Executive Housekeeping Today - November 2008 - (Page 10)

good Housekeeping (continued from page 5) to IPM. In keeping with the tenets of IPM, maintaining a building with respect to maintenance and sanitation can make or break an IPM program. Property managers should be advised that landscaping could sometimes provide the perfect environment for any of the myriad of outdoor insects that invade buildings. Unintentionally, a company may be growing its own pests right outside of the very walls housing its guests. Cluttered storage that is rarely cleaned and organized is a “mousetropolis” just waiting for its first mouse. During the summer months, there are roving hoards of houseflies looking for an open door or missing screens. The trick is to make the facility as unaccommodating as possible. The small flies mistakenly called fruit flies (they are actually vinegar flies) are in a constant search for decaying organic matter. A property’s master cleaning schedule should be designed to leave them unfulfilled. Of the pests common to hospitality, only the insidious bed bug cannot be predicted or prevented. Keeping bed bugs at bay requires anticipation and quick response. In addition to maintaining a facility hostile to pests, an IPM program can be supercharged by working closely with a pest management professional. The technician administering a comprehensive program knows the pests and what they need to survive and what can be done to enhance a property’s efforts to eliminate them. When there are chinks in the armor against pests, a pest management professional will advise how to tighten the defenses. The larger and more complex the facility, the more vital the communication between a property and a pest control management provider becomes. Extensive operations are best served by tasking an interdepartmental group with rep- The author of this article, Mark Shepardigian, inspects a hotel bed for bed bugs. resentatives from housekeeping, engineering, and operations. Small operations can do nicely with a brief meeting between a manager or co-manager and the pest management professional. In any case, the ability to gain perspective from a pest management company and incorporate its recommendations into a property’s priorities will help protect the brand from the ravages of rodents and insects. Collaborative participation in the pest management process is only half the battle. Choosing the right pest management provider is the balance of the equation. The National Pest Management Association offers the Quality Pro program whereby pest management firms may be certified in four fundamental areas of quality. In becoming a Quality Pro company, firms must meet standards in business practices, environmental stewardship, consumer relations, and training programs. The Quality Pro companies have adopted a set of standards concerning a multitude of quality issues from in-depth hiring practices to vehicle policies and the insurance they carry. However, simply having the certification is no guarantee of ability. A pest management firm can attain these standards without becoming Quality Pro, but the certification is an easy method for those in need of a provider to ensure the company has demonstrated quality in its operations. The pest management provider will need to satisfy three essential criteria in order to complete the circuit. They need to have: • The training necessary to recognize both pests and pest producing situations. • The ability to communicate their findings and make clear recommendations. • The technical support to find solutions to unusual pests and unusual situations. The pest management technician is the heart and soul of the service and must be knowledgeable, communicative, and willing to ask for help when help is needed. Establishing a comfort level and measure of trust with a technician goes a long way toward achieving the desired objectives. The more a property manager knows about the pests encountered and the closer that manager works with a pest management provider, the easier it all becomes to protect the property from unwanted visitors. W Mark D. Sheperdigian, is the Vice President of Technical Services for Rose Pest Solutions, one of the foremost pest management providers with operations throughout the Midwest. He is a boardcertified entomologist and certified pesticide applicator in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania in the areas of general pest management, wood destroying organisms, food plant pest management and fumigation. He is also a member of the Project Development Technical Committee for the National Pest Management Association, Pi Chi Omega, and member and past chairman of the Copesan Technical Committee, a working group consisting of technical directors from leading pest management firms across North America. For more information, visit www.rosepestsolutions.com. 0 Executive Housekeeping Today/November 2008 http://www.rosepestsolutions.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Housekeeping Today - November 2008

Executive Housekeeping Today - November 2008 Contents Executive Corner The Most Unwelcome Guests Good Housekeeping: Eliminating Pests from the Equation Frugal Housekeeper Director-at-Large Distribution Don’t Just Clean up After Birds—Get Rid of Them! Monday Night is Fly Night Green Pest Control Practices Executive Profile The Green Scene Keeping Hard Floors Clean For the Holidays Inside the Industry Product Highlights New Members Joint IEHA/ISSA Members Advertisers’ Index Calendar of Events Inside IEHA What IEHA has Done for Me

Executive Housekeeping Today - November 2008

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