Pest Control for Office Buildings – Get Rid of Pests Quick

Whether it’s at home, in the park, or at the office.. nobody likes pests all up in their space! 

Pest control in office buildings is critical. Pests pose numerous threats to staff, customers, and even the building itself. As well as spreading disease, pests can make a holy mess of your workspace and freak people out too! 

Pests like mice, cockroaches, and birds are a constant battle for facility managers who need to ensure that tenants are safe and happy. Some pests like termites and carpenter ants need to be taken more seriously, as these guys can cause structural damage to buildings. They literally chew through wood! 

A lot of the time you might be able to fight them off yourself. But pests are persistent and resilient.. they’ll keep coming for more!

So if you’re stuck, out of ideas, or simply fed up.. give Westside a call. We’ll happily come in and get your space locked down and keep these buggers from coming back, or alternatively get you set up with a commercial pest control plan. 

3 Reasons Why You Need Pest Control For Your Office Building

Having a pest management program for your office (like our Rodent Defence Program for instance) has a lot of benefits and can save you a lot of trouble down the road. Let’s take a look at some of the top reasons why it’s great to have a pest control technician at the ready.

1. It Can Save You Money (by Acting Quick)

Many people make the mistake of looking at pest control as an additional expense. The reality is that timely pest control can actually help you save in the long run. 

The reason being is that minor incidents can escalate to something more serious pretty quickly. You could be slapped with a hefty bill to cover the cost of remediation work; santising, repairing, pest removals, and in extreme cases renovations work too.

A better approach is to nip the problem in the bud early on. By pest-proofing your building with prevention measures like rodent exclusions and having a recurring pest service in place, you can keep them from getting inside.

2. Protect Product and Electrical

Did you know that rats love to chew on electrical wiring? Wire acts as the perfect tool for rats to grind their teeth against in order to sharpen them. Chewed-through electrical wires are a common problem in offices all across Metro Vancouver and particularly in mechanical rooms. 

Unfortunately, Rats and mice are not picky about what they gnaw on so take good care to protect your expensive IT equipment!

Having rodent control solutions like trapping and bait stations in place, as well as exclusion solutions, are a great way to help you avoid all this.  

3. Keep Staff Safe

As a building manager or business owner, ensuring you have a safe, risk-free workspace should be your top priority. Since pests can spread diseases, they put the employees at risk. This makes it important to deal with pest issues as soon as they come up. 

Areas particularly where there might be food scraps and crumbs need to be priority. The obvious places are the lunch rooms and lounge areas, as well workspaces – people also love to eat lunch at their desk!

You might also want to consider a deep antimicrobial clean of your lunchroom regularly. Store bought disinfectants are often not strong enough to fully disinfect surfaces.    

A pest-ridden workplace can lower employee morale and potentially lead to loss of productivity.  Keeping employees comfortable and happy could be the difference between retaining and losing staff. 

See related: Are you a Strata building? Check out our Strata Pest Control Page for help with managing your property.

What Pests Do We Find At The Office?

Mice

We’ve all spotted a mouse.. or at least found droppings. First port to call normally is traps. Glue traps, snap traps, humane live traps. 

Remember though, mice hunt in packs. When there is one, there is often more. Unfortunately, catching one mouse might not be the end of your mice problems. The best solution is to limit food scraps and crumbs. Don’t store food in your desk drawer, use an airtight sealed container instead.

Also read: How to get rid of mice in the office

Rats

An overflowing garbage area is a sure fire way to attract rats. Attracting them to food sources outside of the building is one thing, but when they venture inside that’s when we all get freaked out! 

When the weather gets cooler rodents will come indoors, typically entering up high near the roof. They’ll find their way in through holes in concrete, walls, drains, and through gaps in or around mechanical equipment. 

Also read: How to get rid of rat in the office

Cockroaches 

Where there is food and water, cockroaches come! Kitchens and washrooms are common places where you might meet these buggers face to face. The best solution here is sanitation. Keeping everything clean using disinfectant solutions is the way to go. 

Silverfish

These nocturnal creatures live in cracks and crevices, and you might spot them crawling out of the walls. Kitchens, washrooms, and cabinets are common places you might see them. A good disinfectant clean of your kitchen and lunchroom surfaces each morning is the best thing you can do to minimise any spread of germs. 

Pest Birds

Avian pests are less of a problem indoors but there are a couple of specific places where birds like pigeons are a nuisance. For one, perching on storefront awnings or beams in open courtyards can be frustrating for anyone below having lunch. 

Secondly, office parkades can fall victim to nuisance birds when they enter and perch on ceiling pipes directly above your beautiful newly-washed car! Watch out :O

Bird access control solutions like Bird Netting and Bird Spike are two great ways to deter them away from your parkade. 

Pest Control Tips for Office Buildings

Are you ready to get rid of unwanted pests at the office? Here are some tips that can help! 

Tip #1: Identify What Critters You Have and where they are

Knowing who you are up against is half the battle. Rodents, Insects, Wildlife, Spiders, Silverfish, Ants, etc. Your plan of attack will depend on what pest you are dealing with. If you’re not up to the task of full investigation work, then opt for a pest inspection from a professional. 

Tip #2: Cleanliness is your best friend

Scraps, spills, crumbs, open food inside of soft plastic packaging etc. Focus on keeping your space squeaky clean and pay special attention to dining areas and washrooms. 

Tip #3: Scents are good

Generally speaking insects are repelled by strong scents like peppermint oil as well as many other common fragrances. A great remedy is to add 15 to 20 drops of the essential oil to a spray bottle filled with water and spray around the office. You can also try lavender, cinnamon, rose, and tea-tree oils as a way to keep the creepy crawlies away.

Tip #4: Ultrasonic devices?

The jury is still out on this one. The effectiveness of Ultrasonic rodent repellents has mixed reviews. While manufacturers claim it does a great job at deterring pests, lab studies would indicate that it’s not the case. All the first hand testing that we have done indicates that ultrasonic devices are a good prevention tool but are not effective at eradicating even a newly established pest infestation.

Tip #5: Preventative Pest Control

It’s always good to seal up common rodent entryways. Repair cracks and holes in concrete to keep rodents from entering the building. Caulking is one option, Westside Pest Control’s expert technicians prefer exclusion materials such as galvanized wire mesh, aluminum flashing and copper wool. 

Related: How to prepare for spring pest season

Tip #6: Know When to Call for Help 

Understanding the signs of infestation and knowing when to call in professionals is perhaps most important. 

The longer you wait, the more chance there is of serious damage. You should call for pest control assistance if you notice any of the following signs at your office. 

• Pest droppings (we’ll help you identify if it’s mice or rats)
• Damaged electrical wiring  
• Gnaw marks and holes in floor, walls, or ceiling 
• Strange odors
• Odd grease marks and tracks 
• Damaged plants
• Signs of nesting (maybe you’ve heard noises above your head?) 

How much does pest control cost for the office?

It really depends on what pests we are dealing with and the size of the office space in question. A insect/silverfish treatment could be $395 – $950. A 3 visit rodent control service is approx $595-795. While a carpenter ant treatment could be in the range of $2-4K if serious remediation work is required.

Estimate paying between $395-$1200 to treat the most common pests. 

Help is Here When You Need It

Spotted rats or droppings at work and thought, if you just ignore it they might go away? Yeah, we’ve all been there. 

When it’s more to manage by yourself, that’s where we can come in. 

Westside Pest Control offers on-site inspections and customized commercial pest control and maintenance solutions to suit your space and needs. 

Our goal is to keep your facility safe and pest-free at all times.  Get in touch today for a free quote.