Bugs and business don’t mix. That’s as true for accountants in corporate offices as it is for bartenders at trendy eateries. Pests like termites, cockroaches, and rodents, just to name a few, can do more than disrupt the workplace. They can hurt morale, increase turnover, cause fines, and even force a business to close.
How Can Termites Damage my Business?
No business is immune to the destruction that termites inflict. Termites eat and tunnel through wood, causing billions of dollars in property damage every year in the United States. Their tunnels weaken the structural integrity of walls, ceilings, building foundations, and roofs.
Termite colonies can house up to 15 million termites, which is why a termite infestation causes significant structural damage so quickly. Worse, termites are great at sneaking around undetected. By the time a termite infestation has been discovered, the building has probably suffered years of destruction from termites. An office with termites faces possible fines for code violations, repair costs, and even structural collapse.
What About Cockroaches?
Cockroaches present a danger to the employees and customers of any business. E. Coli and staphylococcus are just two of 33 kinds of bacteria that cockroaches can carry. Cockroaches are also linked to six species of parasitic worms and at least seven other human pathogens.
Cockroach droppings, saliva, and shed skins can trigger asthma attacks. If cockroaches make their way into one of their favorite hiding places, an office HVAC system, the problem becomes even more severe.
Employees of dining establishments must take extra care to ensure cockroaches never enter their property. In many cities, health inspectors arrive unannounced, publicize their findings, and charge code citation fines. Once word gets out, via the local health department or Instagram, that a restaurant has a cockroach problem, the restaurant’s owners will face an uphill battle to repair its reputation. If an infestation goes untreated, owners could be subject to larger fines and even suspensions.
Cockroaches can do more than injure a reputation. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, when cockroaches get into a commercial or home kitchen, they can contaminate dishes, utensils, prep areas, and food with Salmonella, the pathogen that causes food poisoning.
I Don’t Own a Restaurant. Why Should I Worry About a Few Mice in My Office?
Whether you’re selling food or dental plans, rodents can wreck your business. Rodents like mice and rats can chew through wires, pipes, and drywall, leading to potential fire and water damage over time.
Not to be outdone by cockroaches, rodents can cause serious health problems. The feces, urine, and shed skin of mice and rats can trigger asthma attacks. Their droppings also carry Salmonella and even the Hantavirus.
Yikes! Can I Just Buy some Pest Spray or Mouse Traps to Take Care of This?
If you take on an infestation yourself, you might create more problems than you fix. By spraying a pesticide on cockroaches, for example, the bugs can then spread that chemical to anything they touch, including HVAC systems, food and prep areas, and water fountains. Mousetraps kill only a few rodents while the rest continue to live in your building.
The trained pest-control professionals at Schendel know how to effectively manage pests to keep your customers, staff, and business out of harm’s way. Contact us today to learn more about our commercial pest management solutions.
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