Pest predictions: What should commercial facilities watch for in 2023?

Pests are a year-round problem for businesses. Even the slightest disruption from pests can have major consequences for your staff, customers, products, operations, and brand.

As spring approaches, anticipating pest issues can help businesses proactively prepare and potentially avoid problems. While it’s impossible to predict all the insect, rodent, pest bird, and wildlife problems businesses may encounter, each year, the entomologists and technical experts at Rentokil make note of trends, climate and weather concerns, legislation, and more to identify and alert businesses to growing concerns.

In 2022, Rentokil conducted more than 3.5 million services at commercial facilities. By analyzing this service data and field observations, in conjunction with the other information above, our experts have identified four pests as having the potential to pose significant issues for businesses in 2023.

Read on to see what the are.

The 4 pests you may encounter this year

1. Rodents

For the third year in a row, rodents top our list of pest predictions. Between 2019 and 2021, Rentokil saw a nearly 14% increase in service requests for rodents, a trend likely to continue.

Why they’re likely to be an issue:

A shifting climate has meant that deep winter freezes are less likely, meaning that more rats and mice survive the winter to breed in the spring, increasing overall pest populations.

House mouse populations are booming across North America, due in part to a warming climate and longer breeding season.

Staffing shortages are still rippling through multiple industries. As a result, general sanitation and maintenance have suffered, increasing the likelihood that pest issues develop. 

The non-residential construction industry remains bullish on the industry outlook for 2023. Construction projects are likely to continue, as are infrastructure projects. This construction activity can move rodents as land is disturbed, pushing them to neighboring properties. 

Changing regulations around the use of second-generation anti-coagulant rodenticides in California and some Canadian provinces, like British Columbia, could temporarily increase rodent populations in these locales as the industry identifies sustainable, innovative solutions.

Rentokil insights

Two species, in particular, are of concern to Rentokil experts. 

Mouse activity has been increasing over the past several years, in large part due to climate change. Many industries have battled with an increase in mouse infestations. Mice can fit through openings as small as a dime – making structural integrity critical.

Roof rats, sometimes called black rats, have always been prominent in the Western U.S. and Southeast, but the species has been moving into new areas, likely due to new supply routes to interior areas of the country. 

“Over the last decade, we’ve seen roof rats become established in new areas away from traditional shoreline areas. Populations are now in Arizona, Nevada, and Oklahoma where we haven’t seen them in the past. The Northeast may also face more pressure from roof rats in coming years.”

Emory Matts, Technical Services Manager for Rentokil

The roof rat, sometimes called the black rat, is expanding from largely coastal areas into the interior of the U.S.

Actions to take right now

• Make a plan with your pest control provider. They can help you identify the areas most at risk in your facility and develop a proactive defense best suited to your business. 
• Secure doors and entrances. Ensure that all doors that open to the exterior are fitted with door sweeps and that weather stripping is intact. Remind employees not to prop open doors.
• Repair damage to exterior walls. Perform an exterior inspection of your facility at least quarterly and identify any holes, cracks, gaps, or other openings. Repair or fill them with rodent-proof materials such as concrete, steel or aluminum plates or flashing, or caulk.
• Roofs. Repair roof damage and use wire mesh or other rodent-proof materials to seal gaps. Rats often enter through gaps in broken roof tiles or under eaves.
• Vegetation. Trim vegetation away from the building’s exterior, including overhanging tree branches. Create an 18 – 24 inch vegetation-free zone between your building and any plants to prevent rodents from using them as a pathway to your building. 
• Drains and sewer pipes. Repair any sewer pipe damage as soon as it is identified; rodents such as rats can use them as tunnels into your building. Use tightly-fitted metal grates or screens to cover drains. Check that all drain pipes are in good working order.

2. Stored product pests

Stored product pests include several types of insect pests, such as certain moths, beetles, and weevils that infest products such as grains, dried legumes, nuts, chocolates, and flours. These species can also attack artifacts and other stored museum pieces. Some of the most common species are the Indian meal moth and its larvae, cigarette beetle, drugstore beetle, saw-toothed grain beetle, and drugstore beetle.

