When you think "pest control," you naturally assume that all exterminators take on all extermination jobs. That is not so. In fact, there are many pest control experts that will provide service to either residential customers only or to commercial customers only. Commercial pest control has its marked differences. Here are those differences and why they are important.

Commercial Pest Control Addresses Major Infestations

Commercial pest control experts are dealing with major infestations in commercial areas and buildings. Examples include a major rat infestation in a warehouse on the docks, a major mouse or cockroach infestation in a restaurant kitchen, and a wasp infestation in an active daycare. In every instance, you have a business that is attempting to operate in either unsafe or unhealthy conditions. The pests have to be eradicated, or the businesses will be shut down until the problem is resolved. Commercial exterminators also manage infestations in apartment complexes and low-rent high-rises owned and operated by the city government. 

Residential Pest Control Addresses Less Significant Infestations

Yes, residential pest control services also address infestations, but often these infestations are less of a problem. There may only be one or two mice to kill, or there may be a termite nest or ant hill a little too close to the house. The type and number of pests involved are very different from the type and number of pests involved in a commercial extermination. Most times, it only takes one or two rounds of treatment to deal with a residential extermination, versus several and ongoing treatments for commercial environments.

Commercial Treatments Kill Faster

With a residential extermination, the residential exterminator is able to return at any time to complete the extermination process as needed. The process is drawn out, and not all residential treatments kill quite as quickly as the treatments used to eradicate pest problems in commercial structures. Because there is such a sense of immediacy with ridding commercial properties of pests, slightly stronger chemicals are used to accomplish the job so that the pests die faster, have less of a chance to breed before the next treatment, and are unable to multiply and spread. 

Why It Matters

You can live with all of the pests you want in your own home, but when it comes to pests in a restaurant, a hotel, a hospital, a daycare, or anywhere else people go, you are going to want to control and eradicate the pests. Nobody likes a cockroach in their salads. Nobody wants a child allergic to bee stings to be that close to a nest of yellow jackets. Therefore, the commercial pest control expert has a bigger job to do, and it has to be done quickly, quietly, and in the most effective way possible.