If you’re the owner of a commercial apartment property, you may have never considered the need for pest control services. However, the resulting damage from a pest invasion can sometimes be worse and more widespread in a commercial building than in a single-family home. Learn more about commercial pest control in Niagara and determine when it’s time to call for an inspection.

How Do Pests Get Into Apartment Buildings?

Multi-family complexes host several groups of people who enter and leave the building on a daily basis, take their trash out to communal bins, and over time, may not notice (or be responsible for) small amounts of damage that affect the building’s foundation. One tenant may not notice a crack in the wall, while another doesn’t realize that he should call the building owner or manager about a small area of damage around the pipes.

Over time, this leads to the creation of multiple “doorways” for pests such as mice, rats, insects, and more. Consider the following reasons your apartment building may have a pest problem:

• One unit has a small crack in the foundation, which allows rodents to enter (and create nests in) the entire building.

• The trash cans are placed too close to the building or do not shut properly, which attracts insects and wildlife.

• One or more tenants frequently do not clean up after themselves, which also attracts insects and wildlife.

How Can You Prevent Pest Invasions?

If you’ve recently struggled to get rid of generations of mice or a colony of ants, you’re likely wondering how to keep this situation from happening again. Take the following steps to ensure that your building is pest-proof:

1. Clean thoroughly:

   You know that many rodents and insects are attracted to your building due to leftover food, trash cans, and any sources of food in general. Do your best to clean up messes as soon as they happen. Similarly, make sure your apartment building’s trash cans seal tightly and that they are not placed inside the building.

2. Seal any cracks you can find: 

   Both rodents and insects will take any chance to enter your property. Carefully place professional-grade sealants in these areas and set effective traps where necessary. 

3. Call commercial or home pest control:

   It’s often difficult, if not impossible, to find entry points if you’re not trained to look for them. Call a residential pest control company to help assist you in this monumental task.

What Common Pests Are Found in Apartments?

If you suspect you have a pest problem, do you know what you’re dealing with? Consider whether you’ve seen the following types of pests in your building:

• Cockroaches: 

  The stereotype that roaches are attracted to apartment buildings is somewhat true. These shared living spaces can be a utopia of trash, leftover food, and places to hide for roaches that find their way into the building.

• Rats and mice: 

  Rodents often simply want a place to live during colder weather and a safe place to create a nest for their future young. Because there are often numerous entry places in apartment buildings, they may have an easier time accessing these homes. Often, one tenant will not realize the early stages of the problem, which allows the rodents to invade the entire building.

• Bed bugs: 

  Bed bugs are small parasites that are easily passed from home to home. When the homes are close to each other, as in the case of apartment buildings, you could develop a building-wide infestation quite quickly.

• Ants: 

  Ants can easily alert their friends to places that leave out food. If a few have found their way into your apartment building, there will soon be more.

Contact Truly Nolen for Experienced Pest Control in Niagara

Truly Nolen has years of experience in safely eradicating pests in both residential and commercial properties. If you think your building has a pest problem, don’t delay! Call us today to schedule your inspection.