If you have recently taken a position as a facility and property manager for a school, you've got your work cut out for you. One of the things that you need to be attentive to is the pest control needs of the property. Since pest control is often overlooked for school facilities, you need to address it right away. Here's a look at what you need to know about the most common pest issues encountered in schools of all kinds.
Rodents
The cafeteria and food storage areas of a school are always likely to draw in rodents. In elementary schools, the young children are often messy eaters, leaving crumbs behind that can also lure these pests. Not to mention, college dorm environments are overrun with food, which means crumbs. Since college kids aren't always the best about cleaning up after themselves, this is a prime environment for drawing rodents into the buildings.
The best way to deal with rodents is through proactive prevention. It's easier to take preventative measures than it is to eliminate an infestation once it's happened. Work with a commercial pest control contractor to identify any vulnerable areas where rodents could gain entry and to establish barrier treatments that will help discourage their presence.
Cockroaches
Nobody likes to think about cockroach problems, but the fact is that cockroaches are a reality of school property management. Cockroach eggs can be picked up and carried along on the bottom of shoes or even in a student's backpack. That means you don't necessarily need to have cockroaches in the area finding their way in from outside. Instead, you could face a cockroach infestation from one of your students bringing them in without even realizing it.
Cockroach management and prevention means having routine visits from a commercial pest control contractor. They can conduct barrier treatments and add some preventative baits that will help to eliminate any roaches as they do appear in the building.
Bed Bugs
You might think that bed bugs would only be a worry in a college dorm environment or boarding school, but the truth is that you can end up with bed bug issues even in a traditional school. The pests can settle into all sorts of crevices and spaces in a school building, and they can be transported in and out of the school on student clothing and backpacks.
In fact, most bed bug infestations in schools are a direct result of a student carrying the pests into the school. Bed bugs don't typically find their way in from outside but instead are carried in from another infested location. And since it only takes a couple of bugs to lay hundreds of eggs, bed bug infestations can spread rapidly.
Pest control contractors will have to be aggressive about treating bed bugs in a school environment. The size of the property means that bed bugs have a lot of places to hide, making them a challenge to get rid of. Look for a business like American Pest Professionals that can provide you with commercial pest management.
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