How Rats Find Their Way into Hospitals

In hospitals, there is zero tolerance for rodent problems, and yet they are all too common. Regardless of how stringent your maintenance plan is, rodent infestations are as much about exterior conditions as they are about what’s happening inside. Mark Rosenthal, Health Care and Food Processing Specialist for Western, always performs exterior inspections when assessing hospitals with rodent issues.

“In terms of rodent control, we’re looking for the way that rats get in the door,” Rosenthal says. This includes exterior and environmental issues such as:

• Holes in walls
• Cracks in the building’s exterior
• Overgrown vegetation or other conditions that provide rodent harborage and food sources

“Inside, issues like missing door sweeps or spaces between doors are problems,” Rosenthal says. “Western focuses on exclusion to help hospital clients eliminate rats and rodents.”

Posted on February 6, 2012