Few pests can be more repulsive to guests and damaging to a hotel's reputation than cockroaches. Whether they're spotted in a restaurant or in a guest room, their presence sends a message of unsanitary conditions and can pose a health threat. Cockroaches carry a variety of harmful pathogens and can act as vectors for foodborne illness.

Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas recently found that cockroach allergens appear to worsen asthma symptoms more than either dust mite or pet allergens in urban sufferers.

While the pest control industry and hospitality industries have turned their attention to bed bugs, cockroaches, which have been around for millions of years, continue to show up in even the finest hotels and must not be overlooked.

Pest control company Orkin, Inc. works with hotels and motels throughout the United States and Canada to help control cockroaches. The company recommends the following actions as first steps in the fight to keep roaches out:

* Be diligent in caulking and sealing all exterior holes or cracks that lead to the inside of the facility. Roaches can squeeze through even the smallest of openings. Install door sweeps to keep cockroaches from infiltrating through the cracks underneath doors.

* Train employees to monitor for roaches in sensitive areas, like foodservice, shipping and receiving. Make sure they inspect all deliveries--especially supplies that arrive in cardboard shipping containers. Since cockroaches often feed on the glue that holds cardboard containers together and hide in the tunnels of corrugated cardboard, remove all supplies from shipping containers before storing them.

* When keeping inventory of stored food products, make sure your employees follow a FIFO system (first in, first out). This is best for preventing roach infestations. The longer stored products sit in inventory, the more likely they are to develop an infestation. Orkin offers hotels and motels free cockroach prevention consultations. Call 1-800- ORKIN-NOW or via www.orkin.com/commercial.

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