Rodent Control — What to Expect

Your Rodent Control Treatment

Rodent bait stations have been positioned in strategic locations around the perimeter of your property based on the building layout, likely rodent activity and potential access routes identified during our assessment.

The purpose of the baiting program is to help control rat activity in and around the property. However, baiting is only one part of effective rodent management.

Where access opportunities have been identified, these may also need to be addressed to reduce the likelihood of rats continuing to enter the building.

What Happens After the Bait Stations Are Installed?

Rats may not immediately investigate or feed from newly installed bait stations.

The amount of bait consumed — and how quickly it is consumed — will depend on the level of rodent activity around your property. Some properties may experience significant consumption relatively quickly, while others may experience very little.

For this reason, bait consumption is a better guide for maintenance than following a fixed refill schedule.

You may also continue to hear rodent activity for a period after the stations have been installed.

If you are still hearing activity approximately four weeks after treatment, please contact The Possum Man. Further investigation may be required to determine whether there are other access opportunities or contributing factors that need to be addressed.

Monitoring Your Bait Stations

We recommend checking the bait stations approximately two weeks after installation to establish how much bait is being consumed.

From there, the frequency of inspections can be adjusted according to activity.

• Higher consumption means the stations should be checked more frequently.
• Lower consumption generally means inspections can become less frequent.

The objective is to ensure bait remains available while rodent activity is occurring. There is therefore no single maintenance interval that applies to every property.

When Should the Bait Be Replaced?

Replacement bait should be added when required based on consumption.

During the early stages of treatment, checking the stations more regularly will help you understand the level of activity around your property. As activity reduces, the stations can generally be checked less frequently.

Remember that rodent populations are not static. Rats from the surrounding area may move onto a property in the future, particularly where food, water, shelter or easy building access remains available.

For ongoing protection, bait stations therefore need to be monitored and maintained rather than installed and forgotten.

Trees and Other Roof Access Routes

Rats are excellent climbers and can use trees, branches, cables, adjoining structures and other building features to reach a roof.

Where we have identified branches as a potential access route, we recommend trimming them so they are approximately 300 mm clear of the roof or gutter line where practicable.

Removing one access route does not necessarily mean that all potential access routes have been eliminated. Rats can use surprisingly small openings and may reach roof or wall cavities through several different parts of a building.

What If Rat Activity Continues?

If you continue hearing activity approximately four weeks after the bait stations were installed, contact us.

This does not automatically mean the baiting program has failed.

Further investigation may be required to work through other possibilities, including:

• alternative building access points;
• roof or wall-cavity access;
• vegetation or structures providing access;
• activity originating from an adjoining property; or
• other conditions around the property supporting rodent activity.

The next step is to work through these possibilities systematically rather than assuming that additional bait alone will resolve the problem.

Maintaining the Stations Yourself

If you prefer to maintain the bait stations yourself, The Possum Man can provide replacement bait and a station key.

When servicing the stations:

• follow all product label and safety directions;
• keep bait secured within the appropriate bait stations;
• keep bait inaccessible to children, pets and non-target animals;
• wash your hands after handling bait or stations;
• store unused bait safely and in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions; and
• do not leave rodent bait loose around the property.

Professional Maintenance

If you would prefer The Possum Man to maintain your bait stations, we can provide an ongoing maintenance service.

Professional maintenance:

$249 + GST for an inspection of up to 12 bait stations, plus $5.00 + GST per replacement bait block required.

Alternatively, customers can maintain the stations themselves using replacement bait supplied by The Possum Man.

Important Safety Information

The bait currently used by The Possum Man is Contrac Blox, an anticoagulant rodenticide manufactured by Bell Laboratories.

APVMA Approval Number: 48372

• Always follow the product label and safety instructions.
• Keep the product inaccessible to children, pets and non-target animals.
• If accidental exposure is suspected, seek appropriate medical or veterinary advice.