No facility manager wants pests in their plants, but keeping them out can be challenging.
Large manufacturing facilities like beverage or food plants almost certainly have breaches, channels, gaps and other ways for pests to enter. While sealing your plant entirely isn’t practical, understanding where entry is likely to take place is the key to building an effective program for pest control in Bismarck and elsewhere.
How Pests Gain Access
Think outside the box a bit when considering how pests like rodents or insects may be entering your facility. Roofs are a big potential problem if they aren’t inspected and repair often, and dock plates are another common point of entry. While your dock doors are likely tightly sealed, the seals around the plates are more often neglected.
Floor drains may be another culprit, especially if you are noticing drain flies and cockroaches in your facility. Make sure your grates are removable and that you’re using baskets to facilitate cleaning and capture solids that could be attractive to pests. We also recommend installing one-way drain valves that let water easily flow downward while effectively blocking access to pests.
Eliminating Building Breaches
Older facilities may have more breach possibilities than newer buildings, but that isn’t always the case. While deterioration and retrofitting can create entry points in older buildings, newer buildings that with certain characteristics can be even more likely to incidentally welcome pests.
Corrugated metal buildings, for example, are probably the toughest to seal, and flat roofs can collect water that in turn attracts and helps breed insects. If your building, like many industrial spaces, has a flat roof, reduce the risk of pests by avoiding rubber roof membranes that collect moisture and cleaning your gutters regularly.
You may not notice pests entering your facility at first, but you’ll probably notice telltale signs once they’ve made it their home. Sometimes, these signs can actually help you uncover their entry points: Rats and mice, for example, leave trails of sebum that can look like grease stains on concrete and other materials. They use these trails to navigate through buildings, and tracking them can show you possible points of entry to seal.
Stop Hitchiking Pests
Pests can also enter your facility as stowaways. These hitchhikers can ride in on ingredients, forklifts, pallets, trucks and anything else entering your building. Prevent these pests by inspecting incoming products carefully, never leaving supplies sitting on open loading docks or outside and cleaning new equipment thoroughly before installation.
Choose the Right Insecticide
Our inventory of insecticides in Bismarck can help reduce pests in your facility. Check out Champion Sprayon Multi-Purpose Insect and Lice Killer to protect against ants, houseflies and cockroaches for up to 12 weeks. Click here to order online.
For larger facilities, we recommend Champion Sprayon Metered Insecticide. This highly concentrated formula controls flying insects in a 6,000 cubic-foot area and lasts for 28 days when sprayed at 15-minute intervals. Click here to order online!
