Pest Management for Sensitive Accounts in the Wake of COVID-19

Schools, daycares, and libraries closed abruptly this spring, giving facility teams little to no time to prepare these buildings for extended vacancy. With the changes in human behavior, pest’s usual food sources, including cafeterias, food prep areas, kitchens, dumpsters and garbage cans were empty, forcing insects to become more resourceful in order to survive. Pest prevention in these high-traffic, sensitive locations is a collaborative effort for facility management teams and technicians. Follow these three pest control tips to help your team better prepare these facilities for re-occupancy, alongside facility management teams:

1. Know the Common Pests of Concern

Your team will need to know what pests they are facing before deciding how to control them. Flies, cockroaches, ants, spiders, bed bugs, and stinging insects are most commonly found in schools, daycares, libraries, and other sensitive locations. It is also important to remind your team to educate facility personal about proper pest identification and prevention to keep pest problems to a minimum.

2. Focus on Integrated Pest Management

Many schools, daycares, and libraries follow state and federal pest control mandates, which consist of using integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. Your technicians should work closely with facility management teams to reduce pest infestations by identifying and removing the conditions that can attract pests, such as:

Cleaning high-volume areas, such as eating areas, daily where crumbs and trash are more likely to build up.
Moving dumpsters away from buildings.
Inspecting and properly sealing cracks, crevices, holes, and door sweeps.
Keeping tree branches and shrubbery well-trimmed and away from buildings.

3. Choose Green Pest Control Products

For a green approach to sensitive applications, like schools, daycares, and libraries, we recommend treating infestations with our Essentria^® product line. These naturally derived products are FIFRA 25(b) Exempt, offering an environmentally conscious option. Formulated with essential plant oils, this product lineup includes five solutions, all of which offer long-residual control against the broad spectrum of pests found in school accounts. Learn more about the Essentria^® line of products here.