Pests are undoubtedly one of your biggest everyday problems when managing a hotel. So it helps to know exactly what pests you, your staff, or your guests will run into and how to handle them. Because it’s more than just bed bugs – any pest that seeks out shelter and food will likely seek out a hotel, where there’s an abundance of both.

Here is a list of the common types of pests found in hotels, along with some helpful pest control tips to protect your company’s reputation and brand.

1. German Cockroach

German cockroaches are most commonly found in kitchens and service areas where moisture and heat are present. They may also infest employee personnel’s belongings and be associated with break rooms and locker rooms. Other species of cockroaches may be found in atriums and pool areas.

Prevention Tips for German Cockroaches

Inspect incoming shipments to prevent the introduction of pests into the facility. This includes food shipments as well as other items like linens. Quick removal from cardboard cartons can be helpful in finding stowaway cockroaches and limiting their harborage. Minimize the use of corrugated cardboard for long-term storage of items.
Use clear plastic totes or bins instead of boxes. German cockroaches like the corrugations and folds that a cardboard box provides, which are not cleanable. The clear plastic will allow you to see inside and the lid and help prevent pest access.
Employees can introduce German cockroaches. To confine any hitchhiking pests brought into the hotel, employees should store personal items in a designated area.
Exclusion is the first step in trying to prevent cockroaches from even entering your hotel. Seal around pipe and wall junctures to prevent cockroaches from entering from neighboring units.
Seal cracks and crevices in food service and preparation areas to reduce shelter. The less available harborage, the fewer cockroaches. However, if you can’t effectively seal them out of an area, keep the area open and allow for easy inspection and treatment.
Repair leaks right away. Cockroaches prefer areas with high humidity and moisture. Reducing moisture and water can be helpful in reducing their ability to survive.

2. Small Flies

Small flies (small fruit, dark-eyed fruit fly, phorid fly) are found where there is wet organic material. Areas may include: spaces with poor sanitation, drains, grease traps, deteriorating tile or epoxy floors, garbage disposal units, poorly sealed countertops, dumpster compactors, and beverage serving areas.

Prevention Tips for Small Flies

Place floor drains on a regular cleaning schedule to remove organic debris, which may support small flies like phorids and drain flies.
Use specially designed caps for drains that allow water movement down the drain, but do not permit insects to emerge from the drains. These types of devices are especially useful in areas like restrooms where floor drains may not receive large volumes of water and drains may go dry, permitting pests to move easily from deeper in the drain system up through open drains.
Use fans to help dry floors in kitchens and food serving areas where moisture may accumulate. Flies can breed in organic material deposits in floor cracks. High-pressure washing and caustic cleaners can deteriorate tile grout and epoxy floors, providing areas where organic material and moisture can sit. Floor repair is ultimately the required fix, but drying floors can be helpful in the interim.
Pick up floor mats in kitchens to help permit drying after cleaning.
Empty recycling containers frequently to prevent small fly development in containers containing juice residue or other sweet liquids.
Keep floors clean and pay particular attention to areas underneath prep tables and counters where it may be difficult to access for proper cleaning, but food debris may accumulate.
Clean garbage disposal units thoroughly, including screens that may be present.
Check elevator pits at least once per year to make sure they are clean and not supporting flies.
Keep refuse containers clean, including underneath the liners. Have a program in place for cleaning dumpster carts, which may be used to move garbage from the kitchen and food service areas to the dumpster. These carts can get dirty when bags leak or are torn. Make sure they are placed on a cleaning schedule.
Clean beverage dispenser trays and drain lines on a regular basis. This includes beer tap trays in bars and lounges.
Clean underneath tray conveyors regularly when present. Due to typical construction practices, these can be challenging areas to clean.
Clean and wring out mops before storing them on wall-mounted racks. Dirty, souring maps can attract and support small flies.

3. Filth Flies

Filth flies, such as House and Bottle flies, most commonly enter from outside and may be attracted to the facility by garbage dumpsters and trash receptacles. Frequently opened doors can contribute to interior issues.

