs should also be required to keep learning to maintain theirs.
  • Broad Powers: State WCO regulations should give WCO license holders broad powers to control vertebrate pests. Too many states presently treat WCOs as glorified fur trappers, thereby saddling them with onerous restrictions that prevent WCOs from efficiently resolving human-wildlife conflicts. In some cases, WCOs are forced to use techniques that increase animal suffering.
  • Advertising Restrictions: State WCO regulations should state that ONLY licensed WCOs may advertise wildlife control services. This rule would allow game wardens to cite individuals and companies for advertising services that they are not licensed to do, thereby protecting licensed WCOs and the general public.

If you would like a proposed draft of regulations, click WCORegsProposal11-2-19

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

About Stephen M. Vantassel

Stephen M. Vantassel, MNI, CNI, CWCP, ACP, ACE Stephen M. Vantassel's Bio Stephen M. Vantassel is the Vertebrate Pest Specialist for the Montana Department of Agriculture (2015-present). Formerly, Stephen M. Vantassel was the Program Coordinator of Distance Education-Wildlife Damage Management for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources from 2004-2014. Stephen filled … Learn More

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