When deciding on a healthcare facility, patients may consider a range of factors from quality of care and convenience to the use of cutting-edge technology and innovation. Green roofs, a growing trend across the country, can help set hospitals and clinics apart by contributing to a facility’s sustainability and providing patients with an extra set of benefits, such as a beautiful place to sit outside to heal or to observe the serenity from the inside. In addition to providing credit toward LEED certification, green roofs offer aesthetic appeal, especially for patients in long-term care.

However, these roofs also can increase pest pressures for healthcare facilities, which can pose a problem because of the need to maintain a high standard of sanitation. As patients receive care for medical conditions and illnesses, they are sure to be alarmed by any pest sighting, which can severely damage a hospital or clinic’s reputation.

In some cases, pests transmit disease and cause allergic reactions – a serious concern for sensitive patients with already weakened immune systems. Insect pests and rodents also can cause structural damage, surface erosion, and damage to electrical wiring. With abundant vegetation, green roofs provide the food, water, and shelter that many pests seek.

Pests Attracted to Green Roofs

To feature a green roof while mitigating the potential for pests, it’s important to know which pests to look for and what can be done to prevent them. Here are a few common rooftop pests and tactics to identify a potential infestation:

• Cockroaches: The most common sign of cockroach activity is the pest itself. These pests are nocturnal, so seeing just one cockroach during the day could be a sign of a large infestation. If a cockroach is out during daylight hours, it was likely pushed out of its shelter by overcrowding.
• Ants: Ants can nest almost anywhere, including under fountains. Ant colonies can reach populations of 500,000 and uproot entirely if disturbed. They also will leave a chemical scent trail to a food source for other ants to follow – so pay attention if you see them moving in a line. If you see an ant in your facility or office, contact a carpenter ant extermination company immediately. It’s better to catch the problem early!
• Flies: One pair of flies can produce a million offspring through their offspring’s offspring in just a matter of weeks. The most obvious sign of a fly problem is the flies buzzing around. It’s important to keep them out of the building because they can quickly transmit disease as they land on surfaces.
• Rodents: Rats and mice burrow through vegetation and mulch, leave behind droppings, create gnaw marks and make holes around doors and utility penetrations. They also move along walls and leave behind greasy rub marks, which can indicate their path into the building. This is an issue that needs to be sorted before it gets any worse. With there being pest control experts indiana or companies in New York (location varies depending on where you live), for example, using these sorts of services could help get your property back to normal and pest free.

Landscaping

Vegetation is the cornerstone of green roofs and also the root of many pest problems. Plants, flowers and water features on a green roof all can attract pests. However, there are ways to strategically plant to avoid attracting more pests to your urban sanctuary. To keep pest populations at a minimum:

• Avoid plants that produce nuts, fruits and seeds. These plants attract pests looking for food.
• Use cedar mulch instead of organic mulch. Cedar mulch helps repel certain types of ants, like the Argentine ant.
• Reduce heavy mulch cover in planters and ivy overgrowth to minimize the food and shelter they provide to pests.
• Check growth areas at the top of plants and on the underside of leaves for evidence of pest activity.
• Talk to a pest management provider about species of vegetation to avoid on a green roof and where to plant to help mitigate pest activity. Wildflowers have the potential to attract stinging insects, so plant succulents, grasses or herbs instead.

Exclusion, Maintenance & Sanitation

If despite the above tactics, you’re overwhelmed with pest issues, another tactic for controlling them on green roofs is an integrated pest management strategy (IPM). This is an environmentally responsible solution to pest control that focuses on multiple control strategies which may or may not include chemical treatments. A pest management provider, such as Future Services or others, could be brought in to ensure that your healthcare business remains reputable. They can help to assess the green roofs and building weak spots to develop a solution that both helps reduce pest activity and prevents pests from getting inside. An effective bug control plan will focus on exclusion, maintenance and sanitation to protect against pests, with the specific challenges of a plant-filled roof in mind.

