Every Friday, The State of Pest Control examines the latest industry news, scientific research, public health developments, and environmental trends affecting pest management throughout New York, New Jersey, and beyond.
This week, two very different stories from opposite sides of the Atlantic point toward the same conclusion.
In New York City, recent reporting from the New York Post has highlighted progress in the city’s continuing battle against rats as New York changes the way millions of pounds of garbage are stored and collected.
Meanwhile, a BBC News investigation revealed hundreds of additional pest control callouts at hospitals in North Wales involving rats, mice, flies, wasps, fleas, ants, pigeons, gulls, and other pest pressures.
One story involves an entire city.
The other involves highly controlled healthcare environments.
But together, they demonstrate something fundamental about the current state of pest control:
Pest management is increasingly about managing environments, infrastructure, sanitation, access, and risk before pest activity becomes a larger problem.
New York City’s Rat Fight Offers an Important Lesson
New York City’s battle against rats has been discussed for generations.
But recent numbers suggest something may be changing.
The New York Post highlighted declining rat complaints as New York City continues expanding garbage containerization and other rodent mitigation measures.
That’s significant because garbage isn’t simply a sanitation issue.
It’s also a pest management issue.
Rodents require food, water, shelter, and access to survive. When an environment consistently provides those resources, pest populations have an opportunity to thrive.
Remove or restrict those resources and the equation begins to change.
That’s one of the fundamental principles behind Integrated Pest Management.
Instead of asking only:
How do we eliminate the rats?
Modern pest management asks another question:
Why is this environment supporting rats in the first place?
Hospitals Demonstrate the Other Side of the Challenge
The recent BBC News report provides an entirely different perspective.
According to information obtained through a Freedom of Information request, hospitals operated by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in North Wales recorded hundreds of additional pest control callouts between 2021 and 2024.
One hospital alone recorded more than 350 additional callouts over four years.
Reported pest pressures across the healthcare system included rats, mice, flies, fleas, ants, wasps, gulls, and pigeons.
Importantly, these weren’t facilities operating without pest management programs.
According to the BBC report, the hospitals already had contracted routine pest control visits. The reported figures represented additional callouts.
That distinction matters.
It demonstrates something every facility manager should understand:
Having a pest control contract does not make a property immune to pest pressure.
Complex Properties Create Complex Pest Problems
Hospitals provide an excellent example of why modern commercial pest control can be so challenging.
Healthcare campuses can contain food-service operations, loading docks, mechanical rooms, utility penetrations, waste-storage areas, laundry facilities, landscaping, roof systems, basements, patient rooms, administrative offices, storage areas, and large networks of pipes, conduits, walls, ceilings, and service corridors.
Some facilities also sit alongside open land or other environmental conditions that create continuous exterior pest pressure.
The larger and more complicated a property becomes, the more opportunities exist for pests to exploit vulnerabilities.
The same principle applies throughout New York and New Jersey.
Large apartment complexes, hotels, universities, warehouses, healthcare facilities, restaurants, office buildings, and mixed-use developments each create their own pest management challenges.
That’s why a one-size-fits-all pest program rarely works.
Pest Control Contracts Should Be Programs, Not Appointments
This is perhaps the most important lesson from the BBC story.
There is an enormous difference between having someone perform pest control and having a comprehensive pest management program.
A technician arriving several times a year doesn’t automatically prevent pest activity.
What happens during those visits matters.
Are conditions being inspected?
Are pest trends being documented?
Are structural deficiencies being reported?
Are sanitation problems being communicated?
Are monitoring devices providing useful information?
Are recommendations being acted upon?
Is the program changing when conditions change?
Commercial pest management should be an ongoing process of inspection, identification, documentation, correction, monitoring, and adjustment.
The service visit isn’t the program.
It’s one component of the program.
Inspection Is Becoming More Important Than Treatment
Technology has dramatically improved the tools available to pest management professionals.
But one of the industry’s most valuable tools remains surprisingly simple:
A thorough inspection.
An experienced technician isn’t simply looking for a rat, mouse, fly, or roach.
They’re looking for evidence and conditions.
Droppings.
Rub marks.
Gnawing.
Burrows.
Travel routes.
Moisture.
Food sources.
Organic buildup.
Damaged door sweeps.
Utility penetrations.
Structural openings.
Waste-management conditions.
Changes since the previous inspection.
These observations tell the story behind the pest activity.
Understanding that story allows the pest management professional to address the cause rather than continuously treating the symptom.
Technology Is Making Those Inspections More Powerful
Where the industry is changing rapidly is in what happens with the information technicians collect.
Digital reporting can create historical records of pest activity and structural conditions.
Photographic documentation can show property managers exactly where deficiencies exist.
Advanced monitoring technology can help identify where activity is occurring and how conditions change over time.
Service data can reveal recurring patterns. It makes their observations more actionable.
New York City’s Strategy Reflects Integrated Pest Management at Scale
This is where the New York City rat story becomes particularly interesting.
Changing how garbage is stored doesn’t directly eliminate every rat.
Instead, it changes the environment supporting the population.
That’s Integrated Pest Management thinking.
Reduce food.
