Hospitals and other medical facilities require high levels of sanitation to keep patients safe and stop the spread of pathogens. Without proper sanitation, medical facilities put their patients and their own personnel at risk of contracting diseases or encountering health complications during treatment. Among the many threats to sanitation in a hospital, pests sit near the top of the list. Rodent pests such as rats and mice can carry a number of diseases, and bug pests such as cockroaches, dust mites, bed bugs, and others can contaminate medical supplies and surfaces in hospitals and other medical facilities. Worse, controlling these pests with the wrong products can expose in a medical facility to harmful chemicals. If you are dealing with a pest problem in your hospital, veterinary clinic, ambulance, or medical office, you need a pest control solution you can count on to solve your problem — not add another one to the list.

At EcoClear Products, we are proud to offer a wide range of eco-friendly and highly-effective pest control solutions ideal for use in medical settings. Below, we’ve compiled information on hospital pest control and prevention, as well as helpful links to our many pest control products. Read on to learn more, and keep your hospital pest-free with our solutions here at EcoClear Products today!

Common Pests in Hospitals

There are a number of pests that can find their way into a hospital or medical setting. Each of these pest species poses its own unique risks to the overall safety of a medical facility and the health of those under its roof. Among the most common hospital pests are rodents such as rats and mice, which can carry a number of diseases, including Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, Leptospirosis, Plague, Salmonellosis, and more. Insect and bug pests such as cockroaches, termites, bed bugs, dust mites, and others can also find their way into medical facilities, causing damage to property, contaminating medical equipment, and inducing allergic reactions in personnel and patients. Learn how these pests can enter medical facilities and how to prevent them from doing so in the following sections.

Where Are Pests Commonly Found in Hospitals?

Hospitals and other medical settings are highly-trafficked environments filled with people coming and going at virtually all hours of the day. This creates the perfect environment for pests of all kinds to make their way into a property. Bug pests such as cockroaches, bed bugs, and flies can hitch rides on the backs of hospital patients or staff entering from the outside world. Rodents and other bugs can crawl into hospitals through holes, cracks, or gaps in roofs or walls. They can also simply walk in through open doors in lobbies, waiting rooms, loading docks and other entrance points. Once inside, these pests can feed on food found in kitchens and cafeterias. They can make their homes in cluttered office spaces, dirty corners and closets, poorly maintained laundry rooms, and other storage areas.

Pest Prevention Tips for Hospitals

A pest infestation in your hospital can be a major problem for your patients and your staff. Thankfully, there are several steps you can take to prevent pests from making their homes in your hospital or medical setting in the first place. Educating your staff on proper pest prevention protocol and following these tips will help keep your hospital pest-free.

Close and monitor all entrances wherever possible. In highly-trafficked medical environments, pests often sneak through open doors. By monitoring your entrances and keeping them closed whenever possible, you can greatly reduce the chances of a pest infestation.

Routinely inspect and repair your building’s exterior. Bugs and rodents can also crawl through cracks and holes in the exterior of your property. Routinely inspect your building’s exterior for holes, cracks, and other gaps, and hire a professional in your area for repairs as soon as possible.

Close and empty trash cans and other receptacles daily. Many pests feed on food and other matter found in trash cans and garbage receptacles. By keeping these receptacles closed and frequently emptying them into outdoor dumpsters, you can help reduce the chances of a pest infestation in your medical facility.

Thoroughly clean all surfaces within your hospital or medical facility. Excess dirt and clutter can create the perfect breeding ground for pests ranging from large rodents to microscopic dust mites. Ensure that every square inch of your hospital gets cleaned on a regular basis to keep pests out..

Preventing Bed Bugs in Hospitals

Among the many pest species that can plague hospitals and other healthcare establishments, few are more widespread or insidious than bed bugs. These tiny, parasitic arachnids can hitch rides on the backs of patients and medical personnel and make their homes in future, bedding, and other items within healthcare environments. If left unaddressed, bed bugs can lead to severe discomfort for patients and employees, as well as exorbitant costs and potential lawsuits for healthcare establishments.

Preventing and treating bed bugs in medical facilities starts with identification. Bed bugs love to nest in soft, dark areas and materials, such as bedding, upholstery, drawers, and cabinets. Identifying and routinely cleaning this target areas can greatly help to prevent bed bug infestations. To identify bed bugs themselves, you’ll want to instruct your staff to grab a magnifying glass, flashlight, and the EPA’s bed bug ID printout to help you identify bed bugs and their eggs. Adult bed bugs are only 3 – 5 millimeters in length and reddish brown in color. Bed bugs eggs are no larger than a pinhead and translucent in color. In the event that you find bed bugs on your medical property, you need a solution that exterminates them quickly and comprehensively without exposing patients and other personnel to harmful chemicals. Learn more our eco-friendly and highly-effective solutions for bed bugs and other pests in the following section.

Treating Hospital Pests With EcoClear Products

To stop invasive pests in their tracks before they become major infestations, you need a product you can count on for fast and effective control. However, you also need this product to be as safe as possible for your medical staff and patients. Many rodenticides and insect extermination products on the market today contain harmful chemicals that can lead to major medical complications if ingested by humans. Such products are not suitable for medical settings.

Developed by our forward-thinking chemists and engineers, our pest control products are made from naturally-derived ingredients and are 100% biodegradable and totally safe to use around people and pets. Our pest control products also have a 25b Classification, meaning that they have no special requirements for transport, handling, storage, or disposal. For mice and rats, we recommend our MouseX®, RatX®, and RatRid® product lines. For insects and other bugs, we recommend our Stop Bugging Me!™ insecticides — great for broad-spectrum surface and control and laundry cleaning.

For comprehensive sterilization and microbial control, we recommend SteriCide™ RTU Sterilant, our versatile and powerful anti-microbial spray. Featuring a revolutionary formulation, SteriCide™ can be used as a sterilant, detergent cleaner, stain remover, disinfectant, deodorizer, sporicide, and fungicide on a number of hard, non-porous surfaces. It’s an excellent choice for cleaning and sanitizing medical equipment, countertops, seating, floors, and other surfaces in hospitals, ambulances, veterinary clinics, food courts, lobbies, and other medical areas.

Shop EcoClear Products for Your Medical Facility

Ready to give our eco-friendly and highly-effective pest control products a try? Shop online, or use our Store Locator to find an EcoClear Products retailer near you. To learn more about hospital pest control and prevention, reach out to our team to speak directly with an EcoClear Products representative today!