When at work, the last thing on your mind is usually pests! According to Business Week, Greg Sanders discovered that a mouse lived underneath his office chair the hard way: when it ran out from between his legs and scared his boss. Can you imagine? The same scenario occurred again a few weeks later —same chair, same between-the-legs escape, possibly even the same mouse. “Finally we turned over the chair in my office. Mice had built a nest under the lining of my chair,” says Sanders. He and his co-workers were so disgusted that the entire company moved to a different building on the other side of town.

Even the cleanest office can sometimes come down with a pest problem—although not all of them move buildings because of it. According to the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), the three most common office invaders are cockroaches, mice, and bed bugs.

1. Cockroaches and mice two come into the office looking for water (the bathroom) and food (communal kitchens, a messy co-worker’s desk).

2. Offices can guard against cockroaches, ants, and mice by keeping everything clean and crumb-free.

3. Bed bug problems are not related to sanitation. Bed bugs are hitchhikers traveling on belongings (clothing, briefcases, etc.) to and from the home to the office and vise versa. Bed bugs feed off humans in resting places like chairs, couches and beds. Bed bugs been found in some big-name places: New York City’s Time Warner Center and Niketown, Chicago’s Chase Tower, and even in Detroit’s public transportation system. Bed bug prevention at work includes storing your purse or book bag somewhere above the floor, so bed bugs are not as likely to hop onto it.

According to NPMA, this year is especially bad for insect infestations; July was the warmest month on record in the U.S. and the hotter it gets outside, the faster bugs reproduce. And because of the recent drought across much of the U.S., they’ll also be coming indoors in search of water. If your office or home are experiencing a pest problem, contact your Colonie pest professional to remedy your pest problem. Over the counter products are risky, if instructions are not followed properly they can harm you, your family, co-workers, pets and/or plants. Pests are common in the Capital Region, but if they become a nuisance, your Albany pest professional can help!