Think Outside The Toolbox
Enlist your staff to help prevent pests in your facility

As a facility maintenance professional you have many tools in your back pocket. And in a job that changes on a day-to-day and sometimes hour-to-hour basis, it’s important to have the skills to handle several different situations. Sometimes, however, your most effective resource is your staff.

Pest management is not a one-person job. Communication and partnership among all parties involved is essential in preventing pests from entering your facility. Take the time to inform your staff of their role in pest management. Pests can spread disease and cause costly damage to your facility, so an “all hands on deck” approach is key. Without it, you can risk negative media attention or possible litigation.

Use a ‘1-2-3’ approach to educate your employees on how to monitor for and discourage pest activity.

  1.  Introduce Staff to Integrated Pest Management
If you don’t already have an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program in place at your facility, consider implementing this environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional pest control. IPM focuses on the reasons pests enter a building and restricts pests’ access to those elements – namely food, water and shelter. By using multiple methods to manage pests, IPM employs chemicals as a last resort, and even then in the least amount possible.

A reputable provider can provide on-site IPM training to your staff – providing them with the tools they need to keep pests outside, where they belong. Your pest management professional should work with you to identify the various ‘hot spots’ throughout your facility – places where pests are likely to hide, and can provide tips on making those areas unfriendly to insects and rodents. Ask your provider to share any other educational resources that you can use to keep your staff involved in best pest management practices.

  2.  Walk the Walk, and Talk the Talk
Once you have an IPM program in place it’s time to put that plan into action with proactive steps that can help prevent pests down the road. Implementing regular sanitation and facility maintenance practices is an easy way to restrict pests’ access inside, eliminate basic survival needs and shed light on pest hiding spots in your facility.

Educate your staff on the role sanitation plays in effective pest management. Making small improvements to your cleaning regimen can make a big difference. To keep pests out, quickly clean-up spills, keep trash where it belongs and keep doors and windows closed. Consider reviewing your Master Sanitation schedule with your pest management professional. If you don’t have a sanitation plan, outline and assign roles to your staff so everyone is responsible for keeping your facility clean.

Ongoing facility maintenance can help keep pests from coming inside your facility in the first place. Inspect the interior and exterior of your facility regularly for any maintenance issues in need of quick repair, paying special attention to “hot spots,” such as entrances and exits, employee break rooms or storage spaces. Look for small holes or cracks in your building’s façade. A mouse only needs a hole the size of a dime to enter, and a rat can squeeze through an opening the size of a quarter.

   3.  Be on the Lookout for Pests
Many pests tend to come out at night when the facility is quiet and they have the place all to themselves; however, that doesn’t mean they don’t leave signs of life once the lights come back on. Your staff should be the eyes and ears of your facility. Ask your provider to educate employees on signs of pests. Potential evidence might include gnaw marks, droppings, exoskeletons, greasy rub marks on floorboards or infested products.

Instruct your staff to notify you immediately if they suspect a pest infestation, so you and your pest management professional can take the necessary steps to manage the issue before the situation worsens. Pest management is everyone’s responsibility, but by educating your staff you can help increase monitoring and decrease pest activity. Out of all the tools you have at your disposal, your staff is the glue that holds your pest management program together.