Storage solutions

Food and farm products all over the world need to be stored to keep over time. This ranges from storage in grain sacks at the household level, to large warehouses at the industrial level, and everything in between. Keeping storage places free of rodents is important for economic and health reasons. Hygiene codes and health legislations and regulations must be met. According to the Food Safety Magazine, storage rodents present the biggest problem in food processing and storage facilities. Each year, rats contaminate and destroy enough food worldwide to feed 200 million people. Rodent management in storage needs a holistic approach. Single measures generally will not work, but implementation of parallel actions will provide better results. The starting point is to analyse the entire environment of the storage area, storage structures and existing management methods and understand how these affect the ecological requirements of rodents. It is based on this analysis that measures such as habitat manipulation, storage building modifications, improved storage practices, enforcement of strict hygienic and sanitary measures, and mechanical management are implemented to ensure adequate, effective, and long-term management of rodent populations.