A pest infestation can cause your company money, pose health risks to your employees and customers, and cause you to lose business. Here are 8 pest control tips to keep unwanted visitors out of your office.
Is your office suffering from a sudden fly infestation? Or maybe you have some other unwanted critters that keep coming to visit?
If insects and small animals are outnumbering your clients and customers, you’re likely in the market for some pest control tips.
Maybe you haven’t been hit yet but want to be prepared. Even if you’re in the process of and haven’t experienced pest issues yet, pest control is well worth your consideration.
Read on for eight pest control tips that will help keep your office free of unwanted critters.
1. Keep Your Workspace Clean
This one might feel like a no-brainer but think about it. How much clutter is around your office?
How clean is your desk?
If you eat meals or snacks at your desk, there’s a good chance there are some crumbs hiding somewhere. And you may have spilled something once or twice.
To lessen the chance of unwanted pests, consider eating in the lunch or meal area of your office instead of at your desk. If you don’t want to do that, you should at least make sure you clean and disinfect your desk area regularly.
Get the whole office in on your efforts. The more people involved, the cleaner the office, and the less likely you are to have pests.
While everyone’s cleaning, make sure garbage areas are kept clean and that trash is taken out regularly.
2. Properly Care For Plants
While plants can be a mood lifter at work, they can also provide breeding grounds for unwanted bugs. Caring for plants properly can help prevent infestations.
Make sure plants are watered regularly, not in random large stints. Overwatering allows fungi and gnats to grow and lay eggs. This will kill your office plants, and lead to hatching.
3. Keep Your Exterior Clean
The outside of your office is just as important as the inside when it comes to cleanliness. Make sure all garbage areas are properly maintained and that all food and trash are sealed in bags.
Insects, as well as animals, are attracted to any garbage that’s left accessible to them.
Also, take a look at your landscaping. Certain plants and layouts will be more attractive to small animals and insects. Consider changing things if your local foliage is too inviting.
4. Check Cupboards and Storage
Your workplace probably has some cupboards and storage areas that don’t often get looked at.
These can be the perfect place for pests to hang out.
Food cupboards especially can attract insects and small animals. Particularly ones that aren’t used often.
Maybe you have a snack cupboard that’s only used for group events. Or a candy drawer for occasional small rewards.
Any areas like these need to be checked often and kept as clean as possible. All food should be in a sealed container. Any food that is partially used and open in some way needs to be removed from its store packaging and put into something with a tight seal.
If the food comes with a resealable package, that’s fine to use. Just make sure everything is inaccessible to insects and small animals.
5. Seal All Cracks
A great way to protect against insect infestations is to make sure all cracks around your office are sealed.
And we don’t just mean the cracks that shouldn’t be there and show up over time. Look for areas where pests could potentially be getting in and add caulking to each site.
Make sure all pipe entry points are covered as well.
Your largest openings, such as windows and doors, should all be taken care of as well. Lining each of these with inexpensive weather stripping can help eliminate unwanted tiny guests. This process is simple but can go a long way.
6. Proper Garbage Handling
All workplaces will have garbage, and it’s important to make sure that garbage is properly taken care of.
Each desk or workspace should have its own garbage can. This will encourage cleanliness at workers’ desks since it eliminates the time and effort needed to go find a trash can elsewhere.
Several community garbage cans should be placed throughout the office as well, especially in restroom, kitchen, and gathering areas.
Now that you’ve got your garbage cans placed, implement a plan to get them all taken out regularly. Whether that’s asking everyone to be aware and ready to help when needed, or creating a rotating schedule among employees, this needs to be done.
And your efforts shouldn’t stop there. Occasionally check on the garbage situation outside to make sure employees are throwing garbage bags into the dumpster, not next to it. Also, check for spills or other issues you may need to bring up in employee meetings.
7. Check Supply Areas
Make sure your utility and supply areas aren’t providing homes for pests throughout your building. Check your cleaning supplies and any areas that may be damp.
Make sure to maintain clean equipment. A mop head is a perfect place for fruit flies to congregate. Allow mop heads to dry properly by hanging them upside down, not propping them on the floor where the head will stay moist.
Regularly changing mop heads will help eliminate insect-friendly areas.
8. Call in a Professional
If you’re experiencing a real infestation and don’t know how to handle it yourself, it’s probably time to call a professional. Commercial pest controllers know how to quickly and humanely remove unwanted pests.
Even if it’s a small job, the convenience alone may be worth calling them in. You can also have them perform preventative measures to protect your office before an infestation happens.
For pest control in Georgia, check out Perimeter Wildlife Control.
Pest Control Tips That Work
Whether you call in a professional or deal with pests on your own, these pest control tips should get you started on your way to a pest-free office.
Don’t wait to get those pests out of there. Getting on top of things right from the start will save you time, hassle, and money. Taking preventative measures will also go along way.
Keep these tips in mind and your pest problem will be gone in no time.
Taking care of your business should be one of your biggest priorities. For more help with your office, today.
