Guests should never worry about pests during their hotel stay, and if you take the right approach to preventative control, they never will. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) emphasizes source reduction and considers why pests infest a facility in the first place to comprehensively address infestations before they start. Here are a few environmentally friendly pest control techniques hotel managers should discuss with their pest management professional when they’re developing or reviewing a property’s IPM program:
Fly lights and sticky boards. Installing ultraviolet lights inside entrances and doors to food service zones and delivery areas lures flying insects to sticky board traps that keep them out of the hotel. In kitchen and storage areas, the sticky boards can also be used as a monitoring tool to detect the warning signs of a potential infestation.
Repellents. Small amounts of a repellent dust can keep pests from hiding and breeding in those hard-to-reach cracks and crevices throughout the hotel. Applying repellents along the edge of exterior walls followed by the use of a sealant will eliminate these popular pest hideouts and help prevent future infestation.
Non-volatile baits. Non-volatile baits are often a good substitute for chemical treatments, and they’re odorless. Once an insect or rodent consumes the bait, it will take it back to its harborage area, which can help eliminate whole pest populations.
Dr. William D. Frye, Ph.D, CHE, is coauthor of Managing Housekeeping Operations.
