In this piece, our favorite guest blogger, Gil Bloom, cautions us as cities open back up with outdoor dining, to consider the pest friendly environment we're creating. Gil writes "IPM is by nature proactive and pest exclusion is one of the first measures. But in these pest positive environs sometimes we need to go a bit further and engage the enemy at the gates or even beyond."
REPRINTED FROM: New York State Pest Management Association Journal June 2021
By Gil Bloom, ACE Entomologist, President Standard Pest Management
As the reality of the Covid 19 pandemic disordered our world, there were reports of rat cannibalism, and daytime sightings in new areas, this was in part due to the disruption of established food sources which resulting in colony stress. To those knowledgeable, this came as little surprise as one of the constants continually in play with urban rats is that they are opportunistic survivalists. Now it seems the combination of an earlier successful first litter off the nest and the increased pest positive environment due to the makeshift reopening of food establishments, we have played right into their paws. As a result of our makeshift maze of food vending habitats they have reclaimed the title of commensal rodents. And that’s not going to be good for anyone.
While the importance of restaurant reopening is significant to both the economy and psyche of New Yorkers the accompanying increase in available food water and harborage for pests should not and cannot be underestimated. Outdoor dining started out slow with a lack of proper or any guidance but now there is barely an eatery that is not trying its hand at al fresco dining. Pests require food, water and shelter and all three are available in abundance. Shelter was already present for rodents who inhabit sewers, catch basins, under sidewalk voids, tree pits, and other areas and now we have added wooden food service platforms with a void below as well as in walls. For those inclined to burrow many have included dirt planters which may slow oncoming traffic but not rodents as Mickey & Minnie pop out to steal your veggie fries.
Roaches love wood, the material used for most barriers and eating surfaces, they are thigmotactic and like to shelter in cracks while decorating with their fecal material to give it that aggregate pheromone scent of home. As if assorted filth flies were not an indoor issue already, the additional exterior food and harborage are only creating additional pest conducive environments, just outside the open restaurant doors. In fact, in my office which is located on a main street with street food stalls, it is no longer possible to open the front door for fresh air as in short order several flies are zooming about.
Rats were already roaming the streets but it is getting worse as street cleaning is less effective and, in some spots, nonexistent due to lack of access and trash accumulation as a result of makeshift platforms and barriers. Not to mention the streams of trash juice accumulating beneath. The continuation of this deteriorating state of affairs is of increasing concern to pest professionals, and should be to health officials, building mangers and others especially with DeBlasio’s extension of this temporary measure into a year-round fiasco with virtually no guidance as to pest management concerns. It is just a matter of time till some of these culinary kiosks become unusable due to pests and human health is endangered. We know that flies are not harmless but mechanical vectors of disease, rodents indeed must be urinating in places people don’t want to know about not to mention the hysteria they can cause when they or an American roach come out to take a bow during dinner. And given the current direction it is just a matter of time till that first rat tries a lady finger or foot appetizer. Accordingly, coming this summer in a neighborhood near you get ready for a cast of thousands of four and six legged stars in the remake of “Wild in the Streets”.
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