Case Study: How Selontra® controlled a residential rodent infestation in a busy London Borough, in just eight days
23.09.2021
When London council pest controllers, Stephen Stratton and Stephen Telling, arrived at a residential block in their borough, they were presented with a severe infestation of approximately 40 rodents nesting in storage cupboards, having entered the building from defective sewer pipes. Here, we explore how Selontra® tackled the problem with results that Stephen describes as “quite astonishing!“
The Challenge
Upon arrival at the residential block of flats, which was home to over 50 families, Stephen Stratton and his colleague, Stephen Telling, were directed to a series of storage cupboards at the rear of the property, inside which was a network of leaking soil pipes. It was from these defective soil pipes that rodents had emerged from the sewage network and had quicky established nests, attracted to the site due to the household waste and large bins surrounding the flats.
It quickly became apparent that a severe rodent infestation was present, with rats running from cupboard to cupboard, smears and gnawing marks at the base of the doors, a significant amount of droppings and even several nests each containing a rat litter, were all observed.
Initially, Stephen estimated around 35 to 40 rats were present especially having observed many juveniles playing in the pipe lagging. Stephen commented: “At one point, there were eight rats looking at us from gaps in the walls and pipe lagging in one of the cupboards! We knew that we had to treat the site quickly to prevent the colony from growing and to stop reinfestation.“
The Result
To tackle the infestation, the team placed Selontra® blocks on wire and attached the wire to the pipes within the cupboard, using seven blocks of Selontra® each across five cupboards being treated.
Control was gained in just eight days from the initial site visit, with complete uptake of bait two days after the first site visit. Stephen commented “we were finding two to three dead rats after the first few days, alone, and one day we collected up to twelve carcasses – it really was quite astonishing! In total, we collected 28 rodents from the site.“
The team visited the property nine times over a three week period to ensure baits were topped up and to collect any dead rodents.
Stephen added: “We found Selontra® to be very effective, as you can see from the photographs of the rats we collected! It worked incredibly quickly, and we were particularly impressed that it is wrapped in thin plastic to help protect it from damp, which was very important as the area we were treating had the added complication of defective, leaking soil pipes. We would certainly recommend Selontra® and will be using it again in future jobs.“
About Selontra®
- Rodent-free is possible in as few as seven days
- Saves treatment times and improves productivity
- Stops the waste of resources
- Balancing performance and environmental impact
- Breaks the cycle of resistance
Selontra® is a revolutionary rodenticide bait, controlling infestations in rural and urban settings in as few as seven days.
Its high performance, non-anticoagulant formulation controls up to 100% of target rodents, including resistant rats and mice, breaking the cycle of resistance.
Selontra®’s unique active ingredient, cholecalciferol, is neither persistent in the environment nor bio-accumulative, reducing the secondary toxicity to non-target wildlife like birds of prey, without lessening its effect on rodents.
Importantly, it’s four times more palatable than most rodenticides, making it a powerful solution for controlling infestations even when alternative attractive food sources are readily available.
Selontra® is stable and durable enough to withstand both cold climates and extreme heat, whatever the weather.
