Bait Stations, Follow-Ups and Proofing Work for Rat and Mouse Control
Station checks recorded one by one, return visits that do not get forgotten, and the paper trail a food auditor asks to see.
Every station, every visit
On a commercial contract the technician walks a numbered set of bait stations and traps inside and around the building. The client's auditor will later ask what was found at each one. "All checked, no activity" in a notebook is not an answer.
The first visit is never the last
A rat problem in a restaurant or a mouse problem in a loft takes several visits: treatment, checks, clearance. The technician who did the first visit knows what they saw; the one who does the follow-up needs to see it too.
Proofing is where the problem ends
Baiting controls the rodents already inside. Proofing stops more coming in: gaps under doors, holes around pipes, broken air bricks, open drains. It is often quoted separately and done by a different person.
Paperwork the auditor wants
Food businesses are audited, and the pest control file is always opened. It needs visit reports, bait used, findings and recommendations, all dated and signed.
Start with the Free Plan
No time limits. Get full access to core features and upgrade when you're ready.
Read how rodent technicians plan station checks and proofing
What rodent control software should record
Rodent control software is mostly a record-keeping tool that happens to plan visits. On contract work the value is in the station-by-station history: where activity appears, how fast bait is taken, which areas never show anything. On domestic work the value is in follow-ups that actually happen and in notes that let a second technician pick up where the first left off.
Contracts and one-off call-outs
Commercial contracts bring regular visits at fixed intervals, plus call-outs when staff spot a rat in the yard. Domestic jobs are usually one-off treatments with two or three follow-ups. Both sit on the same board, and the contract visits need to be protected when the phone starts ringing. Autumn, when mice move indoors, is the usual test of whether a firm's contract rounds survive the rush of domestic calls.
Toxic bait, monitoring blocks and traps
Many clients and many regulations now push away from permanent toxic baiting towards monitoring with non-toxic blocks and using poison only when activity is found. That makes the station record even more important: the decision to switch a station to toxic bait, and to switch it back, should be dated and justified in the file.
In homes, the details that matter are different: where the droppings were, whether the loft or the kitchen void was treated, whether pets and children were considered, and when the family was told it was safe.
Firms that also deal with squirrels in lofts or other nuisance animals often look for wildlife control software. The same job structure applies: survey, action, follow-up, proofing, with the animal and method recorded.
What Shifton Field Service does
It plans contract visits, call-outs, follow-ups and proofing jobs on one board, gives technicians station forms and checklists on their phones, and keeps findings, photos, bait use, hours and signatures per site. Sole traders with one helper can use it free for as long as they run the business that size; invoicing, inventory, GPS location control and the customer portal are bought as modules.
It is not a regulatory register, it does not calculate bait doses, and it does not connect to electronic traps or monitoring sensors. It schedules the technicians and keeps the evidence of each visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can technicians record activity station by station?
Yes. The visit form lists stations by number, and the technician records activity and action for each one on the phone, with photos where needed.
How do we log which bait was used and how much?
The job form records product and quantity for each visit. With the paid Inventory module, the same quantities come off stock.
Can follow-up visits be planned after the first treatment?
The office books the follow-ups on the board when the first job closes, and each one carries the earlier findings, so the next technician starts informed.
Does a sole trader with a helper pay anything?
No. Two employees or fewer get the board, the app, forms and reports free, with no time limit. Invoicing, stock, GPS location control and the customer portal are paid modules.
Will the app keep working in a cold store or basement without signal?
Yes. Station checks, notes and photos can be entered deep inside a building where there is no reception, and they are sent once the phone reconnects on the way out.
Can proofing work be scheduled as its own job?
Yes. Proofing is booked as a separate job linked to the same site, with its own technician, materials and before and after photos.
Ready to transform your field operations?
Join thousands of field service companies that trust Shifton to run smarter every day.