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Like any other open space, warehouses are susceptible to pests. The key is to know how to identify a pest problem and how to take care of them. You want to be able to eliminate your pest problem before it gets out of hand and possibly becomes destructive to your inventory and your employees. Here are a number of pests which are common in warehouses and how to identify and control/eliminate them.
Identifying Pests. First of all, it is smart to take preventative measures to avoid pests in the first place. But if your warehouse is already infested, it is imperative to identify the problem as soon as possible. You do not want to be shipping damaged products to your customers and possibly even spreading the infestation to your customers’ stores.
Cigarette Beetles. Cigarette beetles are very common in warehouses. Their main target is stored tobacco and can cause immense damage to the inventory of the warehouses they reside. They are small, black, flying insects which like to hide in dark places. Do not be fooled if you come across some and they are not moving; these little bugs like to play dead. If found, contact a pest control service immediately to eliminate them.
Drugstore Beetles. Drugstore beetles are very similar to cigarette beetles and come from the same family. However, drugstore beetles are attracted to light rather than dark places. They are especially attracted to warehouses which store flour, spices, cereal, and other dried foods.
Flour Beetles. As their name suggests, flour beetles love flour, pet food, and cereal. They can be found in groups near their food sources. Their damage can be extensive because they turn flour an unappealing color and leave it with a bad odor.
Warehouse Beetles. These pests are called warehouse beetles for a reason. They are the most common of warehouse pests and they can cause the most expansive damage. Warehouse beetles feast on all different kinds of foods such as nuts, pet food, grains, seeds, wheat, and many others. They thrive in the climate of the Pacific North West as they like temperate weather.
Prevention. After you have identified your infestation, your next step is elimination and prevention. Hire a commercial exterminator to get rid of the initial infestation. The job does not stop there though. You must determine how your warehouse became infested in the first place and take measures to prevent that from happening again. If you have determined the pests have entered your warehouse from a shipment from another warehouse, determine the source and ensure it is treated for the pests.
