“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”

02 Jun “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”

Two of the most noteworthy of these springtime pest are termites and ants.

Most people believe these two pests cause problems for homeowners only, part of that is true but they can also cause problems for commercial and food processing facilities.

Termites can penetrate a crack as small as 1/32 to 1/64 of an inch wide. Imagine how many cracks there are in floor and wall junctions, cement slabs floors, pipe penetrations, cement block walls of most food processing or warehousing facilities, pharmaceutical labs, hospices, hospitals, ect. Event if there is no wood damage, imagine the contamination potential of hundreds or thousands of swarming termites or ants in a busy food-processing operation, a facility with open and exposed products. It’s possible that termites or ants, or t heir discarded wings, could end up in packaged products. To prevent these potential problems, its critical to establish a good storage design and rotation system, along with a good proactive pest management inspection program. When termites or ants typically invade a structure, the ability to perform a detailed thorough pest management inspection is critical. Keying in on the exterior floor/wall junctions is important, as is looking for termite mud tubes, trailing ants, sand mounds, etc. This allows a pest management program to effectively react before swarming occurs and can prevent possible contamination. Because of their active and aggressive food foraging habits, ants and other pests can be a greater problem because of the potential of infesting food products areas. Plant maintenance should focus on in-plant vigilance, as well as preventative pest management inspections and actions to prevent a pest invasion. Actions should also include an ongoing crack and crevice sealing or caulking program to block pest entry points. Today’s pest management services really does need take a 3D holistic approach incorporating the prediction and prevention of pest activity. Exterior spring inspections are a must to prevent invaders.