Hospitality and Hotel Pest Control Services in Des Moines

May 18, 2021

Businesses in the hospitality industry depend fully on customer satisfaction. For hotel owners and managers, cleanliness is king. Guests want to know they’re sleeping on fresh sheets, using clean towels and most importantly everything is sanitary. A pest problem in your hotel can jeopardize your business’s reputation and cause you to lose guests, all of whom may potentially spread word about their experience with your establishment. Unfortunately, pests are common in hotels and can be hard to avoid. With so many potential entry points and constant traffic from guests entering and exiting the building, sneaking inside can be very easy for anything from tiny critters to rodents.

Our pest technicians are experts when it comes to hospitality pest control, making us your trusted Des Moines pest control company for hotels. We’re committed to educating hotel owners and managers on the common pests they might find in their building, their common hiding spots and how to get rid of them.

Most Common Pests Found in Hotels and Motels

Access to food, water and cooler places among other factors create the perfect environment for a variety of pests to thrive in hotels. Inadequate pest prevention tactics can significantly increase the likelihood of an infestation in your business. With our insights, we hope to help you find the signs of common pests found in hotels and locate them.

The most common pests we find in hotels include:

• Bed bugs, also known as the travel bug, these critters reproduce quickly and colonize in large groups on bed mattresses and neglected furniture.
• Mice are most active at night. These rodents can climb, making it even easier for them to get inside. Mice are often found in kitchens and can create serious health hazards for your guests if not taken care of immediately.
• Ants may seem seasonal, but they can still be a nuisance year-round. Ants are attracted to food sources and are most commonly found in kitchens. Storing food properly and staying on top of clutter can reduce your risk of attracting ants.
• Spiders enter buildings through open doors and windows, cracks around poorly fitted windows, air conditioners, foundations, siding and spaces under doors. This makes finding their exact entry point and keeping them out a challenge. Spiders are naturally outdoor pests, but are commonly found in motels because the entrance is outside.
• Cockroaches are also more likely to be found in motels rather than hotels. However, these pests can be found in kitchens, an extremely unpleasant site for guests and staff alike.

Pests Think Hotels Are a Great Place to Stay Too

Commercial spaces offer shelter from the potentially dangerous outdoor elements, and provide plenty of places to hide. Hotels in particular offer pests the tools they need to survive: shelter, water and food.

• Entrances: With so many people going in and out of hotels, there are plenty of opportunities for pests to sneak inside open doors. Hotels typically have many entrances around the building as well creating even more opportunities for pests to get inside. If your hotel has a small vestibule or secondary door entrance, then you have a better chance at keeping problem pests out since it offers an added protection from outside the hotel. Even then, many pests can fit inside surprisingly tiny cracks and crevices to seek out shelter. Motels are more at risk of pests invading guests’ rooms because the entrance to many rooms is outside.
• Water: Kitchens, bathrooms and pools are convenient water sources for pests and hotels often have all of these. Hotels have pools, hot tubs and intricate plumbing, which could lead to areas that are damp and hospitable for pests to thrive.
• Food: Hotels and conference centers usually have kitchens, buffets, snack options and room service available to guests. Pests are always drawn to kitchens since they provide an abundance of food. Buffets that keep food laying out for hours at a time can especially be a big draw for pests looking to sneak food when no one is around. Special precautions should be taken to keep your food safe because if a guest gets sick or has a negative reaction to the food provided by the hotel, it is the hotel’s responsibility.

Hospitality and Hotel Pest Control & Prevention is Key

It’s so important for hotels, motels and hospitality centers to keep pests out to keep their reputation intact. As a hotel owner, the presence of pests can send your guests running right out the door. It’s very likely that any pest problems encountered by your guests during their stay will be shared in conversation or even online.

Preferred Pest Control’s Treatment Methods

Our technicians perform regular preventive treatments that include exterior and interior spraying, monitoring traps, bed bug inspections and special considerations for kitchens, pools and hot tubs.

Preferred Pest Control will treat main areas in your hotel each month and perform quarterly checks in other areas of the hotel as needed. If we do detect an infestation of bed bugs, our technicians will use our Aprehend® treatment to safely and effectively eliminate the problem. The Aprehend® solution is a natural and odorless bio-pesticide that, once bed bugs come in contact with it, will kill them in 3-7 days. To look for bed bugs, we use highly effective World Detector Dog Organization (WDDO) certified bed bug detection canines. We’re discrete so we don’t alarm guests, and we’ll work with hotel management to provide recommendations to keep bed bugs at bay.

Why do hotels get bed bugs?

The chances of a bed bug infestation becomes much higher in commercial buildings like hotels, and these pests are known for being resilient. Bed bugs will often cling to travelers’ clothes or luggage, and as visitors come and go, bed bugs get a free ticket into your hotel.

Once inside, these pests can quickly spread throughout units and have many hiding spots. Of course these pests are called bed bugs for a reason. They’re most often found on bed mattresses! Other places to look are furniture, rugs, clothes and along flat inconspicuous surfaces, like baseboards. If you do suspect bed bugs in your hotel, the most effective way to get rid of them is by reaching out to professionals.

How do you check for bed bugs in hotels?

To check for bed bugs, start by pulling back the sheets on the beds in your hotel. These bugs are very small and can be hard to spot. If you don’t see any oval-shaped, reddish-brown bugs, then look for defecation on the sides of the mattress. Bed bugs are known for leaving red or brown stains behind.

We also recommend looking along flat surfaces and baseboards along the wall as these are also common nesting areas for bed bug colonies. Be sure to remind people to use the luggage holders to keep belongings off the floor so these pests can’t easily cling on to it and sneak inside.

Contact Preferred Pest Control for the Best Commercial Pest Control in Des Moines

Avoid pest problems in your hotel with our regularly scheduled commercial pest control services in Des Moines. Pest prevention is critical to ensure a pleasant, pest-free experience for all guests who choose to stay at your hotel. Our team of courteous and professional technicians will work directly with you to determine existing and potential pest problems in your building. Additionally, we understand how important it is to your business that these services are performed in a discreet manner. Our exterminators will treat your hotel in a safe and convenient way to ensure your reputation is not jeopardized.

It is our goal to solve your pest problem while earning your long-term trust so that we can continue to deliver a higher standard of pest control and preventative services for your hotel. Call Preferred Pest Control’s expert technicians at (515) 415-5550 today!

Schedule an Appointment

All About Bed Bugs