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April 8, 1987 <br />RAMSEY COUNTY <br />Public Health Department <br />Raymond G. Cink, Director <br />Environmental Health Division <br />1910 W. County Rd. B. - Room 209 <br />Roseville, Mn. 55113 <br />633 -0316 — 298 -5972 <br />John Palacio <br />City of Little Canada <br />515 E. Little Canada Road <br />Little Canada, MN 55117 <br />Dear John: <br />RE: Woodpiles as Rodent Harborages <br />Rodent infestations are a public nuisance and even more <br />importantly a potential public health threat. Rodents and the <br />fleas they carry have long been associated with the spread of <br />disease. (See Enclosure #1) <br />There are three major components necessary for a rodent <br />infestation; a food source, a water source, and a harborage <br />source. Little can be done to eliminate water sources so we must <br />work on the other two. Potential food sources are dealt with by <br />requiring residents to use rodent -proof garbage containers and <br />property storing and disposing of garbage and refuse. Another <br />problem can come from indiscriminate feeding of birds and animals <br />to include domestic pets. The practice of dumping out large <br />quantities of pet food and letting it sit out for days is not <br />advised. The harborage problem is difficult to work on. <br />Attempts have been made to eliminate areas that can be used for <br />harborage. Public nuisance ordinances dealing with the illegal <br />storage of refuse, junk vehicles, etc. have helped in eliminating <br />harborages but situations still arise. <br />Woodpiles are such a situation, especially when they are <br />unregulated. Wood stored on the ground make natural harborages, <br />for burrowing rodents. Often times the piles are larger than <br />what can be burned in a season, so wood remains in place and is <br />covered with new wood. Two methods can be used to lessen the <br />potential of woodpiles being harborages. These are as follows: <br />1) only allowing wood to be stored on a nonpervious material <br />such as a poured concrete slab or 2) storing the wood above <br />ground on racks. The height of the racks should be high enough <br />to allow monitoring the area for signs of rodents, usually at <br />least 8 -12 inches. An additional requirement of having the wood <br />cut into fireplace lengths is essential to eliminate the storage <br />of pallets, boards, etc. Page 21 <br />