Apartments with Pest Problems
Apartments, condos, senior living facilities, and other forms of shared housing have an abundance of food and water sources, and they provide shelter. These are everything pests like cockroaches, rodents, and bed bugs look for, especially during the winter as temperatures begin to drop.
Handling a pest infestation in an apartment can be quite difficult compared to a single-family home, even for professionals. This is why it’s important to follow best practices whether you’re a tenant or property manager.
Pests Cause Problems
In addition to causing structural damage, some pests can potentially be harmful to your health. Rats can carry diseases like Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, Salmonellosis, Rat-Bite Rever, and Leptospirosis. They can also bring fleas into your home. Cockroaches can contaminate your food through their saliva and droppings. They can also transmit Salmonella by just running across surfaces.
Pesticide Misuse
While many people tend to immediately reach for pesticide sprays, these can actually:
- Cause a pest infestation to spread: pests are quite smart and resilient. If you use pesticide sprays to try to eliminate your pest problem, you’re only steering the pests into another unit.
- Be harmful if misused: these sprays are toxic to pests but if they’re used incorrectly they can be toxic to people as well, especially seniors and children who have compromised immune systems. Pesticides sprays can also be toxic to pets in your home.
- Cost more: many pest control products sold in stores only hit the tip of the iceberg. They don’t take care of the root of the problem. So quite often, they have to be applied and re-applied, causing more in the long run. Only commercial-grade products are effective and they are only to be used by a certified-professional.
Pest Prevention Tips for Property Managers
If you manage a property, there are some steps you can take to pest-proof your building.
- Keep lobbies, cafeterias, conference rooms, and other public facilities clean and organized. Pests are attracted to moisture, food, and undisturbed areas. Cockroaches will even eat non-food items like paper, dandruff, and glue.
- Keep shrubs, trees, and lawn well-trimmed and maintained.
- Remove stagnant water or change it regularly if it’s decorative like a birdbath.
- Remove birdfeeders as those attract rodents.
You’ll also want to educate your tenants about pest control and prevention and make sure they know what the signs of an infestation are.
- Make sure they practice good housekeeping
- Keep food in airtight containers
- Clean up after their pets (rodents are attracted to pet droppings)
Dealing with pests in shared housing is difficult, even for professionals. If pests feel threatened they can easily migrate into another unit — spreading the infestation. This is why prevention is key. We recommend you educate your tenants about pest control and hire a pest control company like Antworks to ensure your property stays pest-free year-round.
