If you haven't already jumped on the “green wagon” at your hotel, there's no time like the present. With consumers looking to get the most for their money in the current economic climate, it's what your hotel offers beyond the usual amenities that attract guests. From recycled toilet paper and limited laundry services to organic shampoo, there are many ways hoteliers can deliver environmentally friendly customer service. Did you know your pest management program is one of them?

Thanks to new technologies, hoteliers can now manage pests with reduced risk to the environment and human health. The first step in going green with pest control is to implement an integrated pest management program. IPM programs focus on preventing pests through a combination of non-chemical solutions to remove the four sources that attract pests to your hotel in the first place: food, water, shelter and optimal temperatures.

Work with a pest management professional to make sure your hotel's IPM program incorporates these green techniques where appropriate:

Fly lights

The food and trash your hotel produces appeals to flies, particularly in foodservice and waste management areas. Install fly lights near entrances to shipping, receiving, food preparation and waste disposal areas to trap the pests before they reach the more sensitive, guest-facing areas of your hotel. Fly lights use ultraviolet rays to attract flying insects to a non-toxic sticky board inside a confined trap unit. For best results, replace the sticky boards regularly and the specialized light bulbs every several months.

Sticky boards

Often used for cockroach management, sticky boards trap crawling or flying insects and allow you to detect pest activity in areas where pests may be hiding. Keep the covered, non-toxic sticky boards out of the way of guests and employees by placing them in common pest hot spots, such as storage closets, kitchens and linen or laundry rooms. Your certified pest management professional can install and monitor the sticky boards and maintain records of the number and types of pests found at each location to determine the significance and level of pest activity in the area.

Pheromone traps

With the help of modern science, pest management professionals can now use pests' biology against them with synthetic copies of chemicals involved in pest reproduction and growth. Pests use secreted natural chemicals known as pheromones to communicate with another pest of the same species. Pheromone traps incorporate synthetically replicated versions of an insect's pheromones to lure the target pest to a sticky trap. Most often used as a technique to manage flying insects and stored product pests, pheromone traps can help you identify and monitor pest populations in your hotel so you'll know when to take corrective action.

Insect growth regulators

Like pheromone traps, insect growth regulators use synthetic replications of insect hormones to disrupt pest life cycles and prevent them from reaching full maturity. This prevents reproduction and limits the pest population.