The Indian meal moth is a common stored product pest. This is the adult, but it can also be found on products in larval, caterpillar-like form.

Why they’re likely to be an issue:

Supply chain disruptions have forced suppliers to push products out at an unprecedented rate. Coupled with delays in transportation that could leave product unattended for long periods of time, allowing for more time for pest infestations to develop. 

Increased consumer reliance on delivery over the last several years has led to a spike in the number of warehousing and logistics operations that process and handle stored products. This is likely to increase the volume of issues that operators face. 

Rentokil insights

Rentokil data shows that in most industries, reports of and services for stored product pest issues spike in the warm weather months, with upticks beginning as early as May and tapering off in October. 

Actions to take right now

• Inspect all incoming products. Any incoming products should be thoroughly inspected for signs of infestation. If your vendor agreements allow, reject infested product. If you cannot reject the product, store it in a freezer to slow or stop pest growth.
• Practice exceptional sanitation. If your business processes, stores, or sells any stored products, it is essential that good sanitation practices are in place. Clean or vacuum any food dust, regularly clean equipment that processes these materials, and clean up any product spills immediately. Train employees to spot signs of stored product pest infestations: small holes in packaging; silk webbing; and live or dead insects in and around products, packaging, storage, or machinery that processes stored products.
• Immediate reporting. Stored product pest infestations can start off isolated – for example, a single ingredient or bag/package of food – but quickly spread throughout a premises. Vigilant inspections and monitoring are an integral part of managing stored product pests. Talk to your pest management provider about the right monitoring program for your business.

3. Spotted lanternflies

The adult spotted lanternfly is very colorful with distinctive red bands and spots on its wings.

Why they’re likely to be an issue:

While you may never have heard of this pest, it is likely that you will in the coming years. The spotted lanternfly is an invasive insect species, first introduced in Pennsylvania in September 2014. Since that time, it has spread to an additional 13 states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. This pest is an excellent hitchhiker and is likely to continue to spread to new areas through interstate commerce. 

Rentokil insights

“While the spotted lanternfly is a plant hopper species that can feed on more than 70 different fruit and other ornamental trees, it can become an introduction risk for commercial facilities. They are clumsy fliers and fly in late summer and early fall, but the biggest risk is their hitchhiking ability. While their bumbling flying and large size make them unlikely to get into tightly controlled clean areas, spotted lanternflies could easily be introduced to a facility on pallets and other deliveries. That makes inspection – and knowing what to look for – critical.”

Chad Gore, Entomologist and Market Technical Director at Rentokil

Before becoming the colorful adult, the spotted lanternfly goes through a nymphal stage, but its spots are still very distinctive. Experts recommend killing nymphs if you see them.

After feeding, spotted lanternflies also leave behind a secretion known as honeydew on the surfaces where they land. The sticky substance can grow an unsightly, soot-like black mold that is difficult to remove from surfaces. This can appear on the exterior of buildings, a concern for any business in which the exterior appearance of the building is critical to the brand, such as offices and commercial property management, or multifamily housing properties. In addition, the honeydew can also attract other pests, such as ants and wasps. 

Actions to take right now

• Know how to identify a spotted lanternfly and its egg masses. Teach groundskeepers, landscapers, transportation managers, and anyone responsible for inspecting incoming goods how to identify the spotted lanternfly and its putty-like egg mass. 
• Report any identified adult, nymph, or egg masses to your state’s agriculture department.
• Remove egg masses. To help slow the spread of this pest, Rentokil and other experts recommend removing any spotted lanternfly egg masses. These will typically be adhered to surfaces in a putty-like appearance. Destroy the egg mass by scraping it from the surface using a flat or sharp edge; something as simple as the edge of a credit card can do the trick. Scrape them into a bag or container filled with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer and keep them in this solution permanently. Egg masses can also be smashed, but be sure to apply even and forceful pressure to the entire egg mass.
• Work with a pest control provider on a management plan. If spotted lanternflies are found in your area, talk with your pest control provider about tree treatments or systemic contact treatments for other surfaces. If you do not have a pest control provider or your provider doesn’t have a service for spotted lanternflies, Rentokil would be happy to help.

