Businesses face more than just the threat of losing customers to pest infestations. They also have to adhere to health codes and pass inspections.

Rodents, cockroaches, bed bugs and other pests threaten the safety of employees and customers. They also damage products and create unsanitary conditions. Pest control professionals can help you develop a cost-effective plan to keep pests away from your business.

Insects

Insects are the most numerous animals in terrestrial ecosystems. Their presence is not always welcome. Some insects cause plant damage by chewing leaves, sucking juices or boring into roots, stems and seeds. Others carry disease organisms that infect plants directly through their bodies (e.g. aphids, leafhoppers and thrips) or indirectly by serving as the essential pathogen host for some of its stages (e.g. corn rootworms and wheat flour beetles).

Pests may contaminate products, foods, operational equipment or work surfaces with their excreta, hairs or body parts. They can also transmit diseases by carrying parasites that can be transferred to humans or other animals, causing illness. In addition, improper use of insecticides can harm beneficial insects and earthworms by killing them or by poisoning soil and water supplies. It can also result in the development of resistance to chemicals by target pest species. This can be a major problem in commercial facilities where reputation can be harmed by even one bad incident.

Rodents

Rodents scurry, climb, squeeze and burrow – and cause a lot of damage. In addition to structural damage, they carry and transmit many diseases directly and through fleas and ticks. From contaminated products to a ruined reputation, rats are a serious threat for any business.

Keep a close eye on pilfered food and look for signs like droppings, gnaw marks, grease stains and scrambling noises. Clean up garbage regularly and seal entry points. Rats are known to enter buildings through gaps and cracks around the foundation, doors and windows.

Commercial pest control service sites can also be targeted by rodents that hitch rides into facilities on deliveries, pallets or shipping materials. These pests are known as commensal rodents – they have coevolved with humans and share the same foods, water sources and shelter. Watch out for deer mice, house mice, Norway rats and roof rats. They often live in cluttered spaces and may hide under or behind equipment, shelving and other items.

Wasps

Wasps are notorious for their negative public image, despite the fact that anecdotal evidence suggests they’re important to plant health and ecosystem balance. For example, social wasps kill caterpillars and aphids to feed their own larvae. In greenhouses, this helps control pests without the use of harmful chemicals.

Workers also scavenge dead insects and plants for nutrients, speeding up decomposition and recycling of materials back into the soil and food web. They pollinate flowers, enhancing cross-pollination and fruit production. They also destroy parasitized plants and eat crop-damaging caterpillars.

While wasps tend to be protective of their nests, they can be controlled with regular treatments of eaves, foundations, and cracks where they build their nests. A commercial pest control technician will treat these areas to prevent their return. For those who are at risk of severe sting reactions, wearing appropriate clothing during pest control work is recommended. In addition, standard trash receptacles should be cleaned regularly to reduce odours and attractants.

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs can be very difficult to detect because of their small size and a tendency to stay hidden. Signs of infestation may include dark red excrement and lightcolored shed skins.

Using preventive techniques like sanitation, monitoring and ongoing maintenance is the best way to keep bed bug problems at bay. Training housekeeping and maintenance staff to look for signs of bed bugs is also recommended.

In the event that a bed bug problem does arise, a commercial pest control company should be contacted immediately. The pest control team will inspect the affected areas and implement a treatment plan that is tweaked specifically to your business’s needs.

Bed bugs are highly resilient and can resist most insecticides, but a professional pest control company is trained to find and treat all of them. Bed bug treatment plans often include reducing clutter in affected rooms to make it easier for the pest controller to inspect and treat the area.