For relatively small creatures, pests can cause big problems for property management professionals. Besides being annoying and unsightly, pests can impact property management companies in significant ways, including profitability, productivity and tenant relations.
If you’ve never considered the potential ramifications that pests can cause, consider these potential property management headaches:
1. Pest infestations can compromise the health and safety of tenants and employees.
For example, some pests can carry pathogens that cause disease, and some pests, like bed bugs, can cause itchy welts. Cockroaches and flies (a nd really any pest) can contaminate food, and bird droppings can cause slip-and-fall accidents and more.
Related: How to Identify Wasp Nests Outside Your Business
2. Some pests can cause significant property damage.
Rodents have been known to gnaw on electrical wiring, and termites can live inside walls and chew through wood, potentially damaging structures. In fact, it’s estimated that termites alone cause $5 billion in property damage and treatment costs in the United States each year.
3. Pest infestations can decrease the productivity of you and your staff.
Responding to pest complaints can be time consuming, distracting for your employees and can take you away from other important responsibilities and tasks.
4. The presence of pests on your properties can harm your reputation, both with tenants and with the public.
Especially with today’s social media activity, word of pest sightings and problems can spread even more quickly than the pests themselves. Rumors of pest problems at even one property can affect the reputation of your entire company and may dissuade future tenants from doing business with you.
5. Unchecked pest infestations can affect property value.
In addition to being aesthetically unpleasing, the structural damage that some pests cause can decrease a property’s worth.
6. Pest complaints can put you in a reactive mode instead of proactive mode.
You and your staff can quickly find yourselves in a frustrating cycle of chasing and responding to pest sightings and infestation reports. It’s important to address potential pest threats before they become significant pest issues.
Related > Hiring The Right Service Providers
7. Pest problems can adversely affect tenant retention.
Even if a tenant isn’t personally affected by a pest infestation, simply knowing that their neighbor has experienced one may cause them to look for another place to rent. High tenant turnover can affect your company’s productivity and profits.
8. It’s easy for small pest issues to quickly become big problems.
That’s because many pests can establish very large infestations in amazingly short periods of time. By the time one of your tenants reports a single sighting, pests may already be firmly entrenched in the area. For example, if you see even a single cockroach, it’s a good bet that many more are hiding nearby. One mouse could mean the rest of the family isn’t fa r away. The key to pest control is to help avoid infestations before they start, or at least to treat them in the early stages.
9. Pests can eat up your profits.
Addressing the problems caused by pests can add to operational costs due to increased staff time and repairing any damage caused by pests can result in construction materials and labor costs. In some cases, pest problems can also result in regulatory fines.
While it may seem tempting to try in-house pest control using over-the-counter products, this is often not a good long-term solution for property management companies (or any company for that matter). That’s because most people do not have the specialized training and extensive knowledge that licensed pest control professionals possess.
Commercial pest control technicians know how to properly identify infestations and how to effectively apply pesticides. While DIY pest control may initially seem to be a more affordable option, when you factor in the time it takes to apply the products and the fact that such treatments are not usually successful, it may not be all that affordable in the long run.
Using proven pest control strategies, Terminix Commercial can help to properly protect your properties and your reputation. Quickly identifying and treating pest threats, Terminix Commercial delivers customized treatments for your specific needs and comprehensive pest control for properties of all types. Backed by the 110% Commercial Satisfaction Guarantee*, Terminix uses proactive techniques and monitoring to stop many pest problems before they start.
Because keeping your tenants satisfied is paramount, Terminix Commercial can provide services at times that are convenient for you and your tenants. From public and private spaces to dumpster areas, Terminix technicians can hunt down and address current infestations, and work with your staff to help prevent future ones.
Don’t wait to find out how pests can impact your property management business in big ways. Help put pests in their place with a proactive, preventive professional pest control plan that will help you maximize productivity and profits while minimizing tenant pest complaints.
