Office building maintenance is a multi-faceted effort. Maintenance professionals must take various preventative measures to ensure the building remains safe, clean, and structurally sound. Every building faces multiple environmental threats, such as moisture, wind, and impact. These aren’t the only problems, though. Insects, rodents, and other small creatures can do a number on properties of all kinds and sizes. The damage done by these pests is often gradual and mostly undetected, too, which is why it’s important to keep your eyes and ears peeled for the relevant red flags.

So, here are five signs pests are damaging your office building.

1. There are Holes in Wooden Features

Wood is a common source of food and shelter for a variety of creatures, namely wood-boring insects like termites, beetles, ants, and bees. While these small pests make relatively tiny holes in wooden features, these perforations add up and eventually weaken the material’s structure until it ultimately collapses. Though most office buildings are not completely made of wood, many properties contain several wooden features, some of which are structurally relevant. If you notice holes in these features, contact a pest control company immediately. The sooner you can eliminate the offending actors and restore the wood’s integrity, the better.

2. Stored Packages and Equipment are Chewed Up

Of course, wood isn’t the only material pests like to chew up. When given the opportunity, rodents and insects will gnaw on just about anything, including cardboard packages, rubber objects, and various types of equipment, regardless of composition. Pests are more likely to do a number on items like these when there’s no one around, which is why you might come across such destruction in storage rooms and other areas that don’t see a lot of foot traffic. If and when you do identify this warning sign, act immediately.

3. Droppings and Carcasses are Strewn About

Sometimes the signs of pest infestation will be right in your face. Rats and mice, for instance, tend to leave several droppings wherever they go. And if you notice several dead bug bodies around the office, they’re either being left behind by a larger pest or they’re simply dying for lack of food. Either way, if you see pests (whether dead or alive) and/or their leavings inside your building, you clearly have a pest problem. Your commercial floor cleaning services can take care of the remnants, but this action alone won’t eliminate the underlying problem, of course.

4. Your Plant Life is See-Through

Many office buildings feature plant life on their premises and inside their walls to beautify the space inside and out. Some insect interaction is bound to take place outside, of course, and plenty of this activity is necessary for maintaining the ecosystem of one’s landscape. However, some creatures are detrimental to green spaces, throwing things out of balance and gradually destroying plant life and landscape installations. Likewise, many pests who make their way inside an office building will gravitate towards whatever plant life they can find. If your interior and/or exterior plants are decaying, filled with holes, losing their color, etc., you have a pest problem that requires resolution.

5. You Hear Rustling

The four previous signs of pest invasion and damage have all been visual. This last sign involves listening. Some pests, namely rodents like mice and rats, can be quite noisy when active and nearby. If you hear rustling, squeaking, buzzing, etc., there’s a good chance you’ve got pests just on the other side of the wall, or perhaps below or above you. These audio cues might be difficult to hear when so many other interior sounds are present (i.e. HVAC systems, talking, music, typing), but don’t ignore such strange sounds if you do hear them -- notify your office building cleaning services to investigate.

Pests don their name for a reason -- beyond being unsightly and obnoxious, these creatures can do serious damage to your office building. And if your property isn’t properly sealed, cleaned, and maintained, they will likely find a way inside. This is why it’s important to hire the best office maintenance companies to protect your building and resolve pest problems as quickly as possible. At The Budd Group, we deploy janitorial, maintenance, and landscaping specialists to meet our clients’ needs, including pest control and management.

To learn more about our pest control offerings and everything else we can do for your facility, give us a call today at 800-221-8158!