Spring 2018

Spring 2018 • PENNSYLVANIA RESTAURANT & LODGING matters •  9 Rodents Hotels are cozy and comfortable— from delicious food to warm shelter— making them a prime location for unwanted guests like rodents. In addition to alarming customers and tarnishing your reputation, they present major health risks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rodents are known to spread more than 35 diseases worldwide, which can be passed on to humans directly through contact with feces, urine, or saliva, or indirectly by the ticks, mites, and fleas that feed on rodents. A contaminated food product could spread such diseases as salmonella, tape worms, jaundice, and hantavirus. Rodents can also damage property. These critters love to gnaw and will chew on just about anything they can sink their teeth into, including wood, paper, and dry wall. Their poor eye sight can also lead them to chew on electrical wires, which they mistake for plant roots. This can be a major fire hazard. While rodents can be quite stealth, they do leave clues that can alert staff and guests to their presence. • Look for gnaw marks on electrical wires, wooden structures, cardboard, and plastic. They also produce as many as 50 pellet droppings a day. If you see large quantities, this may indicate where populations are high. • Rodents can leave greasy stains along walls, floorboards, and objects as they scurry. They are habitual creatures, so they often repeatedly use the same paths. This repetitive rubbing can alert your staff that the area is a rodent highway. ➔