As a business owner, your main goals are to keep you facility pest free, to ensure the health and happiness of your employees and customers, maintain the integrity of your product, and keep your business’ reputation intact. However, it is important to remember pests are not just a problem during the warm, spring and summer months. There are many types of insects and other pests that can become quite a nuisance within and even under your facility during the cold, winter months.

One area of commercial facilities that is often overlooked as a place that allows pests inside, especially during the winter, is the floor, that’s right the floor. Ants and other insects can enter into facilities through cracks and crevices found in the concrete subflooring of your building. These pests may decide that the area underneath your facility’s concrete sub slab flooring makes the perfect safe, secluded, and warm area to overwinter in. Along with the issue of the pests taking up residence under your facility, the problem becomes even greater when they decide to move up through the cracks of the concrete and into the actual facility itself.

So, why do these pests take the effort to move from beneath the floor and into your facility? More often than not, they are drawn into the facility from under the concrete because of a spill that has occurred, or because of a water leak that attracts them. Stopping ants and other pests from rising up through your floor this winter can be accomplished by ensuring that leaky pipes and fixtures are quickly repaired, that any spills are immediately cleaned up, cracks and holes in the flooring are sealed, and by maintaining a relationship with a quality commercial pest management company like Copesan.

Along with ants under the floor, there are many other types of pests that can invade your facility and become a nuisance during the winter months. Boxelder bugs, brown marmorated stink bugs, cluster flies, rodents, and Asian lady beetles can all enter into your facility to overwinter. These overwintering pests can become extremely aggravating by hiding behind walls, under floors, in attics and crawl spaces and then emerging in large numbers on sunny winter days.

To prevent winter pests, and pests throughout the rest of the year from invading your business property there are steps that you can take both on your own and with the help of a professional.

Pest prevention tips include:

• Landscape maintenance- Trim back trees and shrubs from the exterior of your building. Along with being a good hiding place for pests, they can use the branches as a way to easily gain entrance into your facility.
• Sealing cracks- Thoroughly inspect your property for gaps or cracks in the foundation, concrete flooring, and around doors and windows. Properly caulk, seal, or repair any that are found.
• Proper drainage- Make sure your facility is equipped with properly functioning gutters that move water away from your facility. Make sure areas near your facility that collect water are filled in and repaired.
• Inspect roof/chimney- Inspect your roof, look for shingles that have been damaged or are missing and make the necessary repairs. Inspect your facilities chimneys and make sure they all have a tight fitting cap.
• Organization- Make sure storage areas within your facility are kept neat and organized, instead of using cardboard boxes use plastic totes with lids. Less clutter equals fewer places for pests to hide and nest.
• Proper sanitation- Make sure you have implemented a plan to keep lunch and break rooms clean and free of spills, crumbs, and garbage, all things that can attract pests. Make sure outdoor garbage receptacles are stored away from the exterior of your facility.
• Professional help- Have in place a professional pest management plan that is executed to safely control insects and other pests, no matter where they decide to hide in or under your facility.

If you see pests emerge in your facility during warmer, sunny winter, make sure to talk to your Copesan IPM Specialist about steps that can be taken in the spring and fall to prevent a recurring problem in the future. A Copesan IPM Specialist can offer additional solutions as well as a partnership that will keep your facility pest free and make it less attractive to pests this winter and into the future. Contact the professionals at Copesan to learn more about how to stop ants and other insects from invading your commercial facility.