Pest Control For Daycare Centres

Daycare Facility Pest Control

No daycare facility is immune to the possibility of a pest infestation. With the close proximity of children, shared spaces, visitors, early childhood educators and the presence of food, daycares can be prime targets for various pests to thrive.

To ensure your daycare facility is protected against the threat of possible pest infestations, you need the help of a proven professional pest control provider.

How Orkin Canada Helps You Keep Your Daycare Facility Pest-Free

Customized Solutions

Orkin Canada specializes in creating customized pest control programs tailored specifically for daycare facilities. These pest control programs are carefully crafted to be both effective in eliminating pests and prioritize safety around children and the areas they frequent within these centres.

Preventative Measures

Orkin Canada prioritizes prevention. Your Orkin Pro will identify and address potential pest pressure areas and causes to prevent pest infestation from occurring. They will also help you prevent an existing pest issue from becoming a full-blown infestation.

Thorough Inspections

Your experienced Orkin Pro will conduct comprehensive inspections to identify any current pest problems and evaluate risk factors that could lead to future infestations.

Safe and Responsible Pest Control

The well-being of the children and staff within your daycare facility is our top priority. Your Orkin Pro will employ pest control strategies that are environmentally responsible, ensuring the health and safety of everyone within your daycare facility.

Ongoing Support

To ensure that pests are kept at bay, your Orkin Pro can provide continuous support and ongoing follow-ups. This ongoing care can help prevent the return of pests to the daycare facility by continuously monitoring for pest pressures, identifying, and correcting conducive factors.

Education and Training

Your Orkin Pro can also provide educational tips and advice to your staff on pest prevention and how to reduce factors that attract pests.

Common Pests That May Infest Daycare Facilities

Bed Bugs

These tiny insects are notorious hitchhikers. They can easily spread by latching onto kids’ belongings, such as backpacks, clothing, and toys, particularly fabric or textured toys. Given how children often play together, share, and store their items in close quarters, bed bugs can quickly infest a daycare facility.

The psychological impact that these pests create can cause anxiety and stress among parents and staff. Bites and scratches on the tender skin of children can easily lead to secondary infections.  Professionally controlling a bed bug infestation requires considerable effort and resources, as infested areas will need to be cleaned and sometimes quarantined, which could disrupt the normal operations of the daycare, potentially leading to temporary closures. This disruption can inconvenience parents and impact the facility’s day to day operations and reputation.

Head Lice

Head lice are a significant social problem in daycare centres due to children’s close interactions. Kids often play with their heads, touching and sharing accessories like hats, and hairbrushes, making it easy for head lice to jump from one infested child to another.

The impact of head lice in daycares goes beyond the physical irritation caused by their bites. Children who have been impacted by head lice can experience disruptions to their learning and social interactions. Parents can also be impacted financially, as they would have to take time off from work, as well as pay for delousing treatments. Daycare facilities can also experience reputational damage and potential financial losses that could severely impact the day-to-day operations of the facility.

Ants

Children eating constantly within daycare facilities or montessories can create a source of food for ants, as food spills, crumbs, and beverage spills provide the ideal environment for ants to thrive. No matter how diligent the cleaning efforts, the allure of these food remnants is irresistible to ants.

The presence of these pests within daycare centres could create serious health and safety risks. Certain types of ants, like fire ants, can bite or sting, causing discomfort and potential allergic reactions. Additionally, ants can contaminate food sources, leading to hygiene concerns. Other ant species such as pharaoh ants are known to carry and transfer pathogens on their bodies and can therefore pose serious health risks for children, especially infants.

Flies (Including Fruit Flies)

Children enjoy consuming juices, fruits, and snacks, which can inevitably result in spills and dropped food. Uncleaned or missed spills can attract small flies like fruit flies and can be an ideal breeding environment for these pests leading to a potential infestation. Juices left in bottles or cups can also become attractants and breeding source of small flies.

The presence of small flies within a daycare facility is unhygienic and can pose food contamination concerns. Small flies, such as fruit flies, breed in decaying organic matter loaded with pathogens, therefore they can spread bacteria from one surface to another.

Though certain small fly species may not be known to transmit diseases like some other pests, they can physically contaminate food and drinks, still posing food safety concerns.

These pests constant presence around food and play areas can be unsettling and parents may become concerned about the sanitation standards of the daycare, which can affect the facility’s reputation.

Filth Flies (House Flies, Bottle Flies, Flesh Flies)

Filth flies, such as houseflies, bottle flies or flesh flies, can pose significant problems in daycare facilities. These pests can be commonly found in daycare facilities because of the waste generated, along with food scraps, and odours from diaper changing areas and diaper disposal bins (if the area is not properly sanitised).

Filth flies like the name suggests are known for being unsanitary and a potential health risk because of their ability to carry a variety of harmful pathogens, which can be transferred to food or surfaces within the daycare. This raises health concerns, particularly in a setting with young children who are more susceptible to infections and illnesses due to their developing immune systems.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches in daycare facilities can be a serious concern due to their resilience. Like bed bugs, cockroaches can be brought from homes of the children or staff, via their personal belongs or it can be via incoming packages or food items brought in the daycare.

These pests are attracted to the clutter and leftover food in daycare playrooms, which can provide cockroaches with an easily available food source, making daycare facilities susceptible to a possible infestation.

The presence of cockroaches poses several health risks, as these pests can be carriers of bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella, which can contaminate food prep areas and other surfaces. Their droppings, skins and saliva can also trigger allergies and asthma in children, who are especially vulnerable due to their developing respiratory systems. In rare cases cockroaches have been shown to feed on skins of sleeping babies, attracted by the aroma of milk or formula on the babies.

Rodents

Rodents, such as mice and rats, can significantly impact operations within daycare facilities, montessoris or other early childhood education facilities. Daycares that provide food services can be attractive for rodents, as there is a regular supply of food and potential nesting sites available for these pests. Waste generated within these facilities can also be an attractant that draws these pests into daycare facilities.

These pests are not only a nuisance but also pose health risks, as they can potentially carry and transmit pathogens that cause diseases such as the hantavirus, salmonellosis, and leptospirosis. Rodents can also contaminate food supplies and preparation areas with their droppings, urine, and fur. They can also cause allergic reactions in some children and staff. Rodents may also chew on electrical and appliance wiring, which can create a serious fire risk for your daycare facility.

Wasps

Wasps can be a particularly challenging issue for any early childhood education facility. Playground areas can be prone to attracting wasps due to voids in play structures that provide ideal nesting spots and sandboxes can attract ground-nesting wasps.

Wasps can present serious risks of stinging children and staff, which can be painful and, in some cases, may lead to severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis). Young children, who may not be aware of the dangers of provoking wasps, are particularly at risk.

Additionally, wasps can be territorial and aggressive when their nests are disturbed, posing a greater threat. The presence of wasps can also cause anxiety and concern among parents about the safety of the daycare environment.

Trust Orkin Canada To Help You Protect Your Daycare Facilities, Montessories & Other Early Childhood Centres From A Pest Infestation

Protecting your daycare facility, Montessori or other early childhood education centre from pests is essential for the health and safety of the children in your care and peace of mind of their parents. Orkin Canada is your trusted partner in this endeavour, offering expert pest control solutions that you can rely on. Don’t let pests disrupt the nurturing environment you’ve created; contact Orkin Canada today to keep your daycare facility pest-free and safe for all.