There are many reasons why pest infestations in multi-family housing pose a great challenge to pest control companies, but let’s talk about the threat they pose to property managers.

Since Roaches are the most common and sometimes hardest to control let’s talk about them.

One female German Roach can lead to 20,000 in less than 6 months, and here’s why. Once a female German Roach mates it will never need to mate again, she stores the fertilizer and then is able to reproduce about every 40 days, and each case laid has around 40 nymphs that will be ready to reproduce in about 60 days. The nature of this pest is to seek shelter in dark cracks and crevices near water sources, then moves into wall voids and pipe chases and spread to other units.

Another contributing factor is sanitation. Let’s face it, some tenants just aren’t as devoted to cleanliness as they should be and when these pests invade their units  they are less likely to inform you because of the condition the unit, and then in some cases try to  solve it themselves by spraying repellent sprays, which may kill a few but also drives them deeper in wall voids and pipe chases spreading to other units even faster.

Respecting the privacy of the tenant, Property Managers trust that the unit will be kept in nice condition and in more cases than not that’s true, but some PM’s have been surprised after a tenant has moved out that the unit was left in deplorable conditions, making them wonder how the people lived in those conditions for so long without them knowing it.

Pests like these can bring a properties prestige down, and lead to higher and more lengthy vacancy rates, and ultimately lower the properties value.

Other pests like Termites And Carpenter ants can infest structures causing physical damage, sometimes resulting in costly and invasive repairs. Early detection by the clues theses pests leave is key in limiting the damage to the structure, and is sometimes the difference between cosmetic damage and real structural damage.

Every year more multi-unit property investors and/or managers, with years of experience, have come to realize that there are many benefits to having a preventative pest management program in place.

At Lane’s Pest Solutions we understand this and have developed cost friendly monthly, bi-monthly, and quarterly programs that offer more than just pest control. Because we take the time to make note of any  units that are having sanitation problems and are willing to talk to the tenants about what needs to be done on their part to correct it. The benefits of this type of service can be threefold:

ØRegular monitoring of units allows for early detection of problems like infestations or poor sanitation and can be corrected before other units are affected or much damage is done.

ØBecause the tenants know we’ll be back on regular visits they tend to improve sanitation habits,and also realize that management is serious about providing a nice place to live.

Ø If problem tenants do move in, having  independent documentation by a third party on the recommendations made to the tenant to improve existing conditions inside the unit is good to have.

Contact us for a free evaluation with no obligation to find out more about the ways in which we can help protect the prestige and property value of your investment.