For example, many pests can enter a building through even the smallest of holes and cracks. Rats can fit through holes as small as a quarter, and cockroaches can squeeze into cracks just 1/16 of an inch wide. To keep these pests out, here are a few things that you can do:

• Seal cracks, holes and other potential entry points in the exterior masonry with water-resistant sealant and metal mesh. Caulk around utility connections or outlets as well. If gaining access to your roof or any other areas that require repairs is more difficult, you might first need to contact an industrial scaffolding specialist such as Royston Scaffolding.
• Install door sweeps and weather stripping.
• Keep doors to the roof closed as often as possible.
• Minimize water accumulations from leaky taps, HVAC units and irrigation by correcting drainage blockages and repairing leaks.
• Install and repair window and vent screens.
• Keep trash can lids tightly sealed and empty trash cans regularly. The odors in garbage cans attract pests looking for food.
• Share sanitation tips with patients and staff so they don’t unknowingly contribute to a pest problem.

By developing an integrated pest management plan, healthcare facilities can proactively protect against pests – and their health and financial consequences. To make the most of a pest management strategy, work with a pest management professional to educate staff on best practices. A pest management professional can schedule staff trainings to teach cleaning and maintenance crew the signs of pest activity and practical, everyday strategies for combatting pest-conducive conditions.

Green roofs are well worth the investment as they help reduce energy consumption, mitigate the effect of heat islands, filter air pollutants and provide recreational space for employees and patients. However, without an effective pest management strategy, the greenery could prove more troublesome than expected. By taking a proactive approach, facility professionals can ensure hospitals and clinics – along with their patients – reap the rewards, without issues caused by pests.

Tim Husen is technical services manager for Orkin. A board-certified entomologist specializing in urban entomology, he has more than a decade of experience in the industry. For more information, email thusen@rollins.com or visit www.orkincommercial.com.

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The health care industry is growing fast as America’s older population ages and younger generations reach record numbers. Hospitals are expanding at a rapid pace to meet the new demand for health care services; however, during this process, it is important to not lose site of important facility programs, including pest management.

While renovations bring great changes, the process can often disrupt normal services, pausing normal sanitation schedules, interrupting maintenance routings, and increasing traffic and visitors. One unhealthy side effect can be that pest control services get shelved. However, renovations tend to be when pests pose the largest threat to health care facilities. When outdoor habitats are disrupted for new construction or pest control routines are abandoned during upgrades, it can lead to problems. Mice, rats and other rodents can scurry inside if their outdoor homes are disturbed. So, if you do come across any rodents on your property, you should call a professional pest control service, or manage the situation yourself by using something like a pellet pistol (if you find them in your garden), to ensure that they don’t interfere with your lives. These aren’t the only pests that can disappear if you don’t catch them quick enough though. Cockroaches and other insects also can take root if moisture seeps into foundations. And termites can run the show if construction debris isn’t discarded properly. Termites are everywhere and any waste will certainly attract them. The only way to remove them is to have a professional come and perform Termite Control in Phoenix, LA, or wherever you may be.

Patients can leave negative reviews or complain to auditors if pests are found, and rightly so. Everyone expects a high level of sanitation and cleanliness at hospitals, doctors’ offices and clinics.

Because pests carry harmful pathogens and the potential to ruin a hospital’s reputation, it’s essential to take a proactive approach to pest control before, during and after renovations. By taking preventive measures and working directly with a pest management professional, with measures like reading through a guide to how to get rid of spiders at pestsmartcontrol or calling them directly before a renovation or expansion, facility owners and operators can ensure a patients’ stay is healthy, and also keep on top of a construction timeline and budget.

Phase I: Planning for Pests Before Renovation

Being proactive about a pest management strategy from the start has long-term benefits. Managing pest control issues during construction typically falls on the contractor, who should create an integrated pest management (IPM) program. Effective IPM practices aim to limit pests’ access to the resources they need to survive and reproduce, typically food, warmth, shelter and water.

