How to Avoid Overnight Pest Infestations in Your Rentals
By Noelle Goins, Owner of Get Goins Pest Control
It is assumed that no calls from tenants complaining means no one is having pest problems, however, in 2023 we are learning it means the complete opposite. Silent infestations are the new pandemic; and they are happening to anyone anywhere.
For example, Los Angeles County alone has recently spiked in its ranking of bed bugs, German roaches, rodents, and mosquitoes to name a few. Why? Well, a few reasons. A common explanation is that by the time an owner receives a call about any of these pests, the tenant most likely has been dealing with these pests for months, sometimes years and has tried to take care of the problem themselves. They may not even know what is biting them or may be too embarrassed to admit the magnitude of damage these pest are doing.
Socially, bed bugs are the bug of shame, German roaches symbolize unsanitary negligence, and mosquitoes are outside pests and “not an owner’s problem,” but as we are seeing with the latest California legislature, it most certainly is an owner’s problem to solve. All of these pests carry serious diseases and infest fast. If a tenant doesn’t call you until it’s too late, it will cost you thousands!
So how do we avoid infestations in the first place? First, by being proactive. Pest control companies report that infestations are largely due to there being no consistent pest control being done in the first place. Most owners and property management companies are not physically checking on properties monthly, so they would have no idea what bugs are already invading their tenants. A good pest control company is your eyes and ears of the property; building relationships with your tenants and establishing trust that allow pests to stay excluded by the experts.
Rather than calling a pest control company to put fires out, it makes dollars and sense to invest in pest control management before problems arise. You are getting free inspections year round, so there aren’t delayed responses to emergency situations. Being slow to act simply gives pests more time to infest more than one tenant. What could have costed a few hundred dollars to exterminate can grow quickly to the thousands an rather than spending precious time arguing or debating on who is to blame for them, your pest control company can quickly eradicate them.
So whether it’s eliminating standing water for mosquitoes to breed and multiply or excluding all openings that pests can enter before they do, consistent pest control will stop infestations from happening and save you thousands of dollars every year. Remember: bed bug, rodent, and roach infestations go unreported everyday and spread to other tenants quickly. They are severely hazardous to our health. Most often the tenant reporting it is being infested by the tenant not reporting it, and this is a silent and dangerous epicenter to have untreated. Don’t let this happen to you!”
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