BEST PRACTISE | PPC112 September 2023

BPCA Technical Manager, Natalie Bungay, tells us why it should be standard practice for pest professionals to carry out ERAs. 

The widely acknowledged purpose of an environmental risk assessment (ERA) is to determine which possible adverse environmental effects may occur at any specific site and to identify which measures are necessary to protect wildlife and the wider environment as far as possible. 

When using any method (that’s right, not just rodenticides!), we need to consider how our actions may impact wildlife and the environment.

Location, location, location!

Each treated site will have different environmental risks associated with the use of traps or rodenticides. The extent of these risks will vary greatly depending on local circumstances but few sites will be entirely free from environmental risk. 

For example, wildlife is present even in urban environments and may include feral pigeons, house sparrows, foxes and raptors, such as kestrels and sparrowhawks.  

Suburbia is home to a much richer variety of wildlife and environmental risks are obviously even more severe in rural areas, where wildlife is more abundant, such as on farms and shoots, and in other rural locations. 

Risks to non-target animals, especially wildlife, are greater when rodenticides are applied outdoors. This is why we must always consider how else we can impact the rodent population without the immediate reliance on rodenticides.

Why bother?

Examining a little further into the reasons why ERAs are imperative, we need to realise that their importance is focused on two areas:

• Legal requirement by way of the rodenticide label
• Professional responsibility to work safely and respectfully, in relation to the environment and its local wildlife.

Writing down and keeping records of ERAs will make sure that you are protected should you be challenged on any work you have done. 

As with all the things we do professionally, write down all actions taken and, in the instance you need the evidence of this good work, you have it.

Value of an ERA

Legal
By providing an ERA, you justify the use of a treatment method. This confers a level of protection should the worst come to pass.

Safeguarding
As a professional using professional tools you have a responsibility to ensure those tools are used correctly, and to safeguard the environment.

Competency
Undertaking an ERA is part of your due diligence. This showcases your competence, value and skills to your client.

The ERA shopping list

The key areas you need to survey and demonstrate that you have assessed the site properly are:

• What environmental and wildlife risks you may have found
• Is there a current infestation and if yes, why is it there?
• What can be done to control the infestation without using rodenticides (harbourage management, food source removal, proofing, trapping etc)?
• If you intend to use rodenticides, explain why
• If rodenticides are chosen as the preferred control method, you must indicate what is being used, where and for how long. 

Permanent or long-term baiting is allowed on some rodenticide labels but, again, you have to explain why this is being used, and even then only after you have considered all other options.

Do you need another reason?

Also, think about competitors – if they see that you’re not doing the proper ERAs for a site you have under contract, they may inform the client of your lapse in professional and legal responsibility, and use this to take the contract from you.

ERAs are also advantageous for your company image and customer relations. Developing and providing ERAs for your customers, whether they be residential or commercial, provides them with confidence. It shows that you represent a reputable company with high standards of application and pest eradication, as well as being considerate of the wider environment. 

Who doesn’t want customers to view their business that way?

Put it on paper

Assessing risk is something we always do in our minds, every day, at work and at home. In this industry, we’re trained to analyse risk in every job we do. However, we need to get better at writing it down. It’s no good if it stays in your head – how is anyone supposed to verify that you carried out your ERA with due diligence?

You can make notes of the ERAs you carry out by either downloading the CRRU template, or developing your own ERA.

Visit the CRRU website to download the ERA form template at thinkwildlife.org/download/environmental-risk-assessment-form/

As long as it covers the things it needs to, why not utilise treatment reports and record those day-to-day ERAs you are doing? If you undertake reports digitally, it’s easy to add a few sections on environmental risk assessing. And, if you use a handwritten report, then make sure you reference ERA considerations in the ‘actions’ or ‘risk assessing’ sections.

ERAs reflect good pest control

By Philippa Codling, Ecolab Technical Manager.

An ERA represents a decision-making process that we all should undertake before any pest control treatment.

1 Identify the target and assess local conditions

To decide how to control a pest problem we must first identify the target species and then assess the local conditions that contribute to and sustain this particular pest infestation.

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Some contributing factors may need to be addressed before treatment commences – for example, any alternate food sources that reduce the effectiveness of a food attractant in a trapping programme.

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Some local conditions should be left undisturbed until treatment is concluded – for example, a cluttered environment infested by rats should not be tidied up so that the treatment can exploit established rat runs.

2 Decide on the type of control

Once the infestation has been assessed you should use the hierarchy of control to determine what type of treatment is the most appropriate in that particular set of circumstances. Use your expertise and experience as a pest controller to evaluate the control options available.

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The least toxic and environmentally damaging control options should be considered first – with anticoagulant rodenticides, for example, only used where the application is justified.

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However, even a non toxic control measure can pose a risk to non-target species – such as snap traps where water voles are present. The knowledge to make this assessment, while factoring in all the elements and designing an effective treatment, are what sets a professional apart from an amateur.

3 Justify the treatment

Justification for the treatment you select will include balancing different risks – such as the risk to public health.

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For example, habitat management and trapping might take weeks to control a rat infestation at a motorway service station (if ever). Where rats pose a significant risk to health this delay in control is not acceptable.

The 24-hour nature of the service station means that a rat shoot is not possible. In these circumstances, a baiting programme may be the most appropriate means of control.

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An ERA is not meant to prevent you from carrying out a control treatment, it is there to support your decision-making process and enable you to justify the treatment selection you have made.