Braman Pest
800-338-6757

Common Pests Invading Commercial Facilities

Pavement ant on white background

With multiple entry points and dark hiding spots, rodents, cockroaches, flies and ants often find commercial facilities welcoming. Once they’ve made their way inside, these pests have the potential to spread disease to your customers and employees. Let’s look at some tell-tale signs of an infestation and ways to rid your business of these unwelcome guests.

Rodents

Mice and rats can enter your building through a hole the size of a dime and are capable of spreading many diseases including Salmonella and hantavirus. Signs you might have a rodent infestation include:

  1. Gnaw marks on drywall and electrical wiring.
  2. Small, black granular droppings.
  3. Tracks along walls and floorboards.
  4. Nests built from old boxes, paper and other debris from around your facility.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches are common in larger commercial buildings, especially ones associated with food processing. They can distribute 33 kinds of bacteria, including E. coli, and six types of parasitic worms. They might be scurrying around your business if:

  1. You smell a musty odor.
  2. Droppings resembling ground coffee or black pepper are found.
  3. You find discarded exoskeletons, which roaches shed 5–8 times during their lives.
  4. You notice brown smear marks at the base of walls or floorboards.

Flies

In addition to being a nuisance, flies are capable of contaminating food and transferring more than 100 pathogens, including Salmonella; consider house flies, flesh flies, blow flies, phorid flies and fruit flies which are the most frequently encountered flies in commercial facilities. If you find maggots, it’s a signal that breeding is occurring.

Ants

Ants live in larger colonies and use sophisticated methods of communication, creating a threat to commercial businesses. They can sneak into buildings through the tiniest cracks and once they find food, they’ll share directions with the rest of their colony. They may have gained access to your facility if:

  1. Food and food storage areas have been overtaken by ants.
  2. You identify a colony of ants, rather than just single sightings here or there.
  3. You hear a hollow sound when knocking on walls because carpenter ants, specifically, will bore out wood to build nests.
  4. You find sawdust, which carpenter ants will leave behind while burrowing into wood beams.

Being aware of the signs of a potential infestation and addressing problems before they can manifest is essential to a successful eradication. If you suspect the existence of a pest problem at your business, call us today! We can analyze your facility’s issue and develop the proper control plan for you.