Understanding integrated pest management (IPM) techniques for cockroach control can help property managers to ensure effective pest management service is provided by their pest control contractor. The basis of an effective IPM program is regular monitoring and record keeping with special attention on the most infested “focus units”. Let look at a few more effective control strategies.
Inspections and Monitoring
If units are highly infested, monthly inspections and treatments are needed, otherwise yearly inspections should occur in every unit to find infestations. Follow up inspections should be scheduled biweekly while a home is undergoing treatment. Don’t wait for a report or complaint about pests! Monitors and inspections work best in all situations.
What products work best?
Property managers should be aware of the product that are most effective so they can ensure their contractors are using them. The contractor should use safe and effective products like baits, dusts, and insect growth regulators (IGRs). Liquid sprays might be used in some circumstances but only for cracks and crevices and by a licensed pest control technician.
Baits not Sprays
Because they are easy to use, pest control technicians often apply liquid pesticide sprays even though baits can kill more cockroaches even with poor sanitation. Baits have a domino effect. Cockroaches get a lethal dose of poison when they feed on the dead bodies and droppings of cockroaches which consumed the bait first. Bait is applied in pea-size dots around where the cockroaches are - kitchen cabinets, near the stove, and under bathroom sink. The bait used is directly proportional to the number of cockroaches, more bait is needed when there are more cockroaches present (sticky trap monitors will tell you!). If replaced periodically the sticky trap monitors can also tell you if the treatment is successful (no more cockroaches on the traps, treatment worked!). Baits must be rotated. Cockroaches will build up resistance or simply learn to avoid the baits if the same product is used month after month.
Other Tools
Insecticidal dusts including boric acid, can be applied in hard to reach places where the cockroaches hide like cabinet and wall voids. Desiccant dusts have an additional advantage of killing bed bugs.
Not all sprays should be banned for cockroaches. Insect growth regulators (IGRs) can be used along with baits. It may be time-consuming, but vacuums are a great way to reduce the number of cockroaches, with the added advantage of removing the associated allergens.
Keep good records
Often, the service tickets the pest control company submits after completing their rounds are filed away and never looked at. These tickets can be utilized as a tool to oversee the progress the contracted pest control company is making in reducing and eliminating pests. They often tell you what products were used, how heavy an infestation is, and if there are repairs needed in a unit. You can also see how long the technicians spend per unit by dividing the time spent on site by the total number of units visited. If you see that the technicians are spending two minutes per unit, that’s not enough time to thoroughly treat a home. Property managers must also keep in mind the normal 5 minutes of service each apartment gets under a regular service contract won’t be adequate for heavy infestations. It might be necessary to pay an additional cost for a clean-out service which is more thorough. Records will tell you where the heaviest infestations are and where the additional attention might be needed.
IPM is teamwork
You might consider investing in training and licensing an in-house pest management team instead of an outside contractor. A skilled maintenance team is not constrained by time or profits like outside contractors are and they have more knowledge of the building and the residents. Plus, those structural deficiencies that allow cockroaches to move from unit to unit can be addressed while the unit is being serviced for pests.
Blaming residents for pest control failure is counter-productive. Work together to solve issues and inspire more cooperation. Yes, a home with bad housekeeping is more challenging to eliminate pests from but they absolutely can’t be skipped. Rather than lack of resident cooperation, a more likely reason for pest control failure is the focus units have not been identified and prioritized and apartments have been skipped. The property management has to cooperate by enforcing resident compliance, providing access, reporting problems, and correcting structural deficiencies. They are also responsible for overseeing trash management and maintaining proper sanitation in the building and on the grounds. A pest-free residence is the responsibility of all parties and timely and effective IPM treatment ensures a better living standard.
for more information:
StopPests Cockroach solutions page
The ABC's of Pest Control: Allergens, Baits, and Cockroaches
Developing a Pest Exclusion Plan for Cockroaches and Rodents
IPM: A Simple Solution to Problem Pests in Elderly and Disabled Housing
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