How to Manage Pests During Renovations and Construction

By Hope Bowman

Imagine this: You’ve recently completed a beautiful new addition to your apartment complex and units are ready for leasing—or so you think. But it turns out pest control and sanitation were overlooked during the construction process. The result? You’ve literally built rodents into the structure. Now, you have a rat infestation on your hands.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a far-fetched scenario. If you don’t incorporate pest control into the construction process, you can be stuck with pest issues before residents even move in.

And pests aren’t just a nuisance. Many, including rodents, can carry pathogens that can cause dangerous diseases. Some, like termites, can even threaten the integrity of a building’s structure. So, whether you’re renovating an existing building or starting from the ground up, it’s important to keep a pest management professional involved before, during, and after the process.

Here are some steps to take to help prevent pests from wreaking havoc with your plans and making themselves at home once construction is complete.

Before Construction Begins

Prior to the start of any major project, it’s important to have a strong plan in place. Set up a meeting with your pest management professional and contractor to get everyone on the same page with how best to incorporate pest management into the process. These individuals play a key role, so it will be critical for them to work together as a team.

Some specific things you can do before you build:

• Work with your pest management professional to assess pest activity in the area. This will help determine what measures to take to reduce the presence of pests throughout the construction process.
• Pretreat for termites, and, when possible, use non-cellulose building materials in construction to minimize the chances of a termite infestation. Also, avoid wood-to-ground contact.
• Inspect raw materials for pests before bringing the materials to the jobsite, and do so again before using them.

During the Build

As construction starts and the real work begins, your property can become more susceptible to pests, which is why it’s important to stay vigilant and take the following measures.

• Work with a pest management professional to set up bait traps around the exterior of the facility or building site, as well as near building materials.
• Ensure that the property is properly graded and that water is flowing away from the new structure. Pests are attracted to water, so minimize its presence around the worksite.
• Keep the site clean. Food, trash, and wood debris can attract pests, so dispose of waste properly and inspect the site at the end of each workday to make sure nothing is left behind.

Project Completion

Once the core of the structure is complete, take these additional measures to help prevent pest issues down the road:

• Install sodium vapor lights. These are less attractive to flying pests in outside areas than are other light sources.
• When it’s time to landscape, avoid plants that attract pests, such as fruit trees, flowering shrubs, and ivy and other ground-covering plants. Keep plants at least 3 feet from the building to avoid giving pests a “jumping-off point” for easy access to the building. Plants placed too close to a building can also hide pest activity.
• When installing doors and windows, make sure they’re tight against the frames. Use weatherstripping and screens to block pests from finding openings.
• Work with a pest management professional to create an education plan for residents and employees informing them about best sanitation practices and what to do in case of a pest sighting.

Whenever it’s time to make major changes to a building, whether it be constructing an entirely new one or adding on to a current structure, don’t overlook pest management. Getting a specialist involved at the ground level will help protect your investment and position the new building for success. Your tenants might even be impressed by the absence of pests at your properties, which can only help your business continue to grow.

Hope Bowman is a technical specialist and Board Certified entomologist with Western Pest Services, a Parsippany-Troy Hills, N.J.-based pest management company serving businesses and homeowners in major Northeastern markets.

Originally featured at Multifamily Executive.