Property Management Pest Control
The Polish poet Adam Zagajewski once wrote, “In summer the empire of insects spreads.” While he doubtlessly chose this phrasing for its literary impact, the truth of the matter is that insects proliferate in every season of the year — and it’s incredibly important for property managers to stay on top of them. You might not see the need for industrial pest control if you own an apartment complex or manage a condominium. In today’s competitive market, though, pests can destroy your property value, leading to high resident turnover and plummeting profits. When you work with a pest control management company like Smithereen Pest Management Services, you can proactively address pest-related issues and avoid time-consuming on-site visits. By addressing any threats as quickly as possible you save time, uphold the integrity of your buildings and build up the trust of your current tenants. Here at Smithereen we have built our reputation by helping you to maintain yours.
Pest Control Prevention for Property Managers
Many property managers and property owners resort to self-directed forms of pest management rather than seeking out the services of a pest control business. While it’s true that pest control college degrees aren’t a prerequisite for effectively managing insects, rodents, wildlife, and other intrusive animals, attempting pest control commercially or residentially can have unintended negative consequences.
For instance, some managers attempt to deal with ants, bedbugs, cockroaches, and other irritants by applying pesticides and other chemical remediations regularly, no matter whether they see any indication of the pests’ presence. This may make sense from a layman’s perspective, but to a professional trained in Integrated Pest Management (IPM), it poses a number of dangers, which include health risks and added expense.
IPM proposes a different approach. This earth- and person-friendly pest-control method has been officially recognized by EPA, CDC, and USDA. It has also been employed around the globe with impressive results. The IPM process includes the following steps:
- Determining why the pests got into your property
- Discovering what specific conditions are attracting them
- Crafting a personalized extermination and prevention plan
- Eliminating the ongoing pests
- Sealing any entry points and establishing a secure perimeter
- Monitoring the situation to ensure that the pests don’t return
An IPM approach means that apartment, condominium, and school pest control can cost less, be safer, and be more reliable for everyone involved.
Comprehensive Commercial Pest Management Solutions
Property managers understand that doing their job well involves dealing with lots of details. From setting budgets and sticking to them, from signing leases to collecting rent, from managing repair requests to addressing tenant complaints, success in the field of property management means focusing on little things as much as large matters. The same holds true when it comes to pest management.
If a property waits to deal with ants until they’ve scattered mounds all throughout the area or only focuses on cockroaches when they’re scuttling through multiple units, then their property management pest control has failed. Practitioners of IPM understand that comprehensive solutions are the only way that industrial pest control can successfully stymie insect and mammal infestations. Unfortunately, few property managers have the know-how, the resources, and the time to implement such solutions on their own.
What does a comprehensive pest control commercial plan look like in practice? As we’ve already mentioned in a previous section, it starts by understanding what specific pests we’re dealing with, knowing about their life cycles, their behavior, how they subsist, and what causes them to thrive. Industrial, retail, commercial, and school pest control then proceeds to address the structures themselves, mapping out potential and/or actual harborage points and remediating them. Only then does the more familiar work of pest extermination begin.
Common Pests and Services in Rental Properties
Those who deal with rental properties tend to regularly encounter certain kinds of pests, and as we’ve already discussed, in property management pest and termite control is crucially important. Some of the pests you may encounter can include the following:
As you can see, such a list is substantial and yet hardly covers every pest-related problem a property could experience. That’s why it’s so important to have a professional available to help should a crisis arise.
Do Landlords Have to Pay for Exterminators?
Landlord-tenant law varies from municipality to municipality, which is why answering exactly who has to pay for pest control and/or pest extermination is challenging. However, the law in most places supposes that rental property is accompanied by an implied warrant of habitability. According to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute, “This warranty requires landlords to keep their property ‘habitable,’ even if the lease does specifically require them to make repairs. Furthermore, the warranty conditions a tenant’s duty to pay rent on the landlord’s duty to maintain a habitable living space. This makes it easier for tenants to get landlords to make repairs.”
This warrant can also apply to pest control. While landlords do not necessarily have to provide pest management services for their tenants, failing to do so might pose problems should an infestation occur. The presence of fleas, bedbugs, cockroaches, or rats might give tenants the right to enforce pest control measures. This could have other unpleasant financial implications for landlords and lead to substantial revenue loss.
However, in some circumstances, tenants may bear a degree of responsibility for the management of pests. Infestations often arise due to poor sanitation, and common contributing factors include clutter, the presence of untended trash and recyclables, infrequent or improper cleaning, and sloppily stored food. Should these factors cause roaches, mice, ants, and other irritants to flourish, a landlord can generally inform the tenant to address the situation. Should tenants fail to do so, they may very well end up in violation of their leases, which could be grounds for eviction.
Such a situation, though, hardly benefits landlords in the end. By the time it comes to your attention, an infestation will likely have spread beyond the confines of a single unit, which still leaves you on the proverbial hook even if you’ve dealt with a specific tenant. When it comes to pest control in property management, an ounce of prevention truly is better than a pound of cure.
Indeed, prevention is the centerpiece of our approach at Smithereen. We have been in business since 1888, and we pride ourselves on operating in most Midwestern states. As a member of the National Pest Management Association and the IPM Institute of North America, we understand the business and science of effective pest control.
Why Property Managers Trust Smithereen Pest Control Services
Few property managers possess the training, equipment, expertise, or desire to implement effective pest-control measures. That’s why you need a trusted partner when dealing with things as serious as property management pest and termite situations or even relatively mild irritants such as ants. And Smithereen is in the perfect position to serve as that partner.
For more than a century, we’ve helped businesses and consumers of all stripes safeguard their companies and homes from unwanted rodents, insects, and wildlife. Wondering what sets us apart from the rest? Read on to learn more:
We know the specific pests to look for
An important part of IPM is understanding what sorts of pests are causing your specific problem. Bed bugs behave very differently from termites, and rats won’t behave the same way that raccoons do. When your employees are having to clean up mysterious droppings or your tenants say that something has started biting them in their sleep, you don’t want a pest-control partner that has to guess what the problem is. You want one that knows.
Smithereen is just that kind of company. In addition to our extensive experience, we remediate a wide range of pests, everything from familiar culprits such as mosquitoes and mice to lesser-addressed irritants like skunks and squirrels.
We offer Integrated Pest Management
Smithereen proudly uses an IPM approach to pest control, an approach that was initially formulated in the years after World War 2. By combining a judicious approach to pesticides along with an understanding of other beneficial techniques such as exclusionary barriers, IPM could achieve significant gains in pest management while avoiding harming the environment or people.
We can consult and act proactively
Because IPM focuses on more than merely “spraying and praying,” we here at Smithereen can begin to address pests before they even gain a toehold around your property. In addition to dealing with potential points of ingress and harborage spots, we teach our clients best practices that can help eliminate infestations before they even start.
We’re here to answer your questions and concerns
Amazing pest control isn’t that impressive if it doesn’t meet clients where they are. At Smithereen, we know that the client comes first, and we want to help meet all of your needs. Contact us today to learn how we can help with your specific situation.