Rodent infestations are one of the biggest issues in Singapore, causing damage to a multitude of commercial properties such as offices, warehouses, and restaurants. While most companies offer mundane pest management services such as chemical treatment and baits, RATSENSE is proud to be able to offer the future of rat detection technology, using smart solutions leveraging IoT technology.

What is IoT and how it helps in rodent monitoring?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an ecosystem of interconnected objects or devices that are accessible through the internet. IoT has made rodent monitoring a breeze as commercial building owners or their facilities management staff can now connect their smartphones or laptops to rodent sensors placed in their premises. As soon as these sensors detect any activity, they immediately notify the concerned person(s) or department to keep an eye on these nasty pests anytime, anywhere.

A milestone in the journey of RATSENSE

Recently, RATSENSE was invited to be a part of the Sigfox booth, which is one of the world’s leading IoT service providers, at the Internet of Things Asia Summit held in Singapore. It was a moment of pride for RATSENSE to share the platform with Sigfox, which was also the platinum sponsor of the event. Sigfox offers a revolutionary global network to connect millions of devices to the internet in the simplest manner possible by consuming a little energy. Their distinct approach addresses the 3 barriers to IoT adoption naming, cost, global scalability, and energy consumption.

RATSENSE was invited to be a part of the booth along with over 80 devices that leverage on Sigfox data for connectivity. RATSENSE was made a part of the event because of the array of unique rodent management solutions provided by the company. Here’s a look:

1. RATSENSE is the first and probably only rodent monitoring system across the globe that works on LPWAN technology.
2. It makes your commercial property smarter by placing ‘eyes’ (sensors) in the dead and void spaces to keep watch 24/7.
3. When combined with Sigfox, RATSENSE eliminates the needs for a private network and does not invade the building’s private network.
4. The enhanced security and deployability by RATSENSE reduces a significant amount of infrastructure cost and risks.

RATSENSE was specially mentioned by the CEO of Sigfox during his opening ceremony speech. In fact, RATSENSE was the only partner with a dedicated area on the booth, wherein they introduced themselves with help of their mobile application. The mobile application was continuously screening on a touch display and an immersive and interactive VR environment with VR goggles.

A positive reaction

The event had guests from various countries such as Indonesia, China, Japan, Malaysia, UAE, and Belgium, just to name a few. Guests showed keen interest in how RATSENSE is revolutionizing rodent monitoring via IoT.

The audience also realized the key issues in rodent control, effect of rodent infestation in commercial spaces and how RATSENSE helps in solving these problems. RATSENSE is even in talks with some strategic partners for local and regional market coverage.

RATSENSE, in the truest sense, is a pioneer in the rodent monitoring system with many testimonials of actual cases that have been solved and a proven system that can help the organizations in mitigating the risks caused by rodents. If you wish to know more about RATSENSE services and professional rodent management help, then call our toll-free number now and learn more.

Undoubtedly catching a sight of a rat or mice in your commercial space is one of the most daunting things that can ever happen, but preventing the same should be one of your prime concerns to avoid any such future instances. Owing a big restaurant, hotels, café, mall, or even an office workspace is not worth giving a try, if you cannot take preventive measures to secure the health and hygiene of your guests, workforce and even of visitors. Since warm areas and leakages are the two most common areas for rats and mice to hide, you must take some preventive measures to void these opportunity intruders. If you just wish to keep the food, warmth, and comfort to your guests, then read the following sections to understand a few tips that can help you to prevent the entry of rodents in commercial workspaces:

What All They Are Looking For?
Making everything available at disposal is one of the biggest mistakes that most of the commercial building owners make to attract rodents. Some food and warmth are their prime concerns, hence, ensuring adequate availability of these two may invite rodents to your commercial workspaces and they won’t take a minute to snoop in, if given a chance. It is important to keep all the things they love away from their reach to prevent their entry in your cafes, restaurants, hotels, malls, and other commercial buildings.

How to Figure Out If You Have a Rodent Inside?
Mice and rats may leave their leave their marks and make too much noise around their habitats to catch your attention. If you have good hearing capabilities, then you can also listen them rustling around in walls or ceilings, behind the refrigerator, and even in the air conditioning vents. Seeing small holes gnawed in properly sealedcereals, sugar and bread bags are quite common. They may also leave some inevitable mouse droppings behind on counter tops, dashes, and even cupboards to leave their marks of existence.

