RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Rat Bites Subway Rider at Station

New York transit workers said a rat bit a subway rider on the foot while she was waiting for a train at a downtown station.

Transit sources told the New York Daily News the woman, who was described as in her 20s, was sitting on a bench at the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station at about 9:30 a.m. Monday when the rodent ran up and bit into the flesh of her foot.

"She was pretty frantic and upset," one transit worker said. "You could actually see the bite."

Authorities said the woman was treated at New York Downtown Hospital and released.

Officials with Transport Workers Union Local 100 said rats are becoming more common at stations because of infrequent garbage collection and poor seals on trash storage rooms.

City transport officials declined to comment, the Daily News said.

Source: DailyNews.com

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

UPDATE: Wal-Mart Deli, Bakery Reopen After Rodent Problem

The deli and the bakery at the Wal-Mart superstore in Lebanon have reopened after being shut down for a rodent problem.

News 8 initially reported the problem on Thursday, Aug. 4. A store spokeswoman said the problem was first discovered at the end of June but that pest control efforts were unsuccessful. The spokeswoman would not say what type of rodent had gotten into the store.

Here is the complete statement the company issued on Thursday:

"Unfortunately it has come to our attention that rodents have found their way into our store in Lebanon, Pa. We are aware of the situation and we are working to resolve this issue.

As part of our commitment to food safety, the bakery and deli remain closed until the problem can be corrected. We’re working with a pest control company, a professional cleaning service and the Department of Agriculture to remedy the situation.

We make every effort to ensure our stores are clean and pest free and apologize to our customers for this inconvenience. Once the Department of Agriculture inspects our store and gives us the okay to re-open, we will."

On Friday, a company spokesperson updated the situation, saying the store had passed the inspection and the deli and bakery are open for business

Source = wgal.com

George Williams
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Rats, Mice, and Robots
Boston University Researchers’ aim: replicate rodents’ location-finding sense, install it in robots

Biologically, says BU scientist Michael Hasselmo, it’s easy to see the benefit of accurate tracking of location. “If a rat is running down an alley and it finds a nice big garbage can filled with leftover Chinese food, it’s very useful to be able to find that location again,” he says. “And conversely, if he is walking down an alley and a cat comes out and chases him, he might want to remember where exactly he got chased."

Ultimately, he says, the goals of the MURI grant include understanding how rats keep track of their location and applying that mechanism to robots, so robots can work as a sidekick to soldiers searching dangerous buildings and alleyways. Ideally, the robots will navigate strange spaces and report back to their human colleagues on the exact locations of bombs and other dangers.

Source: BU Today – Science & Technology

George Williams
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

RESTAURANT TO BE SHUT DOWN OVER RODENT DROPPINGS

Call it a big but disgusting find for kitchen cops in Brownsville.

An eatery is busted with rodent droppings “all over” the kitchen area.

The New Courthouse Coffee Shop on 964 East Harrison scored 38 demerits.

It was the dirtiest kitchen featured this week by the Food Patrol.

Food handlers were caught wearing open-toe shoes and not wearing hairnets or washing hands.

A health inspector noted on the report how there were “a lot of rodent droppings all over the kitchen.”

Dirty photos of the kitchen area showed trails of droppings on the food prep table and torn bags of food believed to be from rodents.

The Food Patrol confronted the owner’s sister who was present during the health inspection.

Gracie Gutierrez admitted the kitchen was dirty.

She blamed a worker for not doing her “job.”

Food Patrol fans who saw the dirty photos called for the coffee shop which serves food to judges and attorneys to be shutdown.

Source = Valley Central.com

George Williams
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

More Rodents Carrying Hantavirus Found

Six more rodents trapped by County Vector Control technicians last week have tested positive for the sometimes-deadly hantavirus, County officials said this week.

The rodents, four Harvest mice and two California Meadow Voles, were trapped in Fairbanks Ranch and northern Escondido near the San Luis Rey River bringing this year’s total to 16 rodents testing positive for hantavirus, a news release stated. In 2010, a total of 21 rodents tested positive for hantavirus.

“Recent rains have created an abundance of food for rodents, which can increase the rodent population,” said County Environmental Health Director Jack Miller. “More rodents can lead to more hantavirus.” People should never sweep up or vacuum rodent droppings and nesting materials. Instead, ventilate closed areas and use wet cleaning methods with a 10 percent bleach solution or other full strength disinfectant. The best way to prevent the disease is to keep mice out of houses, garages and sheds by sealing all holes larger than the size of a dime, the news release stated.

Wild rodents, primarily deer mice, carry hantavirus. People can contract it by inhaling dust particles from rodent droppings and nesting materials that contain the virus. The virus can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which begins with flu-like symptoms, but can graduate to severe breathing difficulties and even death, according to the news release. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for hantavirus and the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that HPS has killed 36 percent of all the people known to have contracted the disease.

How to Avoid Exposure:

• Eliminate rodent infestations immediately.
• Avoid rodent infested areas. Do not stir up dust or materials that may be contaminated with feces and urine.
• Clean up rodent droppings and urine using the wet cleaning method described below.

Use “wet-cleaning” methods to prevent inhaling the virus:

• DO NOT SWEEP OR VACUUM INFESTED AREAS.
• Ventilate affected area by opening doors and windows for at least 30 minutes.
• Use rubber gloves. Spray a 10 percent bleach solution (2 tablespoons bleach to 1 cup of water), or other full strength disinfectant onto dead rodents, rodent droppings, nests, contaminated traps, and surrounding areas and let the disinfectant stand for at least 15 minutes before cleaning. Clean with a sponge or a mop.
• Place disinfected rodents and debris into two plastic bags, seal them and discard in the trash.
• Wash gloves in a bleach solution, then soap and water, and dispose of them using the same double-bag method. Thoroughly wash your bare hands with soap and water.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Mexican Chile Seized in Rat-Infested Warehouse

LAS CRUCES - Imported Mexican chile was seized by U.S. marshals on Monday after inspectors allegedly found it being stored in a warehouse infested with rodents and bugs, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in New Mexico.

An inspection in November by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration uncovered "an active and widespread insect and rodent infestation in the food warehouse," according to documents filed in federal court.

Inspectors allegedly found rodent nests and evidence that mice had gnawed, defecated and urinated on the chile products after they had been shipped to the Duran & Sons Chile Products warehouse, about eight miles north of Hatch.

Warehouse owner Carl Duran had already marked the chile for destruction and was cooperating with the FDA at the time of the raid, which he told the Associated Press was "a shock."

Apart from the chile, however, Duran's warehouse was also allegedly home to "a live cat, live birds, apparent bird nesting, bird droppings, rodent nesting, rodent excreta pellets, animal feces, animal urine, lice and dead insects and insect larvae and moth-like insects," according to court documents.

The New Mexico Environment Department barred the warehouse's contents from being taken to market following the disastrous inspection, according to the complaint, which seeks to destroy the products seized.

The complaint does not state the total amount of products seized.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, MA , Pest Control, RI