Most Common Pest Infestation In Care Facilities And How To Prevent Them
Providing a healthy environment for residents should be a top priority.
Resident care facilities have many different areas that can be attractive to pests and these include; patient rooms, lobby, waiting rooms, exam rooms, restrooms, mostly in dining areas and hallways.
Common pests can bring bacteria to patient’s bodies even to caregivers, through personal contact or through contamination of equipment, health supplies, and several surfaces in some areas of healthcare facilities.
Here are some of the common pests that present the highest health risks:
Bedbugs - Bedbugs can be hard to spot, their bites can cause itchy, painful bites, red swellings and their presence can cause anxiety and insomnia. In addition to potential bite symptoms, other signs that bed bugs may be present include small, brown (fecal) stains on bedding, small blood spots on sheets, and molted bed bug. Their eggs hitchhike in bags, shoes, and on people, they easily can be brought into a health care facility.
Most bed bug infestations are found in patient room beds, waiting for areas, furniture, laundry facilities, and in the folds in a bed.
Ants - ants can contaminate food and food surfaces, they can cause trouble in healthcare settings and nursing homes. These ants can spread more than a dozen diseases. Ants can be found in laundry areas and procedure rooms.
Rodents – Rodents can get into buildings through any opening or small cracks. Once inside, rodents can cause damage as they are able to chew through wallboards, cardboard, wood, and electrical wiring, causing the risk of fire.
In addition, rodents can easily contaminate any food and food surfaces. Facilities professionals must inspect for rodent unsanitary droppings, mostly in undisturbed areas like storage areas, cafeteria pantries, and sideways walls.
Rodents are found in food service areas, food carts, laundry rooms, and garbage disposal areas.
Cockroaches – which can frighten residents and families, also more alarming to nursing home professionals. Cockroaches transmit germs that can cause diarrhea, food poisoning, pneumonia, and their droppings (or cast skins) can also inflame allergies or asthmatic conditions.
Cockroaches also identified as one of the most resilient pests, that can develop large infestations quickly.
Mosquitoes – not only bite patients and cause allergic reactions at times but also carry diseases like the West Nile virus. Frequently, elderly patients are more inclined to these infections when compared to younger individuals and have more difficulty recovering.
The best way to prevent pest problems at long-term care facilities is to understand why they are an attractive setting to many pests.
Healthcare facilities have special needs and requirements, including patient wellbeing and federal agency, regulatory and health code compliance.
Educating all levels of staff and cooperating with an experienced pest management company should be a priority in the prevention of pest infestation.
It’s important to find a qualified pest control partner with knowledge about specialized procedures and protocols designed for the healthcare industry.
An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program is important to address the areas and primary conditions that attract pests and allow them to thrive.
Prevention is important because pests could carry serious health threats through the contamination of surfaces, medical supplies, and equipment.
Pest prevention tips for healthcare professionals:
1. Staff tasked with regular cleaning and maintenance duties of resident rooms must proactively check for food and crumbs left out for extended periods of time.
2. Healthcare facilities professionals must also constantly check healthcare tools and supplies for pests or signs of their activity. Regular and in-depth cleaning of the residents’ living space is the best protector against pests, especially because the patients’ mostly elderlies weakened immune systems should not be exposed to the diseases and pathogens that pests can transmit.
Cleaning and maintenance tips you can implement to help your environments remain pest-free:
1. Make sure floors are cleaned regularly and free of litter, food, and other debris.
2. Vacuum, sweep and mop all floors in sensitive areas on a daily basis.
3. Inspect and clean floor drains on a regular basis. Flies will feed and breed in unclean drains.
4. Cover and seal bulk food storage containers and garbage containers.
5. Keep trash cans lined and empty them regularly.
6. Make sure food isn’t left out in the kitchen or employees’ lockers overnight.
Sources:
https://www.hfmmagazine.com/articles/1478-how-to-control-pests-in-health-care-facilities
https://www.terminix.com/blog/commercial/healthcare-pest-and-rodent-control/
