Your employees can play an important role in detecting pest activity before it becomes a larger problem. From housekeeping and maintenance personnel to security teams and restaurant staff, people throughout your business may be in a position to notice the early warning signs of pests.
Commercial facilities can provide everything pests need to survive, including food, moisture, shelter, and favorable temperatures. When pest activity isn’t noticed and addressed quickly, it can result in contamination concerns, property damage, disruptions to daily operations, failed inspections, and reputational damage.
Fortunately, employees don’t need extensive pest control knowledge to help. With a little training, they can learn which signs to watch for, what conditions may attract pests, and how to report concerns to the appropriate person.
Everyone Has a Role in Pest Prevention
Pest prevention isn’t limited to the people responsible for cleaning or maintaining a facility. Employees in many different positions interact with areas where pests may hide or enter. Making pest awareness part of employees’ everyday responsibilities can help create a workplace where potential problems are identified and reported sooner.
Security Teams
Security personnel often travel throughout a facility and may have opportunities to observe areas that aren’t visited as frequently by other employees. When appropriate and without interfering with their primary duties, security staff can periodically inspect less-trafficked spaces with a flashlight. Basements, storage rooms, kitchens, cafeterias, utility areas, and other secluded locations can all be worth checking for signs of pest activity.
Housekeeping and Cleaning Teams
Cleaning employees have a unique opportunity to notice changes because they regularly work throughout a facility. In hotels, healthcare facilities, senior living communities, offices, and other businesses, they may be among the first people to encounter evidence of pests. Employees should know how to recognize common warning signs, including droppings, insects or rodents, damaged materials, unusual smells, and other indications that something may be present. Reporting these observations quickly can help prevent a minor issue from becoming more noticeable to customers, guests, residents, or patients.
Restaurant and Kitchen Employees
Foodservice areas can be particularly appealing to pests because they offer readily available food and moisture. Everyone working in these areas – including cooks, servers, bartenders, dishwashers, and other staff – can contribute to pest prevention.
Employees should clean spills promptly, avoid leaving food uncovered, keep workspaces sanitary, and report problems involving garbage or dumpsters. They should also be alert for pest activity in kitchens, food storage areas, receiving areas, loading docks, and other locations where pests may gain access to food or shelter.
Maintenance Personnel
Maintenance employees regularly work throughout a facility and can often identify physical conditions that make pest entry or harborage easier. During routine maintenance, employees can watch for openings around pipes and utilities, cracks in walls or foundations, gaps around doors, damaged seals, plumbing leaks, and areas of standing water. Reporting these issues allows them to be corrected before they become opportunities for pests.
Every Employee
Don’t overlook the value of employees who don’t have a specific role in cleaning, security, foodservice, or maintenance. Employees throughout your organization use breakrooms, restrooms, hallways, storage spaces, stairways, kitchens, and other shared areas. They also enter and exit the building and may notice activity around the exterior.
A trained employee might spot a developing wasp or hornet nest, notice droppings near stored materials, or recognize an unusual insect. That simple observation could provide an important early warning.
Know the Warning Signs
Pests can be difficult to find, especially when they are active in hidden areas. However, they frequently leave behind evidence of their presence.
Employees should be trained to recognize signs such as:
- Live or dead insects and rodents
- Droppings
- Gnawing or chewing marks
- Damaged packages, products, or building materials
- Nesting materials
- Grease or rub marks along walls
- Unusual odors
- Insect larvae or pupae
- Activity near doors, windows, equipment, or storage areas
It’s also helpful for employees to understand the monitoring equipment used as part of your pest management program. Depending on the facility and its pest risks, pest professionals may use glue boards, sticky traps, pheromone monitors, fly lights, and other devices. Employees should know that unusual activity on or near a monitoring device is worth reporting.
Simple Habits Can Make a Difference
Employees can help prevent pest problems simply by maintaining good habits throughout the workday. Pests are attracted to accessible food, water, and places to hide. Encourage employees to:
- Wipe up food and beverage spills promptly
- Keep food stored in sealed containers
- Keep trash containers properly covered
- Put away food and clean dirty dishes
- Report leaks, moisture problems, and standing water
- Keep workspaces clean and orderly
- Report cracks, gaps, damaged doors, and other possible entry points
Small facility issues shouldn’t be overlooked. A dripping pipe, damaged door seal, or opening around a utility line may seem insignificant, but these conditions can provide pests with access to a building or the resources they need to survive.
Make Reporting Easy
Employees are much more likely to report pest activity when the process is straightforward.
Make sure everyone knows who to notify and how to report a pest concern. Depending on your facility’s procedures, reports may include details such as where the activity was found, when it was observed, what the pest looked like, how many were seen, and any unusual conditions nearby.
It’s equally important to encourage employees to report sightings without worrying about blame. A pest sighting is useful information. The sooner management and your pest management professional know about a potential problem, the sooner they can investigate it.
Keep Employees Informed
Pest training doesn’t have to take hours or require complicated technical information. Short educational sessions, seasonal reminders, newsletters, digital resources, and pest identification guides can help keep employees aware of what to watch for.
Focus training on the pests and situations that are most relevant to your business. Employees don’t need to memorize every pest species. They need practical information they can use while doing their jobs.
Consider keeping a pest guide in employee areas, posting helpful information in breakrooms, or providing digital resources that employees can access when questions arise. Download a full white paper about how to train your employees and get a free pest guide you can post for all employees to see from OPC right here.
Make Pest Awareness Part of Your IPM Program
Employee education can be an important component of a comprehensive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. Your pest management professional can help your team understand which pests are most likely to affect your facility, where those pests may be encountered, and which conditions could encourage activity.
They can also help employees understand monitoring devices, identify common pest evidence, and follow the appropriate reporting process. By working together, employees, management, and pest management professionals can create multiple layers of protection for a facility.
Whether you operate a restaurant, warehouse, hotel, healthcare facility, food processing plant, or another commercial business, OPC Pest Services can help you develop a pest management program tailored to your facility. Our experts can provide science-based pest management solutions and help educate your team about the signs and conditions that can contribute to pest activity. When everyone knows what to look for, pest problems are easier to catch early.
OPC – Outsmarting Pests Since 1972.