IPM is most effective when a property is evaluated beforehand to determine which pests already are located around the property, how large their populations are and in which season they are most prevalent. For example, this information could affect a decision to start a construction project in the driest part of the year if mosquitoes and flies are a problem in a particular area. This may prevent entry from swarms of mosquitoes or flies that could occur if the construction started during wet or humid months.

Materials also have the potential to be problems or – when chosen wisely – solutions. When sourcing building materials, choose those that have the potential to deter pests, such as concrete, fiber-cement siding or non-cellulose insulation. Facility owners also need to inspect all incoming materials for signs of pests, as sometimes they hitch a ride onto the construction site with the new materials. Things to look for include droppings, chewed surfaces, or even dead rodents or insects.

A pest management provider can work with the contractor to treat for termites and other insects as walls and foundations are poured and installed. Owners (or hired contractors) will also want to carefully inspect walls and foundations for cracks that rodents and ants could use as an entry point into the structure, and may ven want to read through sites that ran a recent post about how to ensure the beds are kept clean and safe for use. Newly emptied rooms can be treated with a growth-regulating product to prevent insect pests from breeding before construction begins. New carpets also can be pre-treated for pests before installation.

Additionally, facility owners and maintenance personnel must be proactive about maintaining a clean and clutter-free construction site from the beginning of a renovation. After all, a single leftover lunch could cause a full-fledged infestation of roaches, ants or flies.

Phase II: Implementing Best Practices During Renovation

During renovations, it’s important to grade a property properly so that water drains away from the foundation. Standing water is particularly attractive to mosquitoes, and moist, disturbed soils can be the perfect hiding grounds for termites. While grading the property, place baits around the perimeter to prevent termites before they find a way inside the facility.

Any new landscaping installed during a renovation should be kept trimmed and placed at least 2 feet away from buildings to reduce rodents’ accessibility to upper levels and building roofs. Pests will be further deterred from entering the property by installing LED lights (as some studies have shown are less attractive to flying insects than traditional lighting).

During renovations, it’s important to revisit the most common methods that pests use to enter the property. For instance, entry doors (loading docks, front or back entrances, garage doors, etc.) should remain closed as much as possible to reduce entry of rodents or pests with wings, like birds and flying insects. Double sliding doors are recommended at major entrances to create an additional barrier. If windows must be left open, they should be properly screened. Any utility openings should also be closed off.

For frequently used entrances, air curtains (which are fans mounted against the doorway) and plastic strips help to prevent pests from getting in and conditioned air from getting out. These are often a good idea to install at loading docks or supply areas. Steel or copper mesh can be used to seal walls so that rodents can’t gnaw through to the building’s wires and electrical systems.

At the end of each workday, it’s important that construction crews cover all building materials to protect against the elements, especially rain. No one wants to find fungus, larvae or full-grown pests hiding in wet building materials.

Phase III: Maintaining Pest Management After Renovation

Even when a renovation is complete, pest management is not. Work with a pest management professional to update an IPM program based on new additions to the hospital or clinic. Certain areas of a health care facility need special attention and certainly any new food service areas will need to have a strong pest management plan in place.

Education is the key to long-term prevention of pests following renovation. Health care staff – particularly those who work with food, laundry or patients – should be trained on prevention and inspection techniques. After all, they are on the front lines of pest threats, and they should be encouraged to report and log any pest sightings.

As health care providers, it’s essential to be proactive about pests as renovations occur. By maintaining effective pest management practices before, during and after renovation, a health care facility can provide high-quality care to patients and continue to be a place where health and wellness can thrive.

Tim Husen, Ph.D., BCE is a technical services manager at national pest control company Orkin LLC. A board-certified entomologist specializing in urban entomology, he has more than a decade of experience in the industry. For more information, email thusen@rollins.com or visit www.orkincommercial.com.

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