Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 11th April 2024 Issue no. 1109
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How to tackle Springtime pests
By Marion C. at Victor Pest, a global leader in efficient and cost-effective pest control solutions
Springtime has been a little slow this year, but the sun is finally making its way out from behind the clouds. However, the sunshine also marks the arrival of many pests and the start of a busy season for facilities management companies who need to prevent and deter these pests from busy working environments that need to uphold strict standards of hygiene and health & safety. If a building suffered from a pest complaint last Summer, putting preventative measures in place in the Spring should ensure it remains pest free during the Summer.
The two most common pests that springtime brings are ants and flies. Ants are crucial to a healthy garden and can help to clear debris, but once they enter a building they become an unwelcome visitor and a serious pest control problem. They can find their way in through tiny holes in walls and floors and are attracted to sweet foods. Another summertime nuisance is the fly. Attracted to rotting or decayed material, flies are a health hazard as they spread tiny particles of rotting substance to fresh food and clean surfaces, spreading bacteria that can cause anything from stomach upsets to typhoid, cholera and dysentery.
Looking for food after a cold Winter, rodents like rats, mice and squirrels come out into the sunshine and into buildings. Protecting your facility from rodents is very important as rats can fit into a building through a hole the size of a 5p coin. They are searching for food after a long Winter and will be attracted by any waste left out. Rats can gnaw on wires, meaning that businesses with a rodent infestation can suffer from loss of business and have to spend time and money fixing their wiring.
For any business that deals in food, healthcare or hospitality, rodents are very unsanitary and can spell disaster. Rats and mice will multiply in numbers very quickly, and a couple of rodents can soon become a complete infestation. Prevention is a much better and easier option than removal of the creatures, and the Spring is the right time of year to be aware of the movements of these animals and where they might be heading to.
Spring also marks a change in the weather that brings wasps to nest in buildings. Wasps' nests are dangerous and can be difficult to remove. For many commercial properties this means closing down to protect staff and customers. Wasps will enter and exit their nests via a hole in the ground, a wall, roof or other part of a building, and this will happen during the months of May until November. If you see any activity like this, odds are that you have a wasps' nest.
From late June to early July a wasps' nest can swell to enormous proportions and can contain 10-15,000 inhabitants., meaning that any signs of wasps in the Spring need to be investigated and dealt with before you have a serious problem, and a threat to the running of a business and the safety of workers and customers.
Prevention is key to springtime pest control - and preventing pests during the Spring can mean that you will remain pest free all Summer long. Using humane traps and sonic repellents can prevent pest infestation easily and without any interruption to a business.
T: +44 (0)1572 722 558
W: www.victorpest.co.uk
18th April 2013