CRRU rodenticide stewardship: what it means for your commercial site

CRRU rodenticide stewardship is the UK Code of Best Practice that governs how professional rodenticides are used. For a commercial site it means non-toxic monitoring and proofing come first, toxic baiting is time-limited and recorded, and second generation anticoagulants can no longer be left permanently around an open perimeter. Done properly it controls rodents in roughly 35 days and stands up to any audit.

If your site has a rodent contract, CRRU stewardship is the framework your contractor should be working inside, whether they mention it to you or not. It is not optional, it is not new, and it has tightened over the last two years. Understanding what it requires protects your audit position and your wildlife liability at the same time. This article explains what the Code asks for, what changed in 2025, and what good rodent control on a commercial site actually looks like now.

What is CRRU rodenticide stewardship?

CRRU stands for the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use. Its UK Code of Best Practice sets the standard for how professional-grade rodenticides are stored, deployed, recorded and removed. The driver behind it is straightforward: anticoagulant rodenticides do not only affect rodents. They move up the food chain into owls, foxes and other predators that eat poisoned rats and mice. Stewardship exists to control rodents effectively while keeping that secondary poisoning to a minimum.

For a commercial client, the Code translates into a set of expectations your contractor must meet. Toxic bait is a considered intervention, not a permanent fixture. Every point is mapped, justified and recorded. And the whole programme is built to be removed once control is achieved, not left running indefinitely. This sits directly inside the wider compliance picture we set out in our guide to commercial pest control compliance.

Why does it matter to a commercial business?

Two reasons, and both have teeth. The first is audit. BRC, AIB and EHO assessors increasingly expect to see rodenticide use that follows the Code: evidence of non-toxic monitoring, a clear reason for any toxic baiting, and records that show the bait was time-limited. A contractor leaving permanent bait everywhere is now a finding, not reassurance.

The second is legal and reputational. Misuse of rodenticides that leads to environmental harm is a wildlife issue, and a commercial brand does not want to be on the wrong side of it. Stewardship is the framework that keeps you protected on both fronts.

There is a reputational dimension that is easy to overlook. Wildlife charities, regulators and the public are increasingly attentive to the secondary poisoning of owls, foxes and other predators that eat poisoned rodents. A commercial brand does not want to be linked to that. Following the Code is not only about passing an audit, it is about being able to say, with evidence, that your site controls rodents responsibly. For a business that trades on trust, that matters, and it is increasingly the standard your own clients and FM partners expect to see flowed down through the supply chain.

What changed in 2025?

The most significant recent change concerns second generation anticoagulant rodenticides, the SGARs. From 1 January 2025, the open-area pattern of use was withdrawn. In plain terms, it is no longer acceptable to use SGARs in outdoor locations unless the baiting is directly connected to a building. The days of a permanent ring of toxic bait boxes around an open yard or perimeter, baited whether or not there is activity, are over.

For commercial sites this is a real operational shift. A perimeter that was previously protected by standing toxic bait now needs to be managed with non-toxic monitoring, proofing, and targeted toxic intervention only where it is connected to a structure and genuinely justified. If your current provider has not adjusted their approach since the start of 2025, that is worth a conversation.

What does CRRU-compliant rodent control look like on the ground?

The Code follows a clear hierarchy, and a good commercial programme works through it in order rather than reaching for poison first.

1. Survey and identify. Establish what species is present, where it is getting in, and what is sustaining it. Harbourage, food and access drive every infestation.
2. Environmental management and proofing. Remove the food source, block the entry points, and make the site less amenable. This is the most durable control there is, because it removes the cause rather than the symptom.
3. Non-toxic monitoring. Monitoring blocks, traps and remote sensors establish activity levels and catch a developing problem early, without introducing toxin.
4. Targeted toxic baiting, time-limited. Where toxic bait is justified, it is deployed to a plan, recorded, and reviewed. Most infestations should be controlled within around 35 days.
5. Removal and review. Once control is achieved, toxic bait is removed and the site returns to monitoring. The programme is documented throughout.

Every step generates a record. That record is what makes the difference at audit, and it is exactly what we build into our commercial rodent control service. For multi-site estates, the same discipline has to be applied consistently across every location, which is why we cover it in our article on multi-site and FM pest control.

The COSHH side of rodenticide use

Rodenticides are biocides, so their use on your site falls under COSHH. That means a COSHH assessment for the product, a method statement for how it is applied, and consideration of non-target species. Stewardship and safe-working documentation are two halves of the same record. We cover the wider documentation set in our guide to COSHH, RAMS and the ERA, and the HSE COSHH guidance sets out the legal duty in full.

Frequently asked questions