Rats and Mice at San Francisco Businesses

Restaurants on Valencia, taquerias on Mission, produce businesses near Jerrold Avenue, offices and warehouses in SoMa: San Francisco businesses deal with rats where food, deliveries and old buildings meet. The health department's rodent program is both complaint-based and proactive, so it's better to have a plan in place before someone else reports the problem.

Owners and managers can call and get put through to a licensed company set up for commercial accounts. Expect a standing schedule and paperwork after each visit.

What a Commercial Program Includes

Most programs combine exterior bait stations or traps along the building, interior traps in storage and back-of-house areas, door sweeps and sealing at back and loading doors, and regular visits with a written service log. Keep those logs. They show what's been done if anyone asks.

• Exterior stations along walls and near dumpsters
• Interior traps in storage and kitchen areas
• Sealing at back doors, loading doors and pipe entries
• A written log after each visit

Garbage Rules

The health department's guidance points to Health Code Article 6, section 290, on garbage containers. Containers should be pest-proof and watertight, with tight-fitting lids. A dumpster with a broken lid or a pile of bags out back feeds every rat on the block.

Shared Buildings

If your business is on the ground floor of a mixed-use building, rats move between your space, the apartments above and the building next door. Work with the building owner on sealing the shell. The apartment building page covers the residential side.

Related: Rat Control, Rodent Exclusion, Apartment Building Rodents

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