MANILA, Philippines - The arrival of the wet season is often a cause for concern in many communities in the country due to various diseases that occur during this time. One of the major carriers of wet season diseases are creatures that may be small but are crafty, persistent and expert lurkers in the homes’ dark, unseen spaces: mice and rats.
This is why Bayer Philippines tries to help these communities, one barangay at a time, through the RatAttack information advocacy. This time, the Racumin RatAttack was held at Road 7, Barangay West Crame in San Juan City.
Guia Gomez, guest speaker and mother of San Juan Mayor JV Ejercito, welcomed Racumin RatAttack’s campaign in their municipality.
“Rats may be small, but they are also intelligent, resilient and dangerous. So keeping West Crame free from rats takes knowledge and effort from everyone,” she said.
“We’d like to thank Racumin for their concern for the health of our constituents. It is good to be educated about the dangers lurking in our environment. This information campaign is very important to the health and well-being of our community,” she added.
Mari-Gail Lasam-Cruz, marketing manager for Bayer Advanced Racumin in the Philippines, gave a lecture on the general characteristics and behavior of mice and rats.
“Rats can multiply really fast. One female rat alone can have as many as seven litters a year, and each of those will produce more rats as well. So even if you kill one in a rat-infested community, it barely has an effect on their population,” Cruz said. “Rats are also good at avoiding traps and most instant rat-kill poison.”
Later on, she discussed the diseases and other dangers posed by these rodents, like rat salmonella or food poisoning, and leptospirosis.
Cruz also shared how the residents can control the spread of rats by maintaining cleaner surroundings and with the help of the Racumin Rodent Control System, which is composed of Racumin Paste, Racumin Ready-Made Bait, and Racumin Tracking Powder products.
Racumin products contain Coumatetralyl, which has a delayed killing action so that fellow rats would not “suspect” that it was the “killer.” Outsmarting rats has never been this easy.
After the lecture, the Racumin RatAttack team distributed educational leaflets to the participants. The team also visited several houses near West Crame’s barangay hall where they placed Racumin products in rat-prone areas.
In his speech, West Crame barangay captain Teodoro “Teddy” Calaunan Sr. stressed the importance of keeping surroundings clean to prevent rats from flourishing.
“When we just throw our trash everywhere, we are actually taking care of the rats,” he said. “Hopefully, we will all follow the Racumin RatAttack team’s suggestions when we go back to our homes.”
Actress Yayo Aguila also attended the event, saying she also has had her own share of rat problems.
“It’s not only the poor places that breed rats. Fortunately, I learned early on the importance of keeping my house clean. We all have to be diligent when it comes to cleanliness. And we should not forget to share what we have learned here to our friends, too,” she said.
“We’re happy to have these many people attend the Racumin RatAttack. It’s inspiring to see people interested in the protection of their communities,” said Bubbles Santos, operations manager for Bayer Advanced Racumin in the Philippines.
The Racumin Paste contains an ingredient that makes it irresistible to rats. In easy-to-use sachets, it can be placed whenever one suspects that rats are threatening his home and community.
The Racumin Ready-Made Bait is made from fragrant rice, which is attractive to rats.
Meanwhile, the Racumin Tracking Powder acts as an effective bait and tracking substance. It sticks to their fur, leaving a trail that will help identify where they dwell.