Commercial Pest Control - Options for Commercial Pest Management Solutions in Calgary
Pest management is an important part of any business. As soon as you have stored product, or a bricks and mortar structure to maintain, then you need to be concerned about pests. If your business involves food (preparation, storage, or service) then you likely need to have professional pest control services in place to meet certain health guidelines.
Proper pest management regularly gets overlooked by many businesses. It’s often seen as an unnecessary expense. “We don’t have any pests, why would we need pest control?” Is a common point of view. What most businesses don’t realize, is having proper pest management in place can actually save you money. It’s a bold statement, and may sound like marketing hype. But it’s statistically true.
Most people think of pest control solely as an extermination service. And if you’re hiring pest control based on pricing alone, then this is likely all you are getting: A casual exterminator on cheap retainer. Extermination is largely a reactionary service, a service unneeded until you find yourself in the middle of a pest crisis. At which point the cheap monthly fee you are paying as a retainer rarely covers the costs of what is needed to safely and effectively eliminate the problem. Which typically leaves you either stuck trying to battle a 4-alarm fire with nothing but fire extinguishers, or having to fork out huge amounts of money to eliminate the problem, and then remediate the cause (if you can ever determine one).
Quality commercial pest management services go way beyond extermination. The whole purpose of employing a pest management service is to provide you with peace of mind when it comes to pests. An effective pest management program will continuously look for red flags and concerns which may lead to pest issues: Inspecting the building for damage or deterioration, checking door sweeps and weather stripping to ensure proper seals, making note of items or products around your property which may attract pests, and inspecting landscaping for common pest attractants or harbourage zones, are just a few of the regular tasks performed monthly by a quality pest management service provider. If your ‘pest guy’ is just checking a few traps and running out the door, then you do not have a pest management service, you have a casual exterminator on cheap retainer.
Commercial Pest Control in Calgary
A quality service provider will continually provide advice and recommendations which can greatly assist in preventing pest problems from ever occurring in the first place. Some common recommendations even fly in the face of many standard practices. For instance, many protocols for exterior rodent control involve the placement of exterior, tamper-resistant bait stations on either side of all exterior doors. The reasoning for this seems to be unclear. Perhaps so any rodent gaining access through the door has possibly already fed on the bait, reducing the likelihood of further breeding. I’ve never been given a clear answer, even by adjudicating agencies who mandate such placements.
Personally, I believe it is nothing more than lazy standardization aimed at making everything the same and equally identifiable from location to location. In other words, it’s a practice in place for the inspectors, not for the pests. The reason I think this is because it’s a practice counterintuitive to keeping rodents out of structures. As rodents spread out, they are always on the look out for food and shelter. In that order. They will seek out a food source and once they’ve found a food source, they will seek out shelter as close to that food source as possible. Baits in a bait station (whether active baits or detection baits) act as a food source and will attract nearby rodents. Once they find the bait, they will seek out a shelter close to the bait. If those bait stations are right beside an exterior door, guess where the rodents are going to look first?
I believe exterior bait stations should be placed away from doors, or other common entry points, and all common entry points should be inspected regularly for wear or deterioration so as to prevent any unwanted entry. This is a much more effective way to manage and prevent pest issues. But it does take more time, and may cost a little more. Multi-catch traps and exclusion methods are best employed around doors and entry ways, inside or outside.
That is just one example, but there are many ways your pest management team can work to prevent common pest issues like mice, ants, and flies before they even begin. Having regular pest management services can also provide early detection and elimination of more invasive pests, such as cockroaches, or pantry pests such as Indianmeal moths, or flour beetles.
Did you know, small flies, like fruit flies, repleta flies, and drain flies are 100% preventable? But are very difficult and can be costly to get rid of once you have them?
Did you know, if you have a fly-light in your business which has UV light visible from the exterior through an open door or window, then you are attracting more large flies and moths into your business than you are killing?
Having a pest management team who continuously inspects for cracks, gaps, and seals, as well as possible pluming leaks, breaks or damage to your property can also save you thousands in heating/cooling or costly repairs needed because of long-term, unnoticed problems. With Calgary’s seasons, frost and ice can move both ground and concrete, buildings settle, walls shift, and seals break. How often do you check your entire structure looking for possible ways an ant or mouse may try and get in? Or do you just wait until you have a family of mice or squirrels living in your store room?
In short, proper prevention and early detection are far less expensive than reacting to large pest issues that can sneak up on you. A quality service provider will also come with other added benefits, all aimed at providing you with peace of mind so you can focus on the business part of your business.
If you’re located in the Calgary area, give a moment of thought to your current pest management service provider, and ask yourself if you have a casual exterminator on cheap retainer, or if you have a quality pest management team in your corner.
If you have any questions about commercial pest management services, give the Lavellan Pest Solutions team a call at 403-437-9310, or click here for the contact page.