How to Get Rid of Rodents Completely?
• Begin the session by getting rid of all the potential food sources.
• Cleaning up any spills or crumbs lying in cupboards since long could be another effective way to put an end to their food offerings.
• Clean out the clutter and put your dry food in glass or metal containers to avoid offering an ease of access to them.
• Seal all the wall and door openings to prevent more mice from getting in.
• Install rodent sensor and other advanced devices to monitor their activities and then create a trap to get rid of them completely.
• Place the rodent catching traps closer to areas where they move
• Using peanut butter or chocolate helps in catching them immediately
• If you have placed the traps in the same area since long and haven’t got anything, then relocate them to a different area to gain success.
• Take help of live traps, if you really don’t wish to kill them all.
• Look for any openings from outside or inside the doors and windows and seal them properly to prevent them from snooping inside.
• Keep a constant check on electrical or gas pipe entrances for tiny gaps as they work as an open invitation to rodents.

Rodents are more than just an aggravation and they can possess great threats to your business and its reputation and premises. Call your nearest pest and rodent control service provider now, and install rodent sensor devices to ensure that you service guests with happiness not diseases!

You wake up one morning and read in the newspaper that a rat was spotted in a food court of a shopping mall or an airport, or at a restaurant. You feel disgusted and congratulate yourself for never having dined at that offending establishment before. What do you do next? Not only you decide never to eat at that place in future but you also start telling others about this to prevent them from going there and falling sick.

That is the kind of damage a single rat can do to a business. It can completely tarnish the brand image and reputation and cut down customers in massive numbers. Therefore, it is extremely important that food outlets are very careful with the way they are managing their hygiene, not only in terms of the cooking but also maintenance. Rats are also responsible for damage of property and transmission of diseases.

One of the ways hygiene can be maintained in such places is through a proper rodent management system. A public place has lots of inlets and outlets. These entry and exit points provide a convenient opportunity to the rodents for free movement. They can get in when they find it safe and quickly leave and hide somewhere when there are people movement and activity around.

Not only complete eradication but rodent monitoring is equally important because rats and mice are too intelligent to be spotted easily. They breed very fast; while you may assume you have caught and killed one, there might be an entire family living in a hideout in the building.

To begin with, sanitation is extremely important. The next important thing is the closure of the entry and exit points. If you are one of the vendors in a place shared by many, it is not possible for you to supervise these things yourself. In fact, these are not one-time activities but recurring ones that need constant supervision.  Using rat poison is not feasible approach as this may lead to food contamination and, thereby, invite legal issues. You have to keep the food and drinks sealed, but you can’t guarantee it for all the other vendors, sharing space with you in the same building. Management of wastage and food leftovers, leaky pipes and faucets, cracked foundation, missing screens – all of these are factors that can contribute to the infestation and spread of rodents.

Therefore, it is best to contact a company to help you with a viable rodent management system for the entire building or floor. These companies have exterminators, who have the experience and expertise of dealing with and handling rats and mice. They will not miss out on potential rodent breeding or activity zones and will implement changes and protection all over the place to ensure complete eradication of rodents. Also, considering the fact that you are running a food business, they will ensure not to use poisons or any kind of method that may pose a threat to the health of people. They will continue with rodent monitoring for a few months more to check if there is further infestation.

The worst nightmare for a shopping mall operator is a rodent infestation. It can happen in a short span of time. Rodents are opportunists that are very intelligent and adaptable. They can enter your shopping mall using whatever items that are available to access your building such as electrical wires, railings, pipes, ducts, and tree branches. Also keep in mind that rats can squeeze through a hole that is no larger than ¼-inch.

Rats have adapted well to our urban environment. They can multiply quickly in places with poorly managed environments and easily available food and water sources. Shopping malls are the best nesting place for rodents if proper rodent control programs have not been adopted by operators and shop owners. Rodents can carry and transmit various diseases, so they are a major public health risk . The presence of rodents in shopping complexes damages the business’ reputation and results in financial losses as shop owners move to other buildings due to rodent problems.

When the National Environment Agency (NEA) conducted inspections at Punggol’s Waterway Point, it uncovered some signs of rat activity in a food shop and ceiling above a common area of the mall. The inspections were carried out after a diner complained that a rat had fallen on her from the ceiling while she was waiting for her meal at a coffee house in the new shopping mall. In 2015, NEA conducted inspections at a famous shopping centre in Singapore and found rodent activity in the false ceilings of 14 food shops and food stalls. The shopping mall’s management intensified its pest control checks & treatment, and intensified housekeeping system and refuse management after the NEA inspections.

Some interesting facts about rodents that you should know

• Rats are considered the smartest animals on the planet. They are often ranked in the company of dolphins and chimpanzees.
• Rats have a very acute sense of balance therefore, they are excellent climbers.
• Most rats are crepuscular, which means they are most active around dusk and dawn, and utilize rest of the hours in a day for lesser activity and sleeping.
• Rats are very social animals and are often accompanied by their companions. So in rat infestation, you may have to deal with several rodents.
• In a study conducted in five countries in Europe, it was estimated that rodent infestation resulted in the loss of $11.8billion revenue in 2014.

