As a Maryland business owner, you have to deal with ongoing costs every month, including insurance, payroll, maintenance, and taxes, to name a few.
One cost you may overlook is performing routine pest control. Most property managers may think a few pests here or there is no big deal, or simply cleaning the place every now and then is sufficient, but you’d be mistaken. Living in a sub-tropical climate like Maryland means that pests are more common than you think, especially during the warmer months.
From damaged packaging to disease transmission and contact with one of your customers, you cannot afford to have pests roam free at your business.
This article will discuss the importance of commercial pest control and nine effective tactics to manage pest issues at your business.
Importance of Pest Control in Commercial Properties
Business owners may overlook the importance of commercial pest control, but many cannot afford the consequences. Pest control is vital to maintaining any commercial property’s success and safety. Here are the key reasons why:
- Protecting Business Reputation: In today’s digital age, a single pest sighting can lead to damaging online reviews and negative publicity. Maintaining a pest-free environment ensures customers’ confidence and protects your business image.
- Ensuring Health and Safety: Pests like rodents, cockroaches, and flies can spread harmful bacteria and diseases. This is particularly concerning for businesses that handle food, as infestations can lead to contamination and potential health code violations.
- Preventing Property Damage: Termites, rodents, and other pests can cause significant damage to the structure of a building or its contents. For instance, termites can weaken wooden structures, and rodents can chew through wires, creating fire hazards.
- Maintaining Compliance: Many industries are subject to strict health and safety regulations. Regular pest control helps businesses avoid fines, closures, and legal issues by ensuring compliance with these standards.
- Saving Money Long-Term: Proactive pest control can prevent costly infestations and repairs. Early detection and management are far less expensive than addressing widespread damage or loss of business due to a pest problem.
By addressing these concerns, businesses can protect their assets, maintain a positive reputation, and ensure a safe environment for everyone who interacts with the property.
Common Pests Found in Commercial Settings
While nearly any kind of pest infestation is possible in a commercial setting, some pests are more likely to be found in these types of buildings. Due to the size and type of commercial property you are dealing with, you will be more likely to run into the following pests:
- Cockroaches: Roaches tend to infest urban areas with access to standing water and food, such as restaurants, healthcare facilities, and even factories.
- Rodents: Rats and mice are extremely common in office buildings and factories, offering warmth, insulation, and lots of hard objects on which to gnash their teeth.
- Ants: Ants are extremely common to all commercial properties in the warmer months, especially properties with an adjacent grassy lot.
- Spiders: Large factories and office buildings with areas that get little foot traffic frequently suffer from spiders.
- Bed Bugs: While more common in hotels and motels, bed bugs can make their way into any building, including healthcare facilities.
- Termites: Responsible for billions in property damage each year, termites can strike all types of commercial properties and wreak heavy financial losses on your business.
Tactics for Effective Commercial Pest Management
As a business owner, it can be incredibly distressing to discover a pest infestation in your facility. However, with the right knowledge and partner on your side, you can tackle any pest infestation and prevent future infestations from occurring. Here are some helpful tactics for commercial pest management:
1. Conduct Regular Inspections
Having regular inspections performed is a big part of protecting your business from a pest infestation. An experienced exterminator will be able to inspect your building, including areas where pests are more common or that are difficult to reach, and identify the beginning stages of a pest infestation before treating it and making sure the infestation doesn’t get bigger.
2. Implement Sanitation Practices
Like all animals, pests are drawn to a few essentials for survival: food, water, and shelter. By implementing strict cleaning practices, you can significantly reduce your chances of a pest infestation. Daily sanitation practices should be documented and clearly displayed for all employees to reference.
3. Seal Entry Points and Vulnerable Areas
Pests can get through even the tiniest of cracks and crevices, so sealing these areas can prevent them from getting into your building. You can do this by using a storebought caulk or sealant and applying weatherstripping to doors and windows. During your pest inspection, your exterminator will actually help identify any vulnerable areas where pests are liable to get through.
4. Set Up Preventative Maintenance Programs
Many local exterminators offer preventative maintenance programs to get rid of pests. These programs typically involve an array of various pest control practices, including barrier sprays, traps, bait stations, and IPM practices, designed to eliminate any pests on the premises and prevent future ones from making their way onto it.
5. Use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Techniques
Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is a science-based pest management approach that uses a combination of chemical and common sense practices to get rid of pests. While IPM is a more formal approach to pest control used by exterminators, its uses can be adapted by property owners to help deter pests. Learn more about Integrated Pest Management to see how you can adopt its practices to protect your property.
6. Train Employees on Pest Prevention and Reporting
Making sure your employees are properly trained not only on how to prevent pests but also on what to do if they discover a pest infestation is imperative to stopping pests in their tracks. Some tips will include implementing a formal sanitation program, including setting up traps and baits to thwart local pests, as well as a reporting requirement that ensures all pests on your property are formally documented and communicated to management.
7. Establish Waste Management Protocols
Waste is a massive cost for businesses, but it can also bring around another unwanted cost: pests. From unsealed garbage with food scra[s that attract cockroaches to wet cardboard that attracts termites, it’s imperative that you establish proper water management procedures. Be sure to educate your employees on how to properly remove trash from your building and where to put trash bags for pickup by your local waste management service.
8. Monitor High-Risk Areas Frequently
Certain parts of your building may be more vulnerable to pests than others, especially areas where trash or food is kept. While it is important to maintain a high level of cleanliness throughout your building, you should pay extra attention to these high-risk areas. Your exterminator should outline these areas during an inspection to ensure that you know where to monitor.
9. Partner with a Professional Pest Control Company
Having a trusted and knowledgeable exterminator on your side can give you peace of mind that your business is protected from pests. The return on investment for enrolling in a seasonal pest control program or routine inspections may not be immediately visible to you, but the long-term costs of dealing with pests–especially to your reputation–will far exceed the amount of money you put into outsourcing this tiresome task to a professional.
For trusted commercial pest control in Maryland, contact the experts at Pest Czar. We are a QualityPro and GreenPro-certified exterminator that is licensed to work with all types of buildings and facilities in Maryland.
FAQs
When should a business consider partnering with a professional pest control service?
It is wise for a business owner to reach out to a professional exterminator at the first sign of a pest infestation. Ignoring a pest problem can be incredibly damaging to a business’s reputation and can also be a huge health hazard, so it is imperative that business owners contact a pest control service as soon as an infestation is suspected or discovered.
How can the success of a pest management plan be measured?
The biggest indicator that a pest management plan is working is if there is a noticeable decrease in pest activity. A business owner should notice significantly fewer pests, or ideally none at all, following pest control treatment.
What should a business do if pest issues continue despite preventive measures?
If pest control issues continue despite preventative measures, a business owner should contact their exterminator to let them know what’s happening. A good exterminator will be able to recommend additional or more intense measures in order to get the infestation under control.
How often should pest control strategies be reviewed and updated?
For most pest infestations, it is recommended that businesses have their facility inspected and treated about once per year. However, the length of time between pest control services can vary depending on the size of the building and how severe the infestation is. Some businesses may require treatment quarterly or even every month in extreme cases.