Reduce water.
Eliminate harborage.
Restrict access.
Monitor activity.
Correct structural deficiencies.
Apply targeted control measures where appropriate.
Measure the results.
Adjust the strategy.
At the property level, professional pest management follows many of these same principles.
How Liberty Pest Control Approaches Commercial Pest Management
At Liberty Pest Control, we believe commercial pest management should be built around understanding the property, not simply treating the pest.
For nearly 30 years, we’ve worked with commercial and residential properties throughout New York City, Long Island, Westchester, and New Jersey.
And we’ve learned that no two properties operate exactly alike.
A Manhattan restaurant presents different risks than a Brooklyn apartment building.
A hospital requires a different approach than a warehouse.
A hotel operates differently from an office building.
That’s why our programs begin with detailed inspections and property-specific evaluations.
Our technicians evaluate pest activity alongside structural conditions, sanitation, moisture, waste management, entry points, operational practices, and surrounding pest pressures.
From there, Integrated Pest Management programs can incorporate monitoring, structural exclusion, sanitation recommendations, targeted treatments, documentation, customer education, and continued follow-up.
Most importantly, the program must continue evolving.
Staying Ahead Means Continuously Adjusting
The pest control industry cannot stand still.
Pest behavior changes.
Buildings age.
Construction alters environments.
Sanitation practices evolve.
Technology improves.
Weather affects pest pressure.
New research changes our understanding of pest biology.
And customer expectations continue rising.
Liberty continues investing in technician education, digital reporting, monitoring technology, improved communication, detailed inspections, and evolving Integrated Pest Management strategies to help our customers stay ahead of those changes.
The objective isn’t simply to respond faster when someone sees a pest.
The objective is to identify the conditions that could create tomorrow’s pest problem today.
What Property Managers and Business Owners Should Take Away
The stories coming from New York City and North Wales demonstrate that pest pressure can exist virtually anywhere.
Even sophisticated facilities with established pest control programs can encounter unexpected activity.
That doesn’t necessarily mean prevention has failed.
It means pest management requires constant vigilance.
For business owners and facility managers, the better questions to ask aren’t simply:
Do we have pest control?
Instead, ask:
Are we being thoroughly inspected?
Are recommendations being documented?
Are recurring trends being identified?
Are structural and sanitation deficiencies being communicated?
Is our program changing as our property changes?
Those questions tell you much more about the quality of a pest management program than the number of scheduled visits on a contract.
Looking Ahead
These two stories illustrate where our industry is heading.
New York City’s experience shows what can happen when environmental conditions are changed on a massive scale.
The hospital data reported by the BBC demonstrates how persistent pest pressure can remain even inside professionally managed facilities.
Together, they reinforce an important principle:
Modern pest control isn’t simply about eliminating pests.
It’s about understanding the environments that allow them to survive.
It’s about inspection.
Prevention.
Sanitation.
Exclusion.
Monitoring.
Technology.
Communication.
And continuous improvement.
The future of pest management won’t be defined solely by the products we apply.
It will be defined by how effectively we identify risk, interpret data, collaborate with our customers, improve environments, and prevent problems before they become infestations.
That’s the direction the industry is moving.
And it’s the direction Liberty Pest Control continues to pursue.
Sources
BBC News: Hospitals see hundreds of pest control callouts for rats, fleas and wasps
The BBC reported on Freedom of Information data showing hundreds of additional pest control callouts at hospitals in North Wales between 2021 and 2024, highlighting the challenges of managing pest pressure across large and complex healthcare environments.
New York Post: NYC’s winning Eric Adams’ war on rats, LA should give him a call
The article examines New York City’s recent progress in reducing rat complaints and the role that changes to garbage storage and containerization may be playing in the city’s broader rodent-control strategy.
About Liberty Pest Control
Founded in 1996, Liberty Pest Control is a full-service commercial and residential pest management company serving New York City, Long Island, Westchester, and New Jersey.
For nearly 30 years, Liberty has helped protect apartment buildings, restaurants, hotels, healthcare facilities, schools, warehouses, office buildings, retail properties, and homes through science-based Integrated Pest Management (IPM), proactive inspections, structural exclusion, advanced monitoring, and long-term pest prevention.
Beyond providing professional pest management services, Liberty Pest Control is committed to educating property owners, facility managers, restaurant operators, and the public about emerging industry trends, scientific research, public health concerns, technology, and best practices in pest prevention.
Learn more about Liberty Pest Control.
The State of Pest Control
The State of Pest Control is Liberty Pest Control’s weekly industry report covering commercial pest management, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), urban rodent trends, seasonal pest activity, public health, regulatory developments, scientific research, emerging technologies, and the issues affecting businesses and properties throughout New York, New Jersey, and beyond.
Our goal isn’t simply to report the news.
It’s to explain what those developments mean for property owners, facility managers, restaurant operators, businesses, and the future of professional pest management.
New reports are published every Friday.
Communication platforms can connect pest management professionals with property managers, maintenance teams, engineers, sanitation personnel, and other stakeholders more efficiently.
Technology doesn’t eliminate the need for experienced technicians.
8220 17th Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11214