Flies Not Welcome: Tips For Fly Control In Hotels
Owners of hotels large and small all across the country know that it takes a lot to make a guest’s stay amazing - but it only takes one bad pest experience to ruin their stay altogether.
Case in point: flies. Certainly, nobody likes having to deal with flies at any time of year - but allowing flies to prosper in your hotel can set a bad precedent for guests looking to get comfortable, and may just ruin that hard-won guest-patron relationship for good.
If you’re looking to keep your guests happy by keeping your hotel fly-free all year round, here’s a look at some of the most effective ways to make sure these flying insect pests don’t feel welcome around your hotel’s guest spaces.
1. Close Off Entry Points
While it may seem obvious, the first step in any fly exclusion protocol may actually be the most difficult to correctly achieve: shutting off all entry points in and out of your hotel itself.
Remember, flies can fit through incredibly small holes and gaps on their way inside toward food, water, and shelter. That makes every door, every window, every unseen opening or crack in the ventilation system a possible route inside for flies of all sizes. This is especially true for smaller species like Cluster Flies, which flourish indoors in the fall and winter.
Closing off each and every possible crack in your hotel may seem like an impossibility, but by working with an experienced fly control specialist you stand a much better chance of catching those hard-to-spot openings. Your pest exclusion professional should be able to provide a full inspection to identify any and all possible entry points, helping to keep your hotel’s exterior barrier protected all year round
2. Adhere to Proper Waste Disposal Practices
If there’s anything that’s nearly guaranteed to attract flies to your hotel or the surrounding grounds, its improper waste disposal practices. Simply put, flies love garbage - full of food, usually warm, and often undisturbed enough for flies to lay eggs and seek shelter. The worse the waste disposal practices, the more likely flies will find their way in - bringing them just one step closer to your guests.
Fortunately, keeping flies away from your waste disposal areas is as easy as maintaining proper waste disposal practices. By regularly removing waste from dumpsters or trash areas, periodically cleaning these areas, and even implementing more consistent recycling practices, you can significantly reduce the chance that flies can succeed in your waste area.
In addition, your fly control professional may be able to suggest further steps that can reduce the likelihood of flies in your waste disposal areas, including fly-proof storage options or basic organizational solutions that discourage flies from settling in around your trash areas.
3. Minimize Standing Food and Water
While waste areas may offer the easiest avenue for flies looking to get close to your hotel, regular food preparation areas - along with bathrooms, laundry areas, and water closets - can also provide flies with everything they need to succeed without hotel operators ever even realizing it.
That’s why it’s imperative to follow proper food storage practices, as well as industry-standard cleaning practices designed to discourage fly populations from taking over in food prep areas. In addition, hotel owners should be especially wary about leaks and standing water around plumbing in kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas, each of which can offer a welcome watering hole for flies looking to settle in.
As with other exclusion options, your pest control professional can help identify the most common sources of food or standing water and take steps to mitigate the risk of files taking up residence in your guest spaces.
4. Proactively Prioritize a Rigorous Cleaning Schedule
A major factor toward any effective hotel fly prevention strategy is, of course, cleaning. Keeping things clean and free from debris, food crumbs, standing water, or general dirt buildup is key to keeping temptations for flies to settle in at a minimum, all while also providing a better guest experience at the same time.
A proper pest prevention cleaning schedule, however, looks deeper than just the surface level of your hotel. This can include everything from laundry schedules to how often you deep clean the rugs and carpets, each of which can contribute greatly to how hospitable your hotel may be for flies and other pests.
Your experienced pest prevention specialist should be able to create a proactive cleaning regimen for your hotel to offer the best protection against potential fly invasions moving forward.
5. Keep Staff Informed and Educated
At the end of the day, even the world’s most effective cleaning and sanitation schedules won’t cover every gap in your fly protection plan. That’s where your trusted staff comes in, acting as the front line of defense against any pest problems that might crop up - provided, of course, they are properly trained and empowered to bring attention to problems when the arise.
Keeping your staff trained and up-to-date on the latest pest prevention techniques is critical to catching pest problems early. It is hugely important to make sure your staff feels comfortable enough to report problems without fear of being reprimanded, and to impress upon each of your staff members their responsibility to raise the flag over fly problems and other pests as soon as an issue is spotted.
By keeping your trusted cleaning, management, and operations team well-versed in your pest prevention efforts, you stand a much better chance of keeping your hotel fly-free - and your guests happy with their stay.
Don’t Let Flies Ruin A Great Hotel Experience
You put pride, determination, and a lot of hard work into keeping your hotel hospitable and welcoming for all who pass through the front doors. Why let flies ruin all that effort when they aren’t even welcome in the first place?
Whether you’ve dealt with fly problems in your hotel in the past or are looking to prevent them from cropping up in the future, it’s never too early )or too late) to take action. Get in touch with our experienced hotel pest removal specialists and see what we can do to make sure your hotel stays fly-free throughout the busy holiday season and well into the spring - because you’re out to impress your guests, not flying invaders.
