As you can imagine, it is nearly impossible to defend yourself and your property from a pest that you didn’t even know was there. When you know what to look for, it is easier to prepare and create a treatment plan. When you don’t, you risk not even being aware that you’re missing some of the top signs of a commercial pest infestation. We’ve listed 10 of the most common signs in increasing order of severity.
Signs of a Potential Commercial Pest Infestation
One of the critical components of integrated pest management is strategic containment, which is creating an inhospitable environment for pests, whether they be rodents, termites, ants, or roaches.
1. No integrated pest management plan – If you don’t have someone with the experience to track which critters are coming into and near your property, then you are facing the unknown and trying to deal with a problem you can’t quantify.
2. Access routes available – Cultural control is an IPM practice that focuses on limiting pests’ access to your property, and this includes access via cracks, improperly sealed windows and doors, or any other way they can find.
3. Food and water sources available – Again, this is a cultural management point where if food is not properly stored and pipes and drains are leaking water, pests have a reason to invade your space.
4. Signs nesting – All pests nest in different ways and therefore will make their nests out of different things. This could include anything from termite tubes leading to a colony to rodents creating a nest from shredded paper and leaves.
Things Are Getting Worse: Commercial Pest Infestation is Likely
Seeing a few ants, roaches, or other pests around may not seem like a big deal, but seeing a few usually means that there are more. Pests are more active in spaces where there is not a lot of human activity, so it is often hard to tell the extent of the problem. With a little more investigation, there are some advanced signs that you have an infestation on your hands.
5. Nest or colony building – All pests create homes differently, if you see dropped wings from swarming insects or disturbed materials like papers or wood, these may be signs that they are hard at work creating a new home.
6. Path Markers – Insects and rodents alike will sometimes leave traces that they have been in an area. Ants are imperfect carriers of food and other waste and may leave small crumbs, while rodents are greasy and often deposit residue near holes and other pathways.
7. Signs of Waste – Droppings also vary based on the type of pest. For example, termites leave behind frass which can look similar to sawdust. Rodent feces are small brown pellets and resemble that of other small mammals.
A Full-Blown Infestation Already Threatens Your Business
You do not have to be a trained integrated pest management technician to notice a commercial pest infestation if it is already severe. Unfortunately, if you notice any of the following three issues, you need to make an immediate call to a specialist because problems could already be costing your business hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
8. Damage to wood and wiring – Termites that attack wood don’t create enough damage at first for someone who is not as experienced as a professional to see. Likewise, rodents only gnaw when their teeth have become too long. So if you see these signs, it means these pests could have been around for some time.
9. Dead pest odors – The lifecycle of most pests is relatively short. Once they have established a home in your business, it’s entirely possible that by the time you notice the odor of a deceased pest, there could be two or three generations that have already set up shop in, well, yours.
10. Observing nocturnal pests during the day – Again, most of the pests that can cause havoc for a business operate at night. For them to come out during the day means that you have enough of a population that they are struggling to handle their activities solely when it is nighttime.
Get Help With Nozzle Nolen’s Commercial Pest Control
Nozzle Nolen has served commercial businesses in South Florida for seven decades. If you want to learn more about the sign of a commercial pest infestation, or if you are dealing with an active problem, we would love to help. Put your trust in the hands of the experts. Call us at 1-800-226-6536 or visit our Contact Us. We look forward to serving you.