The white and gray putty-like substance on this tree is actually a spotted lanternfly egg mass, which should be removed and destroyed to help slow the spread of this invasive species.

4. Birds

Birds may be our feathered friends, but they can wreak havoc on businesses and pose serious health and safety risks in the process. Pest bird species carry and spread as many as 60 diseases that can impact humans. The primary pest bird types that can have implications for businesses are pigeons, house sparrows, starlings, crows, certain species of swallow, seagulls, woodpeckers, and even vultures and buzzards.

Bird droppings aren’t just unsightly — they are corrosive and can cause extensive property damage. More importantly, they can harbor dangerous pathogens and fungi that can cause illness in people.

Bird control is not something that businesses should take on independently. Most species are federally protected, and harming them or interfering with their nests can lead to significant fines and other punishments. In addition, bird management handled poorly can lead to negative publicity for your brand. 

Why they’re likely to be an issue:

As many businesses return to fully normal operations, they may find bird activity that has gone unnoticed. Bird droppings and nests will need to be cleaned up, which requires professional intervention to ensure that no dangerous pathogens are spread during the process.

Staffing shortages across many industries, including highly-regulated food and beverage processing, may mean that bird populations have flourished while staff focuses on critical operations tasks. Ingredient storage practices may also have changed during this period. Birds can pose serious audit risks for these types of facilities.

The proliferation of warehousing and logistics facilities, a boom in multifamily development brought on by housing prices, and increasing telecommunications stations may also create new opportunities for birds to loaf and roost on buildings.

Birds can perch and roost on expensive telecommunications equipment, causing damage through droppings or even gnawing.

One trend from the last three years that is likely here to stay is outdoor dining. The availability of these food-friendly outdoor spaces at restaurants, hotels, and resorts is a benefit to scavenging birds, including pigeons, sparrows, seagulls, and more, which can interrupt a pleasant dining experience.

Birds can quickly disrupt an outdoor dining experience.

Finally, small bird species, such as the common house sparrow, have always been a risk for a variety of industries when they get inside buildings through open receiving doors, automatic doors, or other openings: grocery stores, malls, airports, and food processing facilities all face this risk. This poses contamination risks to food and creates slip-and-fall hazards when their droppings land on surfaces.

Rentokil insights

“Birds are a huge disease vector, and both they and their droppings can pose significant risks to a facility. I believe that the U.S. Food and Drug Agency and third-party audit firms are more and more looking for evidence of birds in their audits, whether its droppings, nests, or the live birds that are loafing or nesting on buildings. For that reason, highly-regulated facilities, such as food processing and pharmaceutical facilities, should be especially aware of birds on their property.”

Shane McCoy, Board Certified Entomologist and Rentokil Technical Services Manager

Actions to take right now

• Use signage to discourage feeding the birds. 
• Pay special attention to garbage. Secure exterior garbage can lids and ensure that all dumpsters remain closed when not in use to discourage scavenging birds. 
• Remove food sources. Bus outdoor dining areas as quickly as possible. Clean up outdoor food or product spills quickly, such as around loading docks and shipping areas.
• Keep shrubbery and trees trimmed and open to prevent nesting. Keep areas under shrubs free of vegetation and debris to eliminate potential nesting areas.
• Use plastic curtains on loading dock doors. This will deter birds from flying or walking in.
• Talk to your pest control provider about the best solution for your business. There are many humane bird control solutions available, including nearly invisible exclusion/netting, grid systems, and more.

Pest activity in your facility

It’s important to remember that every facility is unique. The pest problems you face in your facility could be very different from these.

Dozens of factors can influence your business potential for pest issues: your facility’s pest activity history; macro and micro geography; weather and climate; age, integrity, and changes in your structure; conditions within your facility; products you produce; vendor partnerships; and employee behaviors, to name just a few. Consider these conditions when planning your pest control strategies and investments.

Start your trusted pest control partnership today

Having a partnership with a trusted pest control partner is the best way to stay ahead of pests. 

As the world’s largest pest control company, Rentokil has operations wherever your business is located. We would be happy to partner with you to solve your pest challenges. Contact us today for a FREE pest control consultation for your business and see what it’s like to experience pest-free.