With record heat waves sweeping through the US and Canada in 2021, you may find yourself most worried about whether the AC is working or not. But one annoying detail of all this summer heat might have flown under your radar—pests.
As spring turns to summer, the bugs are out. From minor nuisances like ants and fruit flies to full-blown roach infestations, keeping your facility clear of them is important. These bugs often carry diseases, leave droppings and grease trails on your surfaces, and bother your employees and visitors.
We want to help break down the pests you’ll probably see, homebrew tricks you can use to keep them at bay, and professional solutions that will stamp them out on a regular basis.
Summertime Bugs and Their Preferred Environments
Warm summers and humid conditions represent prime environments for all sorts of insects and other pests. Fruit flies, spiders, and mosquitoes are all examples of pests that thrive in damp environments. Ants and roaches are more active in hot weather and congregate near garbage or discarded food.
No matter what organization you run or the layout of your facility, there are plenty of entryways for these pests to get in. The important steps you can take involve making sure your site has deterrents for these pests and that it is clean enough to avoid attracting them.
Homebrew Remedies for Keeping Pests Out
There are natural products that have the added benefit of repelling or attracting pests so you can control the population. For example, according to SFGate’s home guides, the calcium carbonate in chalk is enough to mask ant pheromone trails and disrupt their food-finding and organizing.
Other remedies include attracting fruit flies with jars of vinegar. The pungent scent attracts them to the jars rather than other choice locations like your break room snacks.
Citrus elements may also help. This is because the naturally occurring chemicals help deter spiders, ants, and other pests.
But maybe you don’t want to spritz lemon juice into every corner of every room of your facility. How do you ensure a pest-free workplace without leaving half-full jars of vinegar on your countertops?
Cleaning Crew Routines and Expert Recommendations
Taking care of pests is a careful balance. You never want your facility’s pest problem to get to infestation levels, but you also don’t want to evacuate your facility and pay the hefty costs for an exterminator every time someone sees a couple bugs.
This is where you can kill two bugs with one stone—invest in your cleaning crew! Your janitorial routine is already keeping your floors and surfaces clean; there are other services available like regular dusting, window cleaning, and HVAC maintenance that can help
Keep a regular cleaning schedule that focuses on removing discarded food, emptying trash, and cleaning up garbage before it accumulates. That way, you can ensure your facility has fewer trouble spots when it comes to attracting pests and allowing them to settle in and multiply.
If your cleaning crew knows the signs for insect infestation, they can keep you in the loop on whether or not you need more deterrents like traps or if you need to take more drastic action like insecticides.
At Maintenance One, our cleaning and sanitization crews have the expertise and know-how to tell when a pest is just a pest or a much larger problem. If you find yourself with more questions than you have answers in this regard, please contact us for a consultation. We’ll take every detail of your organization and facility into consideration when examining your pest problems. You may also request a quote if you’d prefer us to tackle your cleaning issues and help you with your pest problem.
