There is a common assumption that pest control is only a concern for dirty homes or for catering and food businesses. It is not. Even the cleanest home or office can pick up a pest problem, and once it takes hold it can become serious very quickly.
This post looks at how to keep pests out of your office. They are a health risk in their own right, through disease and contamination, but they also chip away at productivity, dent staff morale and harm your business’s reputation.
What attracts pests to your office?
Food is the big one. People eat at their desks and they make a mess: a banana peel left in the bin, sandwich crumbs in a keyboard, dirty mugs sitting in the sink. All of it is an open invitation to pests.
Food is not the whole story, though. Most offices have spaces that barely get used, and those quiet corners are ideal for pests. A stationery cupboard, a storage room or an unused office lets them nest and breed undisturbed, then multiply fast while slipping out for food and drink once everyone has gone home.
Offices are also full of nesting material. Pests love paper, cardboard and packaging, and a typical office has these in abundance. To a mouse or an insect, your stationery cupboard is a dream home with everything needed to live, sleep, eat and breed in one place.
How to keep pests out
Plenty of this is within your control. Setting a rule that food is only eaten in designated areas cuts down the crumbs and scraps spread across desks. If you can, install a dishwasher, or ask that dirty dishes and mugs are washed straight away rather than left in the sink. A simple rota keeps the kitchen surfaces wiped down regularly.
Vacuum the office thoroughly every day. If you have a cleaner, they can take care of this and the kitchen surfaces at the same time. On top of the daily clean, it is worth booking a deep clean at least once a year, and using it as a chance to clear out any clutter that has built up, since that clutter is exactly the kind of hiding place and nesting material pests look for.
If you do spot a pest in the office, do not wait and hope it wanders off. Where there is one, there are almost always more nearby. The moment you see one, call our pest control team. We will clear the problem and suggest practical ways to keep your office pest free going forward.