‘Tis the season… for major infestations. People are traveling, families are visiting, and your employees are vacating the office in droves for their festivities of choice. The more people travel, the more pests tend to travel along with them. Unfortunately, many of us will inadvertently bring pests home for the holidays.

If you’re the owner or manager of a commercial property or business, you want to circumvent the risk of pest migration as much as possible. But how? You can’t personally inspect each employee as they come back from their holiday break. Not only would it take forever, but HR would likely have something to say about it. Instead, you can follow our advice on preventing post-vacation infestations. Your main goal will be arming employees with helpful pest-prevention information. The best way to prevent pests is by working together! Here’s how to make that happen:

Take time for travel training.

We know you don’t have time to personally train everyone in your office on how to best avoid pests. What you can do, however, is pass along some of the most pertinent information. You can post a bulletin in the break room, send out an email newsletter, or even make a special posting on your company Slack channel. Because so many people travel during the holidays, giving them pest prevention travel tips is a great idea. Tips like:

• Use the suitcase shelf in your hotel room. Bed bugs can only get into your luggage if you let them. Prevent any potential contamination by keeping your suitcases off of the bed and floor when checking into a new room.
• Wash and dry all your clothing in hot water as soon as you’re home. This will kill any eggs or larvae you may have accidentally picked up while traveling. It works with ants, bed bugs, flies, and other hitchhiking creatures. As an added bonus, all your clothes will be freshly clean and ready for your return to real life.
• Do a little research. Look up the lodging you’re considering online before you book a room. If the lodging has a history of pest trouble, consider staying somewhere else.
   

Avoid natural holiday decor.

Did you know that natural Christmas trees are a common cause of holiday-related pest problems? Spiders, aphids, and beetles can all be found between their boughs. These pests will cling to trees even after they’ve been cut to stay safe from the cold. Christmas trees aren’t the only pieces of natural decor that can be problematic, either. Hand-harvested pine cones and leaves for a Thanksgiving display can cause problems as well.

Avoid these problems by decorating your commercial space with store-bought decor that’s been stored in airtight containers. Better safe than sorry. Plus, you get to avoid the time-consuming clean-up that comes with natural decor.
 

Make sure everyone knows the signs of your biggest problem pests.

Depending on the type of business you’re in charge of, you’ll have different problem pests. Learn about the pests most commonly faced in your industry.

For example, if you work in healthcare, you’ll have to pay special attention to flies because of their capacity to carry disease. If you work in food prep and distribution, pantry pests like the Indian meal moth will be a priority. Warehouses with a lot of hiding places will want to make sure rats aren’t left alone to proliferate. 

If these tips don’t work and you find yourself with some unwanted holiday visitors, you’ll need to call the professionals. Expert technicians like the ones at Assured Environments will know what to do. They’ll help you not only remove existing issues, but prevent future ones as well. Happy holidays to you and yours!