Home and Landscape

Pest Prevention

Preventing pests through sanitation and exclusion is often the first step in an effective IPM program. No amount of trapping or baiting will be effective if you don’t exclude pests and clean the area. Here is a practical approach for property managers:

Prevention Tips

  1. Look for pest conducive conditions, the four major contributors to pest infestations.
    • Food sources for rodents or insects, for example, dirty trash chutes, poor sanitation in kitchen areas, overflowing refuse bins, or substandard sanitation.
    • Water sources that support insect survival, for example, plumbing leaks, condensation from refrigerators or air conditioning systems, or standing water outside the building.
    • Hiding places where pests are safe from trapping or cleaning efforts. For example, void areas underneath or behind cabinetry, inaccessible gaps above drop ceilings or neglected and cluttered storage rooms.
    • Points of entry from outdoors or from adjacent units, for example, gaps around utility penetrations, gaps under doors, and holes in walls.
  2. Train staff to deal with pest-conducive conditions. Reporting and repairing these conditions should be part of the job description for maintenance staff. See Trainings [internal link]
  3. Make sure your pest management providers are prevention oriented. Reporting or repairing pest-conducive conditions should be part of their contract – see Contracting [internal link]. Make sure there is a clear system for contractors to report conducive conditions to building management and maintenance staff, as well as a way to track issues once they are noted.
  4. Pay for an inspection of the entire building to identify pest-conducive conditions. Pest management providers are knowledgeable and trained on what to look for and can spot issues your staff might not. The inspection may be combined with an annual pest inspection to map out infested areas.
  5. Unit turnovers are an ideal opportunity to pest-proof. Incorporate pest-prevention related repairs into your standard operating procedures.
  6. Incorporate pest prevention into all remodeling projects. Specific pest-proofing measures should be written into construction documents. [download: 
  7. During remodels, check in with construction contractors and subcontractors. Pest-proofing requirements written into construction documents are sometimes not enough to change contractors’ habits. Schedule inspections during the project to remind them of your enhanced requirements.

Tools for Pest Prevention

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