Prevention Tips for Filth Flies

Keep doors closed when not in use. Make sure doors are properly sealed around the sides and base. If it is desirable to keep doors open for ventilation purposes, they should be fitted with screens.
Keep the dumpster and its pads clean. Ask the waste hauler to clean the dumpsters, especially during the warm months of the year. If they do not provide this service, make arrangements for facility staff to perform the cleaning.
Make sure vents are properly screened to exclude flies and other insects.
Utilize insect light traps (ILTs) in the interior to intercept flies that may have gained access.

4. Rodents

Rodents can be found indoors or around the exterior of the building. It is important to check false ceilings and ground-level areas for rodent signs and activity. Mice will prefer undisturbed areas where there is warmth. Norway rats will prefer a ground connection when possible. Roof rats prefer ceiling and attic areas.

Prevention Tips for Rodents

Mice can enter a structure through openings as small as ¼” or approximately the diameter of a pencil. Seal any structures to make sure all openings are less than these measurements to exclude mice or rats.
Keep dumpster areas as tidy as possible. Keep lids on dumpsters and other exterior trash receptacles.
Manage exterior eating areas appropriately to quickly remove food crumbs and spills. Promptly take dirty dishes and food service items away for cleaning or disposal. These procedures will also help minimize issues with another vertebrate pest, birds.

5. Bed Bugs

Bed bugs may be brought into a hotel by guests, employees, or even laundry carts. Guest rooms are the most common area for bed bugs to be found, but dining areas, bars, and lounges can also be infested. Proper management of these insects is critical to a hotel’s reputation.

Prevention Tips for Bed Bugs

Have a bed bug management professional confirm the identification of the pest.
Train staff to recognize and properly respond to bed bug sightings. As mentioned earlier, this applies to everyone from housekeeping to the front desk.
Check for key areas for guest room inspections, which include behind the headboard, around mattresses and box springs, and dust ruffles. Approximately 70% of the time, bed bugs are found around the bed near where the host is located. Staff should be alert to other areas as well, including sofas, chairs, and nightstands.
If linen or other items are found to be infested, they should be bagged or wrapped prior to transporting them out of the room. This step is important in preventing the transfer of bed bugs to other areas of the hotel.
If you opt for discarding mattresses, they should be marked or cut to help prevent individuals from taking them out of the dumpster for use elsewhere. Hotels should consider mattress and box spring encasements and/or treatment as an alternative to discarding the mattress. A proper mattress encasement, when used properly, will entomb the bed bug inside the encasement. Bed bugs cannot feed through the covering. They also make the inspection for bed bugs easier via the light color and reduced harborage points.
Establish a policy regarding how guest complaints will be handled, such as moving the guest to another room, whether the room will be left out of service, and for how long, etc. This information should be used during staff training.
Consider room design in initial building plans and remodels. Large, ornate headboards can be difficult to remove for inspection. Bed bugs prefer rough surfaces to smooth ones. Headboards made of wood and fabric will be preferred over metal. During the design process, try to provide as few cracks and crevices as possible for bed bugs to harbor.
Vacuum and/or use steam cleaners to remove and kill bed bugs as part of the control process. If a vacuum is used, the contents should be placed immediately into a sealed bag after use. Steam cleaners designed specifically for bed bug control should be used only with proper training. Special training is required to use steam cleaners for bed bugs.
Monitor traps to help detect and/or determine program effectiveness. Several different monitoring traps are on the market, and the pest management company can install them.

McCloud Services’ Hotel Pest Control

Handling pest control yourself can be time-consuming, along with the risk of contracting a disease from one of these pests. Finding bugs in hotel rooms can also damage reputation (sometimes for years). So it’s always best to bring in the pros who know exactly how to identify, exterminate, and prevent infestations.

McCloud Services offers specialized pest control for hotels of all sizes and any business in the hospitality industry. After a thorough inspection, our pest control experts will create a tailored pest extermination plan. Call us today and get started with a service quote!