IVM Products

Integrated vector management (IVM) is a decision-making process for the optimal use of resources in the management of vector populations. These decisions are made in order to reduce or interrupt transmission of vector-borne diseases, and prevent nuisance vector populations from impacting the quality of life.

The approach seeks to improve the efficacy, cost-effectiveness, ecological soundness and sustainability of vector control activities.

The key objectives of Integrated Vector Management include:

• The selection of proven vector control methods based on knowledge of vector biology and ecology, and disease transmission.
• Utilizing of a range of interventions, separately or in combination and often synergistically, integrating all available and effective measures, whether chemical, biological, or environmental.
• Collaborating within the health sector and with other public and private sectors that impact vector control.
• Engaging local communities and other stakeholders.
• Knowledge and compliance with public health regulatory and legislative frameworks.
• The rational use of insecticides.

The OCVCD’s management policy for roof rat (Rattus rattus) control is to use the objectives of IVM in the following fields: education, source reduction, and chemical control.

To learn more about rat IVM practices please refer to the District's IVM Plan.

Education

The OCVCD has a multifaceted roof rat education program that includes:

• Presentations and participation in local outreach events to educate the public about rodent control practices.
• The creation and distribution of training DVDs for homeowners to educate them about rats, how to reduce rat populations, and how to rat-proof their residence.
• Extensive literature on rat control, rat trapping, common entry points for rats on houses and mobile homes, vegetation that attracts rats, alternative ground cover that rats are not attracted to, how to rat-proof homes, and many other publications are available in print and electronically.
• Inspectors educate homeowners and neighborhood groups about rats on their property and how to remove sources that would attract rats onto the property. 
• Staff attends local and national educational conferences to learn about advances in rat control techniques, products, and other measures to better educate and protect the public from rats and the potential harm they can cause.

Source Reduction

Good environmental management practices supplemented by the judicious use of rodenticides are the most effective approaches to roof rat control. Sanitation and good housekeeping are the first steps in a successful rat control program. The homeowner can help control rat populations by doing the following:

• Harvest all fruit, especially oranges, avocadoes, peaches, apricots, plums, walnuts and tangerines as soon as they ripen. 
• Never leave pet food outside overnight.
• Keep pet food in sealed metal containers if stored in the garage or other outbuildings.
• Keep palm trees and yucca plants well trimmed.  Algerian ivy, oleander, bougainvillea, and other thickly matted plants should be periodically thinned and trimmed well away from roofs, walls, fences, utility poles, and trees. For a complete list of plants that rats nest in, click here.
• Store wood and lumber piles on racks at least 18 inches above the ground and 12 inches away from walls. Storage boxes housed in utility sheds should be stacked close together and in an orderly fashion.  Clean up debris piles.
• Repair leaky faucets and eliminate any other unnecessary standing water.

When renovating the yard and/or planning new landscaping, undesirable landscape vegetation should be eliminated from the plans and replaced by vegetation types that do not afford harborage to rats.  A list of alternative landscaping (e.g. ground covers) is available on this website.

Chemical Control

OCVCD uses chemical control products in conjunction with mechanical control. Without removing food and harborage sources, placing rodenticides is an ineffective means of roof rat control. Residents of Orange County requesting rat control, must comply with recommendations to reduce the attractiveness of their property to rats prior to rodenticide placement. Placement of rodenticide bait on a property occurs only if the resident is >18 years of age, is able to sign a release of liability waiver, complies with recommendations from the Inspector, and is not directly adjacent to an environmentally sensitive area.

The District currently applies the rodenticide ContracCake, active ingredient bromadiolone, inside tamper-proof bait stations, to control Norway and roof rat populations. Bromadiolone is a second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide, as compared to the first generation anticoagulant rodenticides that many rodent populations developed resistance to during the 1970s and 1980s. Bromadiolone is available in "over the counter" rodent control products available to homeowners, as well as formulations for use by agriculture and pest control industries and vector control. Bromadiolone was selected by the District because it is the least toxic product that is effective on rats and labeled for use in the residential setting. The product has a highly efficacious and readily available antidote that can be administered in a timely manner for both humans and pets if it is inadvertently ingested. Bromadiolone is a vitamin K antagonist.

Information for veterinarians can be found here.