As the weather cools down rodents problems are starting to increase. Here in Auckland the temperature dips in the early hours of the morning. Many people do realise how much heat get trapped in their ceiling voids over night - but rodents have it figured out. Often pink bats will contain what looks like a dug out snow cave. Rodents will borrow in just enough to make it though the early morning chill in a cozy place. You may not hear them straight away. Firstly you may be asleep. Secondly, if they are walking on pink bats or other insulation, it mat make no noise.

Are they birds? Some people wonder if the noises they hear in the ceiling are birds and not rats. Ask yourself if they are making noise in the day or at night. Birds are generally very quiet at night as they do not want to attract the attention of predators. The obvious exception here is owls and its pretty unlikely you have them in your house. Rats are nocturnal so are more active at night, if the noise is starting at night, it most likely rats. Is the noise staring just before dawn? This could be birds as they will see and react to dawn before we think its actually happened.

Does it really matter?  Yes. Not only do they carry disease, but rodents gnaw constantly to keep their teeth down. Plastic plumbing and eletrical wiring alongside ducting are all god targets for them. They will gnaw almost anything and can smell your pantry a lot better than you can.

There is a huge range of programs through industry that incorporate pest control as a requirement. Most people have now seen through recent television programs - when Council is sending inspectors into restaurants - it wants to satisfy that there is appropriate pest control in place.

But this is only one small part of a huge industrial requirement for pest control. Many companies have their own internal audits - checking up on their own pest control, as well as regular external audits. In commerce, where ever there is a risk of food becoming contaminated through pests, some type of regulation or requirement for pest control will eventually be drawn up to protect the consumer. It is worth noting that pest control is in no way limited to food areas/businesses.

If a business is to be audited, often a field officer will sent out to site to physically  inspect and walk around the site. Sometimes these officers will be from the agency requiring the audit, some times they will be an accredited third party sent out on behalf to audit. The whole thing sounds like a paper work jungle but is simpler if the auditor’s end goals are kept in mind. The auditor may simply be trying to assure that a product leaving the country (flowers / potatoes) is of a certain standard (end point inspection). That there are no signs of a particular pest or growth present. They may simply want to satisfy that the environment is keep clean enough to discourage problems cropping up or growing on products (clearance).

How does this relate to pest control? Well the goal is similar. Although an auditor may arrive with a standard checklist. Over and above that they probably just want to satisfy that pest control is doing its part in ensuring the safety of the end product.

A couple of  examples of needing pest control to satisfy audits would be: becoming a M.A.F. Bio-security NZ approved transitional facility and operator or having a NZ food safety Authority approved food safety program. Both have separate requirements.

Some common requirements for programs that are audited: MSDS sheets, maps, activity registers, reports, individual records of each bait station, procedural manuals, entomological analysis, registered/qualified technicians, separate treatment on critical hygiene areas, indemnity, public liability where applicable.