Frequently Asked Questions FAQ About Commercial Pest Control
Q: What can I do to help get rid of cockroaches that infest this building?
A: Cockroaches require harborage – places to hide, food – any readily available
sources of nourishment, water, and warmth in order to survive. Reasonable steps and conscientious sanitation taken to prevent cockroaches from availing themselves of these four requirements will
help to diminish a current infestation and prevent future infestations.
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A: Mice are able to squeeze through gaps of 1/3 inch or more beneath
doors, along the open sides of overhead/roll-up doors, and through
holes no larger than the diameter of a fountain pen. Mice are
excellent climbers and can enter a building at any level if they can
scale the exterior surface. It is important to make sure that
- All doors fit tightly all the way around.
- All utility penetrations are sealed with putty or other sealant.
- All vents are screened over.
- Tall, dense vegetation such as ivy, tall weeds and groundcover that may serve as pest harborage and give mice access to upper structural features are removed.
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Q: Why are so many flying insects resting on the outside of the building around the doors?
A: Many nocturnal flying insects are attracted to the bright white light emitted by building security lighting located over doors and loading docks. The best way
to reduce the attraction of night-flying insects to entrances is to replace mercury
vapor lamps with sodium vapor lamps, cover white fluorescent lamps with yellow
sleeves and substitute amber/yellow incandescent lamps for regular light bulbs.
Taking this action will also reduce the number of spiders that make unsightly webs
near and on outside light fixtures.
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Q: What can we do to help get rid of flying insects that make their way indoors
without using insecticides?
A: One or two professional-grade insect light traps should be mounted to inside walls, facing away from doors and windows, so that any flying insects that enter through doors will be attracted to the UV lamps of these traps and become caught in the sticky panels or trays of these units. Insect light traps should be mounted at chest level and UV lamps must be replaced every spring. Sticky panels may require biweekly replacement through the warm months.
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Q: What can be done to control the mosquitoes and biting flies that attack our
employees just outside the building?
A: Mosquitoes and biting midges breed in standing water. Therefore, potential breeding
habitats should be eliminated or rendered uninhabitable to fly larvae. This can be
accomplished by taking a number of simple steps such as:
- Disposing of old tires, buckets, plastic sheeting and other debris in which rainwater can accumulate.
- Storing wheelbarrows and other equipment such that water cannot pool on it.
- Drain and fill non-drainage ditches and low spots where water pools
- Install fountains in ornamental pools and lakes to agitate the water’s surface.
- Arrange for treatment of ponds and lakes with an appropriate larvicide product.
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Q: Why are so many insects, spiders and other crawling pests getting inside?
A: Buildings that are surrounded by tall and dense vegetation are vulnerable to invasion by pests which find dense plant growth attractive habitat. Furthermore, pests will enter readily
if doors and windows are kept open much of the time and screens or other barriers are not
in place to prevent pest access.
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Q: Why are there gnats
flying around in the office areas continually?
A: Fungus gnats readily breed in the over-watered soil of potted
plants that are often found
in office environments. Fungus gnats enter from outdoors, lay their eggs on the soil
and the larvae feed on the fungi that grows in the wet soil. The best solution to this
problem is to remove plants, repot them and refrain from over watering. Pesticides need not be used.
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A: Absolutely! The ProGuard Commercial Pest Control team is trained to see your commercial environment
through the eyes of third party auditors, then address and work through non-compliant situations with you accordingly.
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Q: Why do some of our
employees claim to be bitten by something at their work stations, yet no causal pests can be found?
A: This can be a tough human resources issue. ProGuard associates will inspect and monitor for possible causal agents and make recommendations based on
findings. Quite often, dry air and static electricity are responsible for prickling sensations
felt on office workers’ ankles and legs due to paper flecks “jumping” from printers
to the electrically-charged hose worn by female office staff.
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Q: How quickly can you respond to our requests for commercial pest control service?
A: In most cases, a ProGuard Commercial Pest Control technician can respond on the same day as an urgent situation is phoned in to our office. Important information can be provide by phone,
fax or email immediately. In non-urgent situations, on-site response is rendered within
24 hours of the phone-in request.
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Q: Can you provide us with some insecticides to use whenever we see pests?
A: Although there are some products that can be retailed to our commercial customers, in most cases, the risks of product misuse and repercussions to health and program efficacy and resulting liability are too great to warrant the provision of pesticides for customer use.
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Q: What pests are included in your service agreement and what pests are not?
A: ProGuard Commercial Pest Control sales and service associates will specify both verbally and in print
which pests are covered in the service agreement and which pests will require a
separate survey and service agreement. Typical service agreements do not include
treatments for wood-destroying beetles, termites, earthworms, mollusks (e.g., slugs
and snails), nuisance wildlife trapping or bird exclusion unless specified in print.
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Q: Can you perform the necessary structural repairs to prevent pests from entering?
A: There are some basic repairs that ProGuard can perform, such as closing off
exterior structural gaps and pest entry points with coilstock (sheet metal) or hardware cloth (galvanized welded wire mesh), and installation of door sweeps and threshold
strips.
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Q: When I phone for service, will I be talking to a person or a machine?
A: Proguard Commercial Pest Control Service will respond during the
hours of 8AM to 5PM, Monday through Friday, and 8AM to 3PM on
Saturdays, a customer care representative will answer your phone
call. If all lines are busy, an associate will respond to your
detailed phone message within minutes. If you call outside normal
business hours or on a holiday, an associate will call you back
within a few hours. In emergency situations, an alternate phone
response arrangement may be provided for in the service agreement.
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Q: Do you use pesticides that are compatible / in compliance with our operational guidelines and regulatory requirements?
A: The ProGuard Commercial Pest Control team will apply only those products that are registered for the particular sites in question. Pesticide labels, National Pest Management Association guidelines
and USDA specifications will be consulted and followed.
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Q: Will your Commercial Pest Control service technicians conduct themselves in compliance with our operational guidelines, regulatory requirements and Homeland Defense/Patriot Act?
A: ProGuard Commercial Pest Control associates have been trained in how to conduct themselves in sensitive work environments as well as security protocol and will comply with any additional
regulations and security-related guidelines that you require of contractors on-site.
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We offer pest control for the following types of food manufacturing and food processing facilities in Indiana including Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville as well as the surrounding states of Pensylvania, Kentucky, Michigan, West Virginia, Ohio.
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