Preventive Pest Control is about the things that can be done to avoid problems with rats, mice and other pests, especially in the fields of catering, food manufacture and warehousing. People tend to associate pests with dirty conditions but this really over-simplifies the matter. Pests will thrive and multiply in even the cleanest conditions if they are given the opportunity to do so. To deny them that opportunity is to practice what we have called Preventive Pest Control. The general objectives of preventive pest control are to make our buildings inaccessible or unattractive to pests and to stop pests getting at our food stocks. Many different activities can make a contribution to these objectives, among them the construction and maintenance of buildings and plant warehousing practice, cleaning systems and the training of staff.