Preventative vs reactive pest control

We look at preventative vs reactive pest control, and how prevention is better than cure when it comes to integrated pest management.

Most of us have probably heard the saying “Prevention is better than cure” at some point in our lives – usually in the context of staying healthy, rather than getting sick and then trying to get better.

At its core, “prevention is better than cure” means that it’s easier to stop something from happening in the first place than to repair the damage after it’s happened. And this is undoubtedly true for pest control services. In fact, we talk just as much about “pest prevention” at Rentokil as we do “pest control”.

Integrated Pest Management

Another thing we like to talk about at Rentokil is Integrated pest management (IPM). This is not only because IPM is a great way of summing up the concept of “prevention is better than cure” but also because it forms the bedrock of our approach.

We believe that pest control services can only be truly effective if they’re entrenched in the principles of Integrated pest management (IPM).

And taking preventative measures (such as proofing and monitoring) rather than only taking reactive measures (such as simply treating the pest problem at hand without a thorough understanding of where pests are getting in or why they are attracted to a certain place) forms the basis of integrated pest management (IPM).

Smart pest prevention

IPM is based on four principles: Exclusion, Restriction, Destruction, and Monitoring.  Each of these principles employs a combination of practices including comprehensive information on the lifecycles of pests, their behaviour, biology, and their interactions with their environment to eliminate the root cause of a pest problem.

It’s a far more integrative approach than simply reacting to a pest problem by putting down some rodent bait, or doing a spray treatment for cockroaches.

When you break it down into these 4 principles, you can see how much of the work of a professional pest controller is about pest prevention first.

1. Exclusion:
   Exclusion means ensuring that pests can’t gain access to your building. At Rentokil, we believe that there’s no point simply eliminating the pests inside your building (reacting) without also tackling how they are getting in.As well as an initial survey to assess where pests may be gaining entry, ongoing inspections of your property by one of our expert technicians form part of your service, along with recommendations on proofing and structural repairs and improvements to keep pests out. All our technicians’ recommendations are logged on myRentokil for our customers to access at any time.
2. Restriction:
   We’ve mentioned in previous blog posts that pests need food, water, and harbourage (nesting space) in order to thrive. Restriction is another preventative tactic: the goal is to assess where and how pests are gaining access to food, water and nesting sites and then – depending on the specific site – either restrict their access (further proofing) or eliminate the sources of food, water and nesting spaces entirely (housekeeping). These too are logged on the myRentokil system for customers to access and implement.This requires detailed knowledge of individual pests’ preferences, breeding habits and life cycles, combined with an understanding of what is possible and practical on the customers’ site.
   
3. Monitoring:
   Monitoring is another key element in a pest prevention strategy. Our technicians are trained to continuously monitor our customers’ sites for changes that might allow pests access, or which may attract different pests. Restriction and exclusion recommendations can then be provided before a pest problem gets established.Because we do also have to implement pest control methods at times (it’s unfortunately not all prevention) technicians are also trained to continuously monitor how well the treatment is working. This too requires detailed knowledge of pest lifecycle, habits, and habitat, in order to continuously fine-tune and adapt pest control treatments in the case of insecticide resistance or changing circumstances. Pest sightings are recorded on myRentokil, along with further recommendations if necessary. 
4. Destruction
   And finally, destruction, or the actual pest control solutions. Rentokil has a range of solutions that are targeted to both the customers’ specific environment and the pest problems they are facing. And these solutions are never implemented in a vacuum – they must follow the other three elements first in order to be truly effective.When you look at IPM as being made up of these 4 principles, you can clearly see that 75% of what we do at Rentokil is preventative in nature, and only 25% is what could be considered “reactive”.  And even then we’d argue that destruction of pests should not be simply reactive if you’ve applied the other three principles when surveying and treating a customer’s site.

myRentokil is a unique online reporting and analysis system for our customers. It is easy to use and delivers real-time information, facilitating a proactive approach to pest prevention and control. Contact Rentokil today to find out more about myRentokil.