How to Keep Pests Out of the Workplace
December 15, 2021
Whether you’re a business owner, an employee or a customer, finding pests in any professional setting is unsettling. If you come across a pest infestation in your office, it’s important to act fast to ensure your employees feel safe and secure while in the office. If the problem isn’t taken care of quickly and effectively, there’s a greater risk for exposure to diseases carried by pests, for disturbance in the workflow within your business and for damage to your brand’s reputation.
To help you prevent pests in the office, our professional exterminators at Preferred Pest Control are sharing their expertise on the signs of an infestation and commercial pest control. Keep reading to learn which pests are most common in the workplace, where to find them and how our pest control experts can help you keep pests out for good.
Most Common Pests Found in the Workplace
With numerous people going in and out of your office building each day, the likelihood of pests sneaking inside can be quite high. Our pest technicians come across a variety of pests when treating commercial properties, and are sharing what to do to keep each type of pest out, including:
How to Keep Gnats Out of the Workplace
These tiny pests are common in Iowa, and because of the rapid rate at which they reproduce, can be an extreme nuisance. Gnats are often found near indoor potted plants and drains. As a business owner, you can expect to find gnats flying around plants in the office, on windowsills where gnats often think they can escape, or around drains. While harmless, gnats breed incredibly quickly and are a significant inconvenience. One gnat can lay up to 300 eggs in its four month lifetime. If you come across them in your office, don’t hesitate to reach out to professional exterminators.
How to Keep Cockroaches Out of the Workplace
Cockroaches prefer dark, hidden and warm areas. Finding one cockroach in your business often means there are dozens more hiding nearby. While all pests found within a business can cause a disturbance amongst customers and employees, cockroaches have an especially negative affect as they’re often associated with unsanitary environments. To make matters worse, cockroaches reproduce at an alarming rate, and can even trigger asthma and allergies in children and adults. If someone encounters a cockroach in your business, others are likely to hear about it leaving your reputation at risk. Because these pests can survive extremely harsh conditions, and often hide in hard to find places, it’s important to leave extermination in the hands of professionals.
How to Keep Ants Out of the Workplace
Ants are more than just a nuisance. Once inside your business, ants can compromise the safety and satisfaction of your customers and employees. Some can even cause damage to the property as some species, like carpenter ants, can cause structural damage to wood. Understanding the causes of an ant infestation and where they are likely to nest is critical in stopping an infestation. Once one ant makes its way inside and locates a sustainable food source, it releases a pheromone to alert the rest of its colony where the food is located. While most home and business owners resort to brute force tactics, like spray, to eliminate an ant infestation, our experts recommend avoiding spray. Instead, reach out to professionals who will attack the problem more systematically by using products that ants take back to the colony, ensuring your ant problem is gone for good.
How to Keep Mice Out of the Workplace
Because mice are nocturnal, home and business owners don’t typically notice them unless they’re seen foraging at night when it’s dark and quiet. When it comes to avoiding a mice infestation in your business, cleanliness is key. Mice are attracted to any food remains left in trash cans, on countertops and behind shelves and desks. If you, an employee or customer come across a mouse on your property, it should be reported to office management immediately. Mice can enter buildings through cracks around doors, windows and utility pipes, and once inside, mice can quickly spread disease putting everyone at risk. Preventing mice in an office requires cooperation and cleanliness from all who are involved – building management, occupants and pest professionals helping you eliminate your infestation.
How to Keep Spiders Out of the Workplace
Spider infestations typically happen over a long period of time, however, exercising regular spider control and inspections is important to ward off any potential infestations. With that being said, it only takes a few pregnant spiders to present a spider problem in your office. Like mice, spiders are nocturnal and will typically only come out during the night. Office tidiness will go a long way in preventing a spider infestation. Spiders will hide behind or underneath almost anything. Keeping your office space clutter free will eliminate any potential hiding spots for spiders. If you do come across an infestation, our professional exterminators can help. In addition to effective pest control services, we offer regular spider inspections to ensure your problem never returns.
Where Office Pest Control Experts Look For Pest Problems
- Office plants - Many insects gravitate towards natural vegetation, but gnats and ants especially will be attracted to the damp soil in potted plants. Overwatering most commonly can lead to gnats. Offices can prevent this problem by waiting until the soil is dry to water the plant, emptying excess water from pot saucers and replacing infested plant soil with new soil.
- Kitchen - All insects and rodents need food and water to survive, and kitchens are the easiest place for critters to find what they need. Office kitchens are usually full of shared supplies that employees can use, so be aware of the signs of rodents or other pests. Especially because many pests found in homes and office buildings can present potential health hazards. For example mice can carry hantavirus, a disease which presents flu-like symptoms and can result in death.
- Break room - Even if your break room isn’t connected to a kitchen, there’s a good chance there’s a water cooler and potentially snacks to enjoy on a break, both of which can attract a number of pests. If your office has a pop machine, be aware of how you store the empty cans, ants and other insects are especially attracted to the sticky, sugary liquid left behind. It’s essential to clean up after eating in the kitchen or break room to prevent pests from being attracted to your office space.
- Bathroom - Bathrooms often have a lot of moisture and potential hiding places for critters. Cockroaches especially may thrive in this type of damp environment, hiding during the day, then becoming active at night. Other pests that are commonly found in bathrooms include ants, spiders, silverfish, springtails and centipedes.
- Desks - When we talk about pest prevention methods in the office, desks are usually one of the most surprising pest hiding spots for many. Similar to the kitchen or break room, many employees keep snacks at their desk and could be at risk of attracting pests. If you or an employee keeps snacks at your desk, remember to keep the area underneath and around your desk clean and to store snacks in pest resistant sealed containers. Any crumbs left behind are a warm welcome for nearby pests.
Property Management Pest Control You Can Trust
For commercial pest control services in Des Moines, our team at Preferred Pest Control has you covered. Our technicians will visit your property regularly and cover many check-in points to look for any pest activity. We will report any activity or other pest-related findings to the building manager, along with suggestions on how to prevent pests from invading in the future.
When it comes to property management pest control, our pest technicians at Preferred Pest Control understand that pest problems can cost businesses profits, customers and your good reputation. If you’re in search of pest control companies for office buildings, discreet and effective services are key factors to consider. Our office pest control team will educate property managers and staff on the most likely pests they might encounter in their office building, pest prevention strategies, and how our pest management plan works to treat an infestation quickly and quietly.
Preferred Pest is the Best Commercial Pest Control Company in Des Moines
Preferred Pest Control will work with you to determine what pest problems you're having, and then we’ll perform our services in a manner that is discreet and convenient for you. Our commercial exterminators focus not only on solving your immediate pest problem, but also on earning your long-term trust by giving you the finest commercial pest control service and most professional experience possible. Contact Preferred Pest Control's expert technicians to discuss pest prevention options for your business, or give us a call at (515) 415-5550 today!