Fly and pest control is an issue that all businesses face, especially restaurants and other businesses in the food service industries. To the detriment of many businesses, flies and other pests are extremely dirty creatures with the ability to transmit a variety of dangerous diseases and bacteria that are potentially harmful to your employees and customers.
The battle over keeping flies and other pests out of your way can be endless without the right solution, but what is the right choice? Two of the most commonly thought of pest control tools include the use of air curtains and the use of insect lights. Which is the best for you?
How an Air Curtain Keeps Pests at Bay
There are many types of air curtains that are manufactured for a variety of purposes, they are not all the same but they can be highly effective in fly and insect control. An air curtain manufactured specifically for insect control can be mounted above exterior doors for a cost-effective means to keep pests and flies at bay.
The way it works is simple: air curtains release a strong, engineered force of air in a downward motion along the threshold of a door. The force of the air stream is too strong for a fly to pass through, thus preventing them from entering. There are smaller air curtains that are specifically manufactured to handle smaller insects like flies and gnats, as well as a variety of larger air curtains that are geared to tackle larger pests.
How an Insect Light Works to Distract Pests
According to 1000Bulbs, insect lights work when a wavelength of a light source decreases and its color temperature increases.
“Low color temperatures are red-yellow and exhibit a long wavelength, while high color temperatures are blue-violet and exhibit a short wavelength. By coloring a bulb yellow, then, the manufacturer has decreased the color temperature and in doing so increased the wavelength into a spectrum unseen by insects.”
Insect lights can be fairly successful in pest and insect control, the problem is that not all bugs and insects are the same and, therefore, they are not all attracted to the same color or wavelength of light.
According to Pest Control Technology, “While insect light traps (ILT), glue boards and electrocuting devices will always be irreplaceable reactive approaches after flying insects infiltrate a space, the air curtain is a proactive method that prevents airborne pests from entering in the first place.”
Picture This…
Imagine a baseball field. When a ball is headed toward home plate, what is the first line of defense to stop the ball? The catcher. This is your air curtain. It is there to stop the ball, or pest in our case, from getting through. Now, say the ball gets past the catcher, there is a second line of defense: the fence. This is your secondary items like your insect lights. They do fight against flies and pests; however, the flies have to enter and our goal is to prevent that. As mentioned above, this is a reactive defense mechanism as opposed to a proactive defense that prevents the pests and flies from entering in the first place.
Why an air curtain?
Air curtains serve many purposes, including pest and insect control.
- Fly and Pest Control. Simply put, the force of air streamed from an air curtain is stronger than what a fly or small pest is capable of passing through. With a variety of options to select from, there is the potential and opportunity to fend off a variety of pests in a proactive and successful manner.
- Cost Savings. One of the greatest things about air curtains is their ability to save business owners money in a variety of aspects, the most sought-after savings being energy. The wind created by an air curtain creates a separation between two environments that keeps outside air and its contaminants from entering the inside area. This allows you to be in better control of your energy usage.
- Less Maintenance. Air curtains are significantly less maintenance than other forms of pest control. They can be purchased and installed for an extremely reasonable price and maintained with very little attention. On the contrary, other forms of pest control call for weekly and sometimes daily attention.
Air curtains offer so many benefits and are the first line of defense against pests, flies and other insects.
Are you looking to improve your pest and fly control systems? Consider adding an air curtain to help keep them away from your business. By selecting the right air curtain, you can successfully keeping flies at bay. The experts at Air Door Distributors are ready to assist you in determining the appropriate air curtain for your specific business and needs. Call today at 866-402-1642, click for a live chat or simply fill out our contact form and we will get you the air curtain to best fit your needs.