Keep Bugs Out Of Your Office – 5 Easy Steps

Do you ever wonder what crawls over your desk when you aren’t there? Have you seen a cockroach at work? Do you avoid the work kitchen because you saw a mouse there once?

Working in a New York City office place has great perks but also comes with the responsibility to maintain a neat, pest-free workplace. Commercial pest control service companies in NYC may regularly come to your office and spray but employees need to do their part to avoid attracting bugs and rodents.

Here is a quick and easy list you can tackle to keep your office rodent-free.

1. Avoid eating at your desk

Most of us are guilty of at least occasionally eating at our desk, and while it’s sometimes efficient when we are in a time crunch, this new year is a great time to create better habits. There are many reasons to avoid eating at your desk, including attracting mice and bugs. The crumbs you leave may be so small you can’t see them, but to mice and rats they are a full meal.

2. Don’t leave standing liquids

Late at night when you are home nestled in your bed, cockroaches are in search of water. They can live without food, but not without water. Make sure you don’t leave cups of water on your desk or pools of water in the bathroom sink or kitchen sink. Flies and other pests are attracted to sweet so be sure the cap is on the soda or sweet tea or you could be drinking more than you bargained for. These will help cut down the attraction to your desk and office space.

3. Remove dirty dishes from the sink

We had clients who regularly called to complain about seeing cockroaches in their office kitchen. We decided to test a once per day extermination for a full week. We started spraying in the morning but then decided to come in the afternoon. After lunch, piles of dirty dishes were being left overnight for the cleaning people to manage in the morning, and were attracting bugs. Working with the staff to make sure they no longer left their dishes in the sink decreased the cockroach problem quickly.

4. Throw your food out in a covered garbage can

Do you have a garbage can at your desk? If so, it’s likely it doesn’t have a lid. If you’ve bypassed the first best practice on this list and eat at your desk, be sure to take a little walk after lunch (its good for digestion) and head to a trash receptacle that has a lid to throw away your food. Bugs and rodents have excellent senses of smell and can track down your garbage from far away.

5. Don’t leave shoes or clothes in the office

In addition to food and water, pests are also looking for nesting opportunities and materials to build a nest. We once had a company call us to get rid of a rat’s nest under a female employee’s desk. She left a pile of shoes under her desk for over a year and a rat had made it a home.

The next time you see a pest in your office, call a commercial exterminator like Jove Pest Control in NYC, but also check your own habits and practices. Are there ways you can help reduce the likeliness of seeing another? Download our Friendly Reminder Poster for your office today.