In our last blog post at Dave’s Pest Control, we talked about great ways to prevent mice and other rodents from entering your home. You can check that helpful blog out here. Expanding on that idea, today’s blog post is all about tips for preventing mice in your business! As always, if you need help from our pest control services to remove and prevent mice or any other pests in your business, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We have years of experience in the pest control industry and work extensively throughout Flagler and Volusia county. If your business is in Port Orange, Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, New Smyrna, Deland, or any of the nearby cities, contact Dave’s Pest Control today.
It may seem obvious why you don’t want mice scampering around your business — especially if your business handles food. Mice make even some of the bravest souls a little squeamish. But beyond being uncomfortable to be around, there are countless other reasons why you really don’t want mice in your business. If customers see them, they give the impression that your establishment is unkempt, unhealthy, and frankly, gross. Not to mention the diseases that mice and rats can carry on them. That’s why restaurants are shut down if health inspectors find signs of significant rodent activity. So rodent control is necessary if you are a self-respecting business, but what can you do to prevent rodents from getting into your business? Keep reading for a few helpful pest control tips.
Keep it Tidy
This pest control tip is probably the most obvious and arguably one of the most effective. Whether your business is an office or a restaurant, cleanliness is key. Mice and rats are scavengers. If there are crumbs of food, garbage with old food they can get into, or trash/mess that they can use for cover, they are going to be more prone to set up shop in your business. Make sure you regularly vacuum up crumbs, throw away garbage, prevent the trash from piling up, and just practice good housekeeping in general. This isn’t something that you have to do on your own, you can have everybody in the office do their part by setting some clear ground rules or hire an outside company to come in nightly for a thorough cleaning.
Minimize Desk Eating
This pest control tip mostly applies to office complexes, but it can be applied to nearly any business. We get it, there are deadlines, things to do, and no time to get it all done. This can make eating at your desk feel like the only option. And as long as you are cleaning up after yourself, this can be a non-issue. But, in general, it’s best to have everyone eat in one centralized location in an effort to contain any mess that comes from food. When everyone eats in an established kitchen or other location, cleaning services (whether that’s you or a company you hired) can take extra care to make sure this is sanitary and cleanly to prevent mice from calling your office home.
Unfortunately, even the best-kept offices can sometimes experience rodent control issues. In cases like these, it’s important to act fast by calling your local pest control professional, Dave’s Pest Control.
Find Entry Points
Just like when you are preventing mice in your home, preventing mice in your business can be as easy as pinpointing the location where rodents are entering your building. Once you find out where they are getting in, it’s as simple as sealing the entrance so they no longer have easy access. Rodents can be crafty creatures, so make sure that you do your best to identify all of the access points they could be entering from. Businesses are typically larger than homes, so there may be multiple different locations they are entering from.
Food Storage
Proper food storage is paramount in the prevention of rodents in your business. Whether you are in an office space or a restaurant, ensure that any food being left at the office is stored in a sealed container. Plastic Tupperware works just fine in most cases. Additionally, food should be stored more than 6 inches off the ground. This makes it significantly more difficult for rodents to access your stored food and oftentimes prevents you from needing other pest control services too. Food should never be left out in the open for long periods of time and crumbs, dropped food, or other food messes should be cleaned up right away. This is not only great for rodent control prevention but also good housekeeping practices, in general, that will help keep your workplace a more clean environment.
Proper Handling of Trash
Making sure all of your waste makes it into the wastebasket at work is only half the battle. The other half is actually taking it out to the dumpster or whatever large sealed trash receptacle you have. Office trash cans can have all manner of food, drinks, and other things the rodents are attracted to. Rats and mice see this as an all-you-can-eat buffet just sitting there waiting for them to dig in. Our team at Dave’s Pest Control recommends taking out trash regularly and often. At the very least, all the trash in the office should be emptied nightly to prevent it from sitting overnight.
Pro Tip: Make sure the dumpster area is free of trash and other debris on the ground as well. You may think nothing of rodents being in your outside trash, but they can quickly push further into your business from the dumpster.
Early Detection
Like we mentioned earlier, rodents are crafty and tenacious creatures. Even if you follow all of these tips to a T, there is still a chance that mice and rats can make their way into your business. While the chances are greatly reduced if you are following these pest control prevention tips, it is still possible. In cases like these, early detection is key. Keep an eye out for signs of rodents like droppings, chewed through food containers, gnaw marks, scampering noises, sightings of even one rodent, and nests. If you even suspect that a mouse or rat has made their way into your business, don’t risk it — reach out to us at Dave’s Pest Control right away. We can further investigate to identify if there is a rodent control problem and swiftly resolve the issue. Even if there isn’t an existing rodent infestation, we can help you fortify your business against rodents.
Dave’s Pest Control
If you operate out of Port Orange, Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, New Smyrna, Deland, or anywhere else in Flagler or Volusia counties, we are happy to help with our pest control services however we can. Dave’s Pest Control has years of pest control experience and has built a respectable reputation throughout Florida for our quality service. Whether you suspect that a rodent may have made its way into your establishment or you stumble upon a large-scale rodent infestation, we are the pest control team you can trust to get the job done. Contact us today to learn more and to start your rodent control services.