Bertilson says the leading recommendation the Sprague Pest Experts make to commercial clients when prepping their facility for winter is to install door sweeps on ground level access or loading doors. This will prevent overwintering pests from gaining access to your building and establishing harborage locations.
“Any opening that is the size of a pen or pencil can provide pests such as cluster flies or boxelder bugs access to your facility,” says Bertilson. “Properly installed door sweeps will keep these insects out as well protect against winter’s number one pest intruder – rodents.”
Summer’s weather extremes can degrade the integrity of caulk and sealants in the foundation and around door and windows. Replacing the damaged material with a heavy duty caulk or sealant will also help deny heat-seeking pests entry.
Check your ventilation openings – especially on the roof – for torn or damaged screening that keeps flies, stinging insects, birds and the occasional raccoon or squirrel from venturing inside. Late fall is also a good time to check filters on HVAC units for the presence of flying insects or birds that sometimes seek harborage in and around these units.
Not all insect species have gone “underground” for the winter and as days grow shorter and exterior lights near access doors and loading docks stay on longer, insects can be attracted to them. The Sprague Pest Experts recommend using sodium vapor lights to reduce an insect’s attraction.
Thoroughly cleaning inside, outside and beneath food processing equipment that received heavy use in the summer or fall harvest season is a must-do to deny hungry pests a winter’s snack of leftover food particles and waste.
Food processors and retailers should also check their product rotation schedules to make sure older ingredients and products are rotated out to prevent stored product pest infestations.
And as the busy holiday shopping season approaches the Sprague Pest Experts remind retail clients to maintain buffer zones (at least 18 inches from the wall) in crowded store rooms so inspections can be done and Santa’s little pest helpers don’t put coal in your facility’s stocking.