5 Common Pests in Healthcare Facilities

Healthcare facilities serve more wide-ranging functions than before. Assisted living facilities, care homes and nursing homes are also part of healthcare facilities, just like clinics and hospitals.

Your facility addresses various health and social care concerns but also has to address pest-related problems. Healthcare facilities can be home to various pests, including rodents, bed bugs, ants and more.

We’ve curated this guide to list some common pests you should look out for in your facilities management plan.

Types of Pests in Found in Healthcare Facilities

As a facilities manager, your job is to keep the premises hygienic and clean for the staff, patients, residents and visitors. When you plan your facilities management course of action, keep in mind the following pests:

1. Ants

Ants are common pests in any communal facility, healthcare facilities included. These pests are resilient because of their volatile diet habits. They can populate massive colonies over time and travel long distances searching for food. As resilient pests, ants can go to greater lengths to protect each other.

2. Cockroaches

Cockroaches are another major concern in healthcare facilities. They’re disease-carrying pests meaning they can spread disease, trigger allergies, contaminate food and cause asthma.

3. Bed Bugs

These pests exclusively feed on blood. Thus, they rely on human hosts to reproduce and spread. Though bed bugs don’t transmit any human disease, they can trigger severe allergic reactions.

These bloodsucking pests are also difficult to detect due to their size. However, once their population grows, it becomes costly to exterminate them.

4. Rodents

Rodents are typically the most disgusting and disease-causing pests affecting healthcare facilities. They carry numerous diseases and don’t need large openings to make a home inside a facility.

Rats can squeeze through a quarter-like opening, whereas mice can fit even a dime-like hole. Thus, the risk of rodent infestation in a healthcare facility is considerably high.

1. Various Flies

Healthcare facilities can be home to various flies, including fruit flies, blow flies, house flies, cluster flies and phorid flies. These pests carry various pathogens. House flies are especially filthy as they carry over 100 pathogens.

Threats of Pests Infestation For Healthcare Facilities

These common pests carry various deadly diseases. According to CDC, rats and mice transmit E.coli and Salmonella as well as 35 more diseases. Flies carry microorganisms that can transmit deadly diseases.

Your patients’ health and peace of mind are important, particularly those with a weak immune system who face a higher risk of infection. You can restrict their exposure to pest activity through audit and inspection of your site.

Environment Pest Service for Healthcare Facilities in Bayonne

The first step to pest control is facility inspection. If your healthcare facility is infested with such pests, book a timely inspection and extermination service.

At Clearview Environmental Sciences, we can address all your pest-related needs, from inspection to extermination. We offer all-natural and organic pest control services to ensure that your facility is safe to inhabit by your staff, patients, residents and visitors.

Schedule an appointment today!