Offices tend to be pretty busy places. When everyone’s rushing to get 20 things done at once, it can be easy to neglect the basics. Offices often get dirty simply because no one takes the time (or has the time!) to clean them. Unfortunately, however, neglecting office cleanliness has the same consequences as neglecting cleanliness anywhere else.

Chief among these consequences: pests. Office pest infestations are a huge problem all over New York, especially in office kitchens. A dirty office kitchen is basically pest paradise. The most frustrating thing about these work-ruining infestations so that they’re so avoidable! Follow tips like these, and you can keep pests out of your office kitchen for good:

Clean up immediately after you prepare or eat anything.

Wipe down the table or counter, place all dishes in the dishwasher, and immediately store leftovers in airtight containers. Pests love crumbs, spills, and other food remains like them. Limit their motivation to enter your building by limiting their access to these things.

Be smart about how and where you store your food.

Keep as much of office food in the freezer or fridge as possible. Purchase (and use!) plastic containers to store things like cereal, since pests can’t chew through hard plastic. Use cans or jars over cardboard boxes whenever possible. The goal here, as always, is to limit pest’s access to food as much as possible.

Don’t leave the garbage sitting.

We know how it is. You created a chart that shows who is responsible for taking out the garbage each week. Everyone ignores your chart. Out of stubbornness, you let the garbage sit. “No one else is doing, so why should I!?”, you think. Unfortunately, everyone else also has that exact same thought. The result? The garbage piles up and piles up, until it’s a haven for all kinds of pests.

Here’s our tip: swallow your pride and harass your coworkers about taking out the garbage every day. If they don’t, do it yourself. It’s a lot easier, cheaper, and faster to take out the garbage than it is to remove a pest infestation. Garbage vigilance is key for office kitchen pest prevention.

Create a cleaning schedule.

Wiping up crumbs after you eat is a good practice, but you should have a regular office cleaning schedule as well. A thorough cleaning every Friday should include:

• removing old food from the fridge
• wiping down all surfaces with cleaning spray
• vacuuming, sweeping, and/or mopping the floor
• cleaning the kitchen appliances, such as the microwave, oven, and toaster
• taking out all the garbage and wiping the insides of the garbage cans

A little bit of cleanliness goes a long way when it comes to preventing office pests.

Look for signs of pests in out of the way places.

When it comes to the kitchen, the cupboards are the big place to check. Chances are, nobody tends to dig around in the back of your office kitchen cupboards. Unfortunately, that means it’s easier for pests to sneak into these places and take up residence.

Look for signs of pest infestation like smudges, dusty footprints, crumbs, or even holes. Remember to keep an eye out.

Take a look under the sink.

Look under your sink. Is the hole in the floor wider than the pipes going into it? If so, this is an easy place for pests to use to infiltrate your kitchen. Seal any gaps you see beneath your sink with spray foam or caulk.
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, pests still find their way inside your office. When that happens, all you have to do is call on the experts at Assured Environments. We’ve got your business covered.