14 replies to this topic

[Nemo's Friend]

Hello to all,

 

We are a food packaging plant - we print on flexible films such as hot deli bags for rotisserie chicken, marshmallows, croutons, etc.

 

I was notified of a sighting of a mouse in our warehouse last week - our warehouse is on one side of our building using as both shipping and receiving. Warehous is separated by a roll up door from manufacturing - which is up for no more than about 1 minute however this goes up and down constantly as material handlers are moving items in and out to machines.

 

We have notified our pest service provider and they increased the baits however, nothing has been found.  This morning I was told that they saw the mouse again. This sucker is not giving in to the tricks.

 

My concern is that we have at least 200 pallets of raw materials and finished goods directly on the floor in the warehouse at all times. We can move these higher into our storage racks, however, we don't have the space and I am afraid that the mouse could be nested in the pallets on the floor and moving them higher wouldn't solve anything.

 

Any ideas on the next steps to take? We have not done anything to address potential contamination on products or raw materials.... 

Edited by Julie Y, 30 January 2019 - 04:00 AM.

[SQFconsultant]

Contact your PCO and tell them to bring in the peanut butter flavored glue traps and strips. These should be placed in those areas where the mouse has been sited.

Outside of the obvious (droppings) mice have a habit of peeing and I'd be inclined to black light all of your food contact film where stored in bulk and finished.

Assuming you have a pallet program - each pallet needs to be checked for potential harborage/contamination.

[itreatpets]

The black light idea works well for inspecting the pallets!

I would also check all of your outside walls in the warehouse to ensure there are no openings for the mice to get in. What worked for me, was to move everything away from the walls to give yourself lots of space so you don't trip, turn out the lights and closely inspect the walls for daylight peeking through. 

[Scampi]

Consolidate stacking as much as you possibly can........you may want to rent a trailer for temporary storage so you know product that is arriving now isn't getting contaminated. Move as much stuff out as you can and delay shipments in if possible

 

Mice are very smart.........and if employees have seen 2 in the middle of the floor and not up against a wall then you've got a lot of mice in there. 

 

Any pallets that are securely wrapped should be carefully inspected then unwrapped and wrapped again; then put those in the trailer. Do not put any skids directly onto the warehouse floor until this is corrected.

 

Given that this is the dead of winter, these critters found a way in in the fall and have been happily breeding since then. If you're in a part of the states that is frozen now, you won't get anymore moving in (yeah for that) so you need your PCO to find the buggers..........that means they need to come either really early or really late when the facility is at it's quietest.

 

This may help too

https://www.qualitya...ood-case-study/         it's about a warehouse mouse infestation and how it was handled

[012117]

Hi Julie.

 

How did the PCO interpret the catches on traps? Are traps adequate around the warehouse? As oppose to rats, some tendency of mice is not always have their bodies touching the wall when they go around in an area so it is really worthwhile to find if there are "nest" within your warehouse. For the meantime, also find open gaps with your warehouse and seal them to prevent further entry of mice.  Increase the trap around the area and if you already have trended the results, increase and focus inspection in the areas where the trend showed it is hot spot.

 

Since you are making packaging, there will be really no food for them in the area. Crossing the traffic between warehouse and all other surrounding will deprive them with water and food to further reproduce. Check also your practices, are people allowed to eat in warehouse? How do you handle pallet as well from your pallet storage to your warehouse? How do you receive your raw material as well from your suppliers? are they not the vector?

 

Sealing and checking of possible vectors will help you resolve the problem.  If the traps are not catching anything, it may have been not properly located or mice could enter your facility based on what you brought inside your warehouse. So check the traffic.

 

In my opinion, 1 minute is long for the door to actuate. It could have been a safety precaution on your side but still 1 minute may be too long.

[gazza1973]

you can get traps that electrocute the mice, I have found them very good and humane.

one other trick I found is spraying peppermint oil around the building, its very strange I was recommended this by the PCO and its works..