Rodents have outsmarted traditional pest control methods

Using same old trap methods will not work on these intelligent pests. Pest managers and shopping mall operators need to get to the root of the problem. It should be a long-term effort, and not considered as business compliance. Rodent infestation is a serious issue for commercial properties, so it should be managed using smart practices such as using RATSENSE sensors that determines rodent activity and then dictates how traps should be placed. Based on these rodent activities, traps can be placed where the rats are travelling, and where they least expect it, thereby enabling pest controllers to catch them easily.

Presently, shopping mall operators hire exterminators after the rat problem surfaces, rather than preventing it from the outset. Rodent monitoring and control measures should be of preventive nature rather than reactive. Mall administrators need to follow good hygiene practices and adopt a rodent-proof design. If rodents have become smart, we have to outsmart them before they gnaw a big hole into our reputation. Use rodent sensor to capture rodent activity when they are most active, and then catch them using traps placed at strategic locations using real-time data from the sensors.

Interested to learn more about RATSENSE? Contact us today!

References: –
“Pest control checks done nightly: Waterway Point” Channel News Asia, March 29, 2016, accessed April 16, 2017,
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/pest-control-checks-done-nightly-waterway-point-8129750

“Rat activity detected in food shop and ceiling in Waterway Point; enforcement taken: NEA” Straits Times, March 28, 2016, April 16, 2017,
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/rat-activity-detected-in-food-shop-and-ceiling-in-waterway-point-enforcement-taken-nea

Rodents are one of the most destructive pests in the food industry. Not only are they responsible for the spread of over 55 different types of diseases, they can also cause contamination of food and lead to a significant loss of food supply. Furthermore, they will do damage to the property and can be responsible for creating various fire hazards.

Rats have a rapid life-cycle and their constant breeding makes them troublesome. They usually have high birth-rates, low life span and high death-rates. A few overlooked or unnoticed rats can quickly turn into a severe infestation. It is said that a pair of rats can produce as many as 10 or more babies every 3 weeks.

What damage is caused by rat infestations in warehouses?
Warehouses storing foodstuffs are particularly vulnerable to infestation. The food industry faces a high risk of contamination and damage caused by rats. These rodents will gnaw at seeds and grains leaving them unsuitable for human consumption. Further, the faeces and urine left by rats contaminate the food and make it harmful for use as it can cause severe health ailments. Even the food stored in packets and plastic are not safe as rats can easily gnaw the packets and poison the contents.

Apart from food, rats will also cause damage to the warehouses by gnawing at papers, files, and wires. Gnawed, exposed wires can be a dangerous fire hazard, starting electrical fires and causing serious damage to the property and humans. Rat infestations can completely ruin all the stored stock in warehouses leading to severe financial losses that ruin businesses.

Singapore is a huge hub for many food-related global businesses. Most of the businesses house their warehouses in the country to ensure smooth business operations and timely delivery of their manufactured products. It is essential for these warehouse owners to take necessary steps for rodent control in Singapore to save themselves from incurring losses.

What is the best way to prevent rodents from entering your warehouses?

1.Cleanliness
There are many ways to prevent a rat infestation from arising in your warehouses but the most significant and easiest measure is to simply keep the premises clean. It can easily be the most effective strategy and will strongly discourage rat inhabitation.

2.Automatic doors
While this may not sound like a huge innovation for warehouses, many of them do not have automatic doors and often leave their doors open the whole day. Owners should try to have automatic closing doors in their premises, or at the very least, have dividing screens to hinder the free movement of rats. This small measure will greatly enhance your pest control ability. Normal doors when left open offer easy access to other pests as well. High-speed doors are a great option for keeping the food area secure as they are open only for few seconds and remain sealed the rest of the time.

3.Sealing and segmenting
One of the most recommended ways of controlling rat infestations is by segmenting the warehouses and keeping the important locations of warehouses sealed. This creates multiple controlled zones, along with making inspection easier.

4.Frequent inspection
Inspecting the warehouses at regular intervals also makes up an important part of any good preventive measures. It is mandatory to make a regular, thorough inspection to spot any signs of rat infestation. Any signs of infestation should be immediately addressed to prevent it from growing further.

Rat infestations at warehouses in Singapore should be addressed with help of professional services. You can and should seek professional help for conducting rodent control in Singapore warehouses. These pest management companies are well equipped with tools and techniques to spot the source of infestation and destroy them. The special chemicals involved in treatment ensure no further infestation will occur for few years as well. Thus, investing in a proper rodent monitoring programme will prevent the warehouse owners from bearing long-term losses.