Key Takeaways:
-Pest management is a critical component of facility management and commercial cleaning operations, especially during summer when ant and fly activity peaks nationwide.
-Regional pest threats require customized risk management strategies across commercial facilities.
-Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the long-term best practice for commercial facilities seeking sustainable pest control and compliance.

By Dr. Jim Fredericks, Contributing Writer

Summer pest pressure in commercial facilities is not entirely a geography problem. Two pest categories create consistent pressure across every region of the country. Where location does matter is in the region-specific threats that can escalate quickly if a facility isn’t prepared before peak season hits.

For facility managers, school administrators, and healthcare operators, the stakes go beyond a single pest sighting. Infestations affect regulatory compliance, occupant health, and operational continuity. The most effective pest control strategy accounts for both the universal threats facing every commercial facility and the specific pressure geography brings to the table.

Here’s what to manage this summer and why it matters before the season peaks:

Top Two Pests to Manage

Ants are the number one pest in commercial accounts nationwide. They often respond to summer heat by relocating from outdoor habitats into the nearby structure, establishing satellite colonies inside wall voids and under floor quickly—often before surface activity is ever noticed. In foodservice, healthcare, and any facility with a kitchen or break room, ant pressure is more than a seasonal inconvenience. It is a compliance risk that compounds the longer it goes unaddressed.

Flies—houseflies, fruit flies, and phorid flies—represent another universal commercial pest threat with a seasonal edge. Pest control work in commercial facilities is fly-intensive by nature. A single neglected waste area can produce a new fly generation in a matter of days at peak summer temperatures, and exterior fly pressure moves indoors faster than most facilities anticipate.

Regional Pressure Points

Beyond ants and flies, there are pressure points that vary by geography and can escalate into operational disruptions if they aren’t addressed before peak season.

Southeast: Warm weather is accelerating peridomestic cockroach activity across Southern states, and populations are growing. Species like the American cockroach thrive in the region’s heat and humidity, moving freely between exterior drain systems and building interiors. In healthcare facilities and food operations, even a single cockroach sighting can trigger an inspection response. Exclusion work at drain access points and perimeter gaps needs to happen before warm-weather populations hit peak activity.

Northeast: A dense urban development, old infrastructure, and a mild winter across much of this region created unusually high winter rodent survivorship. This means that facilities are entering summer with larger baseline populations than in prior years. While winter is typically peak season for new indoor infestations, outdoor rodent populations continue to expand throughout the summer. Utility penetrations, aging drain lines, and the structural density of older buildings across this region all sustain ongoing rodent pressure.

Southwest: Scorpions are a year-round presence in the Southwest, but monsoon season humidity and extreme summer surface heat push them indoors in search of cooler conditions. An interior encounter inside a healthcare or school facility is an immediate safety and potential liability event.

Midwest: Sparrows, starlings, and other nuisance birds create persistent facility problems in the Midwest, and the challenge extends well beyond any single region. Birds nest in roofline gaps, loading dock overhangs, and HVAC equipment, and the accumulation of droppings creates sanitation concerns, slip hazards, and potential pathogen exposure. Facilities that have not addressed active roosting sites will see pressure intensify as nesting season advances through summer.

West Coast: As summer transitions into the dry, hot days of the late season, drywood termite swarms become a visible and urgent threat. Swarming is a direct indicator of an established infestation, and an active drywood termite colony in a commercial structure can require complete fumigation to resolve. That means an operational shutdown. For facility managers in California and across Pacific Coast states, end-of-summer termite swarm activity is not a wait-and-see situation—it’s a call to action.

Beyond Summer: The Long-Term Plan

Seasonal awareness gets a facility through summer, but an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan is what keeps it protected year-round.

IPM is a prevention-first approach that licensed pest management professionals use to address the conditions that allow pests to thrive, not just the pests themselves. Rather than responding to infestations after they develop, an IPM program establishes a structured framework for ongoing monitoring, risk assessment, and targeted intervention. For commercial facilities, schools, and healthcare environments, that distinction matters because it minimizes disruption to building operations and helps facilities stay ahead of the compliance requirements governing their industries.

Working with a licensed pest management partner to implement an IPM plan typically involves four core components:

Inspection & Monitoring: A qualified professional conducts regular facility walkthroughs to identify pest activity, entry points, and conditions that support infestation—including moisture problems, structural vulnerabilities, and sanitation gaps that may not be visible during routine operations.

Risk-Based Prevention: Rather than applying treatments on a fixed calendar schedule, an IPM partner develops a prevention strategy calibrated to your facility’s specific risk profile, pest history, and seasonal pressure patterns for your region.

Targeted Treatment: When intervention is required, IPM prioritizes the least disruptive and most precise treatment methods available, using methods proportional to the actual threat and minimizing exposure to building occupants.

Ongoing Communication & Documentation: A strong IPM partnership includes regular reporting on findings, treatments, and trend data over time. That documentation supports regulatory compliance and gives facility management a clear picture of pest pressure across seasons.

For facility managers who oversee multiple sites or operate in heavily regulated environments, such as food processing, healthcare, or education, a formalized IPM plan is not only a best practice but an operational expectation. The pest management industry is evolving rapidly, with professionals incorporating smart monitoring technology and data-driven treatment protocols that give commercial clients more precision and accountability than ever before.

Best Regional Practices

A qualified IPM partner will reinforce these fundamentals, and staff should maintain them consistently between professional visits.

Seal entry points: Cracks around windows, doors, utility pipes, and foundations are open invitations. Seal them before pest populations peak.

Eliminate standing water: Gutters, low-lying drainage areas, equipment pads, and any container that collects water feed mosquito breeding cycles. Clear them on a recurring schedule.

Maintain exterior grounds: Clutter creates pest harborage. Trim grass, prune vegetation away from the building, and remove debris from the perimeter.

Store food and waste properly: Airtight food storage and sealed waste containment cut off the primary resources sustaining pest populations inside a facility.

Fix moisture problems promptly: Leaking pipes, condensation, and poor ventilation in crawl spaces or mechanical rooms attract a wide range of pests year-round.

The facilities that come through summer without a pest incident are not the ones that respond fastest; they are the ones that prepare before the pressure arrives.

Dr. Jim Fredericks, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). A Board-Certified Entomologist, Fredericks received his bachelor's degree in biology education from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, as well as his master’s in Entomology and Ph.D. in Entomology and Wildlife Ecology from the University of Delaware.
Connect with Fredericks through LinkedIn here. 


posted on 6/12/2026