The Weather’s Heating Up – and so is Pest Activity
Learn the ABC’s of warm-weather pests
By Bill Melville,  Quality Assurance Director, Orkin PCO Services

With summer beginning, school is letting out, but that’s no excuse not to brush up on your ABCs – of pest management, that is. Pests prefer warm weather, so it’s common to see increased pest activity during the summer months. Like humans, pests seek to meet their basic needs – food, shelter, water and optimal temperatures. Not surprisingly, pests may find your building an attractive place to cool off, and any food sources or access to water inside can further draw pests to your building.

Study the following ABCs of common summertime pests and how to keep them away:

A is for Ants
Did you know there are over 700 ant species in Canada? That’s a lot more than they typically teach you in school. It’s important to work with a pest management professional to know which species you are dealing with. Ants frequently emerge during the summer months and can present a major problem because they can travel long distances. Once inside your building, they can feed off a variety of food sources and stay for weeks. These small pests can easily enter through cracks in the floor or the exterior of your building.

Take the following steps to keep ants out:

•    Hose down or power wash parking lots and sidewalks surrounding your building. Ants are attracted to a variety of sugars, fats and proteins, so removing food waste and debris will help keep them and other pests away.
  •  Keep any food in break rooms or from employee events in tightly sealed containers to prevent ants from finding another meal.
  •  Repair any leaking hoses, irrigation heads of HVAC units to eliminate sources of moisture that attract ants to your facility.

B is for Bees – and other Flying and Stinging Pests
Did you know bees can see a broader spectrum of light than humans? Bees and other flying and stinging pests actually have the ability to see ultraviolet light. While this light is invisible to the human eye, it allows insects to uncover colours in your landscaping that leads them to sources of pollen and nectar – and attracts them even more to your property.

Stinging pests can cause serious health issues due to allergic reactions – anything from swelling at the site of the sting to anaphylactic shock. Flies are also a threat to your health – did you know a fly can carry more than 100 pathogens on its body? Each time a fly lands, it sheds disease-carrying bacteria that can pose a health threat to anyone in your building.

Discourage flying and stinging pests from hovering around your facility by implementing the following tips:
  •  Review your landscaping for areas where you can cut down on attractants. In summertime, brightly-coloured and fragrant flowers in bloom can entice bees, so using fewer of these plants can help decrease bees on your property.
  •  Replace all fluorescent and mercury vapour lights outside your facility with sodium vapour bulbs, which are not as attractive to flies. Work with your pest management professional to install fly lights inside, which draw pests into a sticky trap using ultra-violet light.
  •  Test the air in doorways to make sure air flows out, not in, to keep flying pests from coming inside. To do this, hold a piece of paper while standing in an open doorway; you want the paper to blow away from the building. Work with a maintenance professional to make any necessary changes in air flow.
  •  Install air curtains and plastic strip curtains in areas where exterior doors are often kept open. Position fans to blow air downward and outward, creating an air barrier that flying pests cannot easily cross. Hang plastic strip curtains inside entrances to make it even harder for pests to get in.
  •  Call a licensed pest management professional immediately if you find a bees or wasps nest. Don’t risk stings by trying to remove it by yourself.

C is for Cockroaches
Did you know a cockroach can produce up to 400 offspring in just six months? Given this rate of reproduction, it is important to prevent roaches before they move in. Like flies, cockroaches can live and breed easily in filth, and carry a number of germs that can sicken employees and visitors. Apply the sanitation tips below to help prevent a cockroach infestation:

  •  Keep dumpsters as far away from your building as possible. The dirty, moist conditions of trash make it an ideal home for these filthy pests during the warmer summer months. Clean and rotate dumpsters regularly to discourage roaches from settling in for the summer.
  •  Be wary of any and all shipments that could potentially bring roaches into your building, and inspect all incoming goods for evidence of pest activity.
  •  Be aware that employees can unknowingly bring cockroaches in from their home, so routinely inspect and clean out employee lockers during the year.
  •  Clean up all spills immediately and reduce organic build-up on floors, walls and in floor drains, to reduce potential cockroach food sources and/or harbourage areas.

Although summer pests may be common, understanding the ABCs will put you a step ahead of the issue. Sanitation and facility maintenance play an important role in preventing pests, so study and implement the steps above to discourage pests from coming to stay. Learn from and work closely with your pest management professional. Although you can cram for the pest management test, studying in advance and having a professional tutorial can help keep pests away before you have an infestation. Now that you have the right tools, take these lessons to heart and enjoy a pest-free summer.

- Bill Melville is Quality Assurance director for Orkin PCO Services. Melville has 35 years of experience in the industry and is an acknowledged leader in the field of pest management. For more information, e-mail Melville at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.orkincanada.com .