01/07/2019

The scary reality of work-place pests and bugs

If you stop to think about it, you would be alarmingly surprised by just how many small bugs are thriving in your workplace.

Your office, the place where you invite your clients, should have a zero-tolerance policy for pests and bugs, but sadly this is often far from true. These small bugs pose a health risk to not only your staff but also your visitors. Ants, cockroaches, flies, silverfish, bed bugs, mice and drain flies all pose a significant health risk.

A good indicator that you may have a problem with work-place pests and bugs is the presence of spiders. These eight-legged friends are pretty harmless in themselves but survive by eating other insects. So, if you find an abundance of them lurking in dry, warm locations such as desks, air vents, room corners, perhaps the time has come to do a deep clean and eradicate their food source.

Bugs, in general, are attracted to food and will be drawn to an area where food is prepared. Sadly, in an office environment, this area is often an inviting area to thrive. Flies will lay eggs in organic material found in unemptied bins, drain flies will lay larvae that feed on dirt found in and around sinks. Silverfish, love humidity and will often be seen around drains but will move around an office being attracted to books and paper and as for ants, they will march in line on mass to feed and nest near a good food source. And not forgetting, bed bugs, which will inevitably find their way into the office, after hitchhiking on their host in search of fresh blood. They can multiply at an alarming rate and will survive in furniture before finding a new victim on which to feast.

The presence of bugs and pests does not necessarily mean you have a filthy workplace. But it’s advisable to have a daily cleaning routine, to prevent being overrun with these unwanted bugs, and encourage staff to eat food in a designated place, rather than at their desk, as keyboards and telephones can harbour these small critters.

A tidy workplace is not only a pleasant environment in which to work, leaving a lasting impression with your visiting clients, but can also help reduce staff sickness. With approximately 140 million workdays lost due to sickness, costing UK businesses around £32 billion every year, a grubby office it’s not something you can afford to ignore.