CRRU & Responsible Rodent Control | Pest Smart Solutions & Consultancy
When people think about rat or mouse control, rodenticide is often one of the first things that comes to mind. However, professional rodent management should involve much more than simply placing bait and hoping the problem disappears.
At Pest Smart Solutions & Consultancy, we believe rodent control should be targeted, considered and based on a thorough understanding of the infestation, the property and the wider environment.
An important part of this approach is CRRU: the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use.
What is CRRU?
CRRU promotes responsible rodenticide use and coordinates the UK Rodenticide Stewardship Regime. The regime came into force in April 2016 and promotes an Integrated Pest Management approach, including a hierarchy of risk controls and responsible rodenticide use where its use is demonstrated to be necessary.
The latest CRRU Code of Best Practice located for this article is dated July 2024 and provides guidance for rodent control and the safe use of rodenticides.
This matters because effective rodent control has to balance two objectives:
controlling rats and mice effectively while minimising unnecessary risks to people, animals and the wider environment.
Why can rodenticides affect wildlife?
One of the major environmental considerations surrounding anticoagulant rodenticides is their potential impact on non-target wildlife.
Rodents that have been exposed to rodenticide may subsequently be taken as prey by predators or scavengers. CRRU stewardship specifically seeks to minimise secondary poisoning in non-target species as part of an Integrated Pest Management system.
Predatory wildlife is therefore an important indicator of what is happening further down the food chain.
Why do we talk about barn owls? 🦉
Barn owls are particularly important in UK rodenticide stewardship because CRRU describes them as the formal sentinel used when assessing rodenticide residues in non-target wildlife.
The issue isn't simply that an owl eats one rodent and is automatically poisoned. The wider concern is exposure to rodenticide residues within the food chain.
Historical surveillance illustrates why stewardship is so important. CRRU reported that its surveillance of a 2020 sample found rodenticide residues in 88% of barn owls, compared with 87% in the previous year's surveillance. Importantly, CRRU also reported that only one of the 100 dead owls in that study showed signs that rodenticide could have contributed to its death, with most dying from malnutrition or road traffic collision.
That distinction is important: detecting a rodenticide residue is not the same thing as establishing that rodenticide caused an animal's death.
Professional rodent control shouldn't automatically mean rodenticide
This is where Integrated Pest Management (IPM) becomes particularly important.
The CRRU Code promotes IPM and a hierarchy of risk controls rather than treating rodenticide as the automatic answer to every rodent problem.
From our perspective at Pest Smart, a rodent investigation should therefore look beyond the immediate activity.
We want to understand questions such as:
How are the rodents entering the building?
What food and water sources are available?
Where are they harbouring?
Are there structural defects or potential ingress points?
Can proofing help reduce future access?
Are environmental or hygiene conditions contributing to the problem?
What control measures are appropriate for the particular situation?
Sometimes correcting the underlying environmental or structural problem can be just as important as controlling the rodents themselves.
Rodent proofing and prevention 🐀🏠
One area we regularly highlight to our customers is proofing.
A successful treatment may remove the immediate infestation, but if the conditions that allowed rodents to enter remain unchanged, the underlying vulnerability may still be there.
That is why inspections and proofing recommendations form an important part of our approach.
Rather than asking only:
“How do we kill the rats?”
we should also be asking:
“Why are the rats here, how are they gaining access, and what can we do to reduce the likelihood of it happening again?”
Protecting pets and other animals 🐶
Responsible rodent management also means considering animals that aren't the intended target.
We recently had a perfect reminder of this when a family member contacted us after finding their dog playing with a dead rat in the garden.
Naturally, they were concerned about what the rat may have been exposed to.
The carcass was removed and disposed of appropriately, but the incident was a useful reminder of why rodent management needs to consider the wider environment.
Rodent carcasses shouldn't simply be viewed as the end result of a treatment. Where rodenticides are being used, responsible management of the overall control programme matters.
Pest control is changing
Modern pest management is increasingly about knowledge, investigation and prevention, not simply applying pesticides.
CRRU's Code of Best Practice supports responsible rodenticide use, professional training and certification, and Integrated Pest Management.
For customers, that means choosing a pest professional who is prepared to investigate the reason behind the infestation and consider the risks and benefits of the available control options.
Our approach at Pest Smart Solutions & Consultancy
As a BPCA member and Certified Field Biologist, professional standards and responsible pest management are central to how we work.
Our approach is straightforward:
🔍 Identify the problem
🐀 Understand the extent of the activity
🏠 Investigate access and harbourage
🧱 Consider proofing and environmental improvements
🎯 Select appropriate control measures
🌿 Consider non-target animals and the wider environment
📋 Monitor and review
Rodenticide can be an important tool in professional rodent management, but it is a tool that should be used responsibly and as part of a wider pest management strategy.
Need help with rats or mice?
If you're experiencing rodent activity at your home or business, Pest Smart Solutions & Consultancy can help.
We provide:
🐀 Rat and mouse control
🔍 Professional rodent inspections
🧱 Rodent proofing solutions
🏢 Commercial pest management
🏠 Domestic pest control
📋 Pest management consultancy
🎓 Field Biologist services
Don't just treat the symptoms. Find out why the problem is happening.
📩 Contact Pest Smart Solutions & Consultancy to discuss professional rodent management and proofing solutions.