The occupational health and safety administration OSHA requires all employees in this
country be properly trained in known work place health and safety hazards and properly
trained in how to protect themselves from those known hazards
Many operators are doing the screening and repair work to properly exclude wildlife from
structures and many also do the clean out of hazardous build up of droppings from bats,
birds, raccoons and pigeons and many have also undertaken the entire attic restoration process
of removing and replacing insulation infested with mice and or saturated with urine and
feces from bats or flying squirrels And lets not forget bird netting on large buildings
Anyone partaking in wildlife control understands that in order to be successful you must be
able to climb ladders and rooftops, many critters are in attics and chimney voids and there
is no other way to access them.
OSHAs duty to have fall protection clearly states any employee working at or over a height
greater than 6 feet SHALL be trained in fall protection.
All of this places wildlife control operations under both OSHA general industry standards
and construction industry standards which refer back and forth to each other on many
regulations, some of the specific standards include; general safety and health provisions And in some cases scaffolding, first aid and even sanitation.
There is a whole list of airborne health hazards and diseases that a wildlife operator can
be exposed to and the law says you must be made aware of them
A zoonotic disease is an infectious disease transmissible to humans. There are many types of diseases
that can be contracted either directly or indirectly from wildlife. Our biggest threats are aerosolized
contaminants that we breath in as dust and bites and scratches from known
rabies vectors
LCM (Lymphocytic choriomeningitis) Hanta Virus, Brucellosis, Histoplasmosis even Tularemia (dont forget
fall hazards and electrical hazards in attics and crawls)
Anyone who throws a ladder up for hire or is doing even
some of these tasks should have at least a minimum of an approved ten hour OSHA safety
course
As an authorized OSHA outreach instructor and the owner of a wildlife operation I have been
working the past few years with the national wildlife control operators association NWCOA
to put OSHA awareness up on every ones list, we have an OSHA awareness presentation which
we have presented across the country and have produced safety training presentations for our annual
wildlife control conference
Now I am pleased to announce that I will be working with MAPAC to
bring you a ten hour OSHA safety course tailored specifically for wildlife control
operations, this class would include a certificate of attendance (completion card) from the United States department of
labor and industries
The course would be taught on an annual basis and would have a minimum attendee
requirement and have a fee attached
Remember you have the right to a safe & healthful workplace It’s the Law
For more information visit http://www.osha.gov or call 1-800-321-OSHA
Companies with more than 10
employees are required to maintain records of that training and have reporting requirements
it’s a federal law, called the
Williams-Steiger occupational health and safety act of 1970
personal
protective equipment
respiratory protection
ladders & stairways
fall protection
material handling
hazard communication
And what is in the dirt you are crawling around in? the spores that lead to
histoplasmosis and raccoon roundworm eggs are often found in soil under decks and porches
and crawls of older homes that wildlife have been using as a latrine
not to mention old
resilient pesticides may still may be residing in the soil of crawl spaces treated 20 years ago
This course would immediately bring your company into compliance with
OSHA training requirements and for those companies already facing issues this course would
be applicable to abatement of violations for failing to have properly trained employees
for more information Email your
Public Relations and Safety Director