Build a Pest Management Program

Nobody likes pests. Whether you’re talking about spiders, ants, roaches or rodents, at best they’re unpleasant and unsightly. At worst they’re actually a significant threat, according to Dr. Ron Harrison, director of training at the Atlanta-based Orkin Pest Control Training Center.

“First of all, many pests cause health concerns,” Harrison says, pointing out that pests can carry and transmit diseases, cause respiratory issues in people with asthma and allergies, and even cause injuries with bites and stings. “The second thing that we worry a lot about is the damage that they can cause to your structure; because they feed on it, there’s a possibility that the integrity of the building could be compromised.”

While the occasional fly on the wall is inevitable, maintenance professionals should strive to stay pest-free by responding to potential problems early and often, before a slight bother becomes a significant headache with serious repercussions for your business.

“If there is a pest problem in your building, word spreads like wild fire,” says Greg Baumann, vice president of technical services and senior scientist for the Fairfax, Va.-based National Pest Management Association. “That causes two problems. The first is lack of productivity among people in the building, because they’re chatting about it. The second is that there’s a reputation problem with your customers.”

Pest Management
The key to pest treatment and prevention is careful planning, according to Baumann, not careless panic.

“Today, most professionals use integrated pest management,” he says. That is, they treat pest problems not only with pesticides, but also with intellect.

“When you hire a professional,” Baumann continues, “you’re not just paying for chemicals; you’re paying for the expertise to outsmart the pest.”

Integrated pest management has three key steps: inspection, identification and treatment. Following all three will keep your tenants safe, your building strong and your business credible.

Step One: Inspection
There are three main types of pests, according to Harrison. There are crawlers, such as mice, spiders and American cockroaches, which enter your building via low spaces, like doors and utility penetrations; fliers, such as flies, wasps and mosquitoes, which enter through high spaces, like windows and roofs; and a third class of miscellaneous pests, which consists of species like fleas and ticks that are generally carried into your building by employees or inside deliveries.

Inspection, the first step in integrated pest management, is all about identifying openings in your structure where all three types of pests can find their way in.

“You have to analyze your structure,” Harrison says. “Is there anything a little bit thicker than four or five sheets of paper—under a door, around a window, around a plumbing penetration—where pests can get in? It’s about watching and observing what’s happening structurally.”

Step Two: Identification
Identifying what kind of pests your building is most vulnerable to can help you determine how you can make your building less attractive to them.

“Pests come in for one of three reasons,” Harrison says. “Light attracts them in, temperature attracts them in or some kind of odor attracts them in. You have to ask yourself, ‘What kind of attractions can I eliminate?’”

Because different stimulants attract different pests, identification is key. As part of your inspection routine, monitor your facility for signs of existing pests, including droppings, carcasses, eggs and gnaw marks. A pest professional can help you process the evidence in order to assess specific threats.

Step Three: Treatment
Upon identifying specific threats—whether you’re more prone to ants or termites, for instance—you can institute control measures for treating and preventing them.

“Control measures can be as simple as closing the windows or putting weather stripping around doors,” Baumann says.

Door sweeps, window screens, air curtains and air strips are all effective and affordable solutions for pest prevention. Equally important, however, is human behavior.

“Look at how people in your building store their lunches,” Baumann says. “Offices can have more pest problems than restaurants because people put their lunches in their drawers, then eat at their desk and store the leftovers there for later; that’s a regular buffet for pests.”

Leave It to Professionals
Although do-it-yourself solutions can be effective for treating occasional intruders, store-bought traps and poisons won’t do much to prevent major infestations, according to Harrison. For that reason, building managers should consider partnering with a pest professional for regular monthly inspections, maintenance and treatment.

“You want to have an expert there who’s watching your back,” he says.

Still, building managers play an important role, according to Baumann. “Building managers are an early warning system,” he says.

For that reason, Harrison recommends building managers train their tenants on pest management so that they know how to identify and report potential problems. “Screaming and hollering doesn’t do any good,” he concludes. “Having a process in place does.”