[QAGB]

Consolidate stacking as much as you possibly can........you may want to rent a trailer for temporary storage so you know product that is arriving now isn't getting contaminated. Move as much stuff out as you can and delay shipments in if possible

 

Mice are very smart.........and if employees have seen 2 in the middle of the floor and not up against a wall then you've got a lot of mice in there. 

 

Any pallets that are securely wrapped should be carefully inspected then unwrapped and wrapped again; then put those in the trailer. Do not put any skids directly onto the warehouse floor until this is corrected.

 

Given that this is the dead of winter, these critters found a way in in the fall and have been happily breeding since then. If you're in a part of the states that is frozen now, you won't get anymore moving in (yeah for that) so you need your PCO to find the buggers..........that means they need to come either really early or really late when the facility is at it's quietest.

 

This may help too

https://www.qualitya...ood-case-study/         it's about a warehouse mouse infestation and how it was handled

 

I agree with the contributors, but I know that Scampi's suggestion works. Unfortunately, this means a lot of inspection, but it is truly worth it in the end. If you go with this option, you will want to make sure that you use docks furthest away from the known sightings, so that you don't end up with an unwanted visitor inside your checked product in the trailer. When you are taking breaks or are done for the day, make sure that you lock and seal the trailer and pull it away from the building to minimize any risk of your little critters getting in the trailer as well. I would suggest maybe 2 or 3 trailers so you can have them on rotation. You could be putting the inspected product on one trailer and possibly unloading and loading for shipment with another (if you have the luxury of multiple docks away from your problem area).

 

You should have basically three sectors of process - the product in which you suspect might have come in contact with the mice, a separate area for the product you are actively checking, and then the load out points for the product. Be sure to place extra traps around the area where you are inspecting product in the event you find something interesting (particularly wall borders and doorways). 

 

As suggested, you should have a blacklight and a flashlight handy for this task.

 

As previously mentioned, you should definitely walk through the warehouse and look for any possible openings, and contact your PCO to have them come out on a very frequent basis until you have this under control (on order of 2-3 times a week). They should be able to look around and find any potential areas that may have harborage as well. 

 

May the force be with you.

[bpummer]

 I had a similar problem last year.  I enforced perimeters, Inspected every inch of wall and floor and filled any hole with concrete, added 20 temporary traps (snaps), ensure they were documented and checked daily.  Watch areas that don't have much movement or areas that may contain aged product because mice love living there.  They reproduce quickly (4 - 6 weeks) and have fast metabolisms so you will see droppings.  Good luck and don't give up on your inspections. 

 

Also watch what you call infestation.  Having a pest sighting is one thing having an infestation is quite another. 

Edited by bpummer, 22 February 2019 - 09:14 PM.

[foodsafetyAUS]

We used many traps but did not work, then we had to install camera in the areas with fresh dropping so we can capture them. Please nite that sticky traps needs to be inspected every day in case any dead body there. Another question is your baits inside the factory are toxic or non-toxic?


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[Kylo]

Identify what is the species of rats then consult pest control service provider for appropriate action.
Put bait like food on glue traps/rat cage, change the bait = food once in awhile.
Building/strutural proofing.
Keep external surrounding clean and tidy.

Hope with this, you may catch most of it and eventually bring down the number to zero.

Rgdd





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[SQFconsultant]

What is " bait like food?" And are you talking about inside of the plant or exterior?

[Kylo]

Interior. Place food on the glue board or inside rat cage.


Rgds.

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[Scampi]

you need to be careful with what you use for "bait" inside the facility..........you may introduce hazards that need to be addressed

[Kylo]

Dear Scampi
Well noted, thanks.

Rgds

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[Luke Spencer]

Hello Julie! We had an issue with mice in grain / flour warehouse. We tried everything and could not catch the intelligent little critters. Finally brought in a different Pest Control company to evaluate the situation.  A fresh set of eyes. They found a small hole near the baseboard on a conjoining wall to another warehouse.  We sealed that off.  Also found them nesting inside the storage rack horizontal frames.  Ours had holes drilled in them and that was just large enough for them to get into. Once that happened, no more mice.

Good luck and happy hunting!