Conducive Conditions: What’s Wrong with this Picture?

Photo courtesy Jeff McGovern

As a pest management professional, you should be on the lookout for potential problems in and around the areas you treat. Can you spot what’s wrong with this picture?

1. Boxes and trash are piled right outside the kitchen door. It’s an open invitation to rodents and flies.

2. The innocuous rock near the door says, “Let me prop it open.” So while activity is taking place — from legitimate work to a smoke break — the building is open to pests.

3. A mobile grease bin made from a 55-gal. drum. Spillage is going to be a problem — creating a grease-soaked pest magnet.

4. The unshaded back door window creates a lighted area that attracts night-flying insects, which will gather near the door and attempt to infiltrate the building each time the door is opened.

5. The stacked crates next to the electrical panel box will become a pest harborage.

You can reach the McGoverns at jeffreymcgovern@mindspring.com.