Commercial spaces, such as offices, landfills, restaurants, airports, and warehouses, present unique pest control challenges compared to homes. These challenges often necessitate different tools, techniques, and strategies.
Domestic pest control is typically more focused and tailored to individual living spaces, which are relatively small. Domestic pest control is reactive in the sense that pest controllers usually get involved when there is a suspected problem in play.
On the other hand, commercial pest control is both reactive and proactive. Proactive pest control means that your pest control provider will search for pest issues even when none have been reported.
Certain businesses are highly susceptible to specific pest issues, so preventative screening and early interventions are key. For example, we work with many hotels where we primarily screen for bed bugs. Hotels are a high-risk location for bed bugs due to the sheer number of different guests frequenting the beds from night to night. Beds in people’s homes don’t (usually) experience a high churn of different individuals, making them low risk for bed bugs. It’s this higher level of risk that necessitates a proactive approach for hotels. Different business attract different pests. Restaurants might attract rodents while some shopping centres tend to have bird problems.
Key Differences Between Domestic and Commercial Pest Control
Below is a table that highlights some of the major differences between commercial and domestic pest control:
| Criteria | Commercial Pest Control | Domestic Pest Control |
| Scope of Work | Often larger scale, targeting broader physical spaces. | Typically focuses on smaller, individual living spaces. |
| Types of Pests | Deals with a wider variety of pests due to diverse work environments. | Focused on household pests like ants, roaches, mice, etc. |
| Frequency | Regular scheduled visits and ad hoc callouts | Ad hoc callouts only |
| Treatments Used | Uses more expensive treatments due to larger areas and stricter regulations. | Uses standard treatments |
| Regulations & Compliance | Must adhere to industry-specific regulations | Complies with domestic regulations |
| Preventive Measures | Aims to prevent pest issues from occurring in the first place | Aims to solves existing pest issues and prevent reoccurrence |
| Billing | Billed at regular intervals monthly/quarterly (recurring) | Billed on a per-job basis |
Cost
Due to the proactive nature of commercial pest control, these services are usually billed as a monthly or quarterly recurring cost. The service is written into an agreement, which outlines all the pests included in the service as well as any quotas regarding the number of proactive and reactive visits.
Domestic pest control is normally reactive, so a fixed one-time cost is typically quoted on a job-by-job basis. The cost will depend on factors such as location, the type of pest, infestation size, and the amount of pest-proofing required to prevent the pest from returning.
Why It Matters
Business Owners: A pest infestation can severely harm your reputation, and in some cases, even lead to business closure or fines – especially if the pests have caused health concerns for staff or customers. Ensuring that you engage in regular and effective pest control that meets industry standards and complies with industry-specific regulations is crucial. This approach means you are proactively searching for and eliminating pest issues in their infancy, and you have the evidence to prove it. If claims against your business arise, you may benefit from being able to demonstrate that the business has acted with due diligence and taken all reasonable measures to prevent incidents.
Who Are the Best Commercial Pest Control Company?
It goes without saying, Merlin Environmental is the best. We are a specialist commercial pest control company, serving the entire UK and Ireland. We support businesses of all sizes and types. At the top end, we are the trusted pest control provider for some of the UK’s largest hotel chains and airlines. We would love to help your business, small or large. Drop us a message for a free, no-obligation quote.
