A New Way to Prove Sewer-Based Pest Activity: Monitoring Directly Inside the Plumbing
Pest monitoring is one of the most important parts of a successful pest-control program. Glue boards help professionals determine what pests are present, where they are traveling and whether a treatment program is working.
But traditional monitoring has always had one major limitation: glue boards are normally placed inside the structure.
What if the pests being captured indoors are actually coming from the plumbing system?
The new Sewer Assassin monitoring glue board gives pest-management professionals a simple way to answer that question. Designed for use with the Sewer Assassin Plumbing Monitor and Control Station, the board can be deployed directly inside a 3-inch or 4-inch plumbing clean-out.
For the first time, pest professionals can monitor where the problem may actually begin—inside the plumbing.
Understanding Sewer-Based Pests
Rodents, American cockroaches and drain flies are three major pest groups associated with sewer and drain systems.
American Cockroaches
American cockroaches thrive in warm, damp environments containing food and organic material. Municipal sewers, grease lines and building drain systems can provide ideal conditions for them.
They may travel through plumbing lines and enter a structure through damaged pipes, open connections, failed seals, floor drains and other plumbing defects. Once inside, they can appear in bathrooms, kitchens, mechanical rooms and other areas connected to the drain system.
Repeated interior treatments may reduce the visible activity without correcting the route the cockroaches are using to enter.
Drain Flies
Drain flies reproduce in the organic film that accumulates inside drains, sewer lines and other wet plumbing environments.
While some drain-fly problems originate near a fixture, others may be connected to damaged or contaminated plumbing below the building. When flies continue appearing after the visible drains have been cleaned and treated, a hidden plumbing source should be considered.
Monitoring directly inside the plumbing can help determine whether the flies are already present within the system.
Sewer-Related Rodents
Rats can live and travel through municipal sewers and private plumbing laterals. They may enter buildings through broken drain lines, open pipes, failed connections or other plumbing breaches.
The glue board is primarily intended to monitor insect activity such as American cockroaches and drain flies. When rodent activity is suspected, the Sewer Assassin station can also be configured with the appropriate rodent-monitoring components to help determine whether rodents are traveling through the plumbing.
How the Sewer Assassin Monitoring Glue Board Works
The monitoring board attaches to the Sewer Assassin Plumbing Monitor and Control Station and is lowered or placed directly into the plumbing clean-out.
Once deployed, the board monitors activity inside the drain or sewer line instead of waiting for pests to emerge somewhere inside the building. It can then be retrieved and inspected during the next service visit.
If American cockroaches or drain flies are being captured inside the building and the same pests are captured on the monitoring board inside the plumbing, the technician now has something extremely valuable: evidence.
There is no easier way to demonstrate that the pest being battled inside the structure is also present inside the plumbing system.
That evidence helps the technician move beyond assumptions and answer an important question:
Are we dealing with an isolated interior infestation, or are pests continually entering from the plumbing?
Why This Is a Game Changer
Recurring pest problems are frustrating for customers and pest-control companies. When the actual source is hidden inside the plumbing, repeated interior treatments may produce temporary improvement without providing a permanent solution.
The Sewer Assassin monitoring board gives professionals a better process:
- Identify the pest activity inside the structure.
- Deploy the monitoring board directly inside the plumbing.
- Retrieve and inspect the board.
- Compare the plumbing capture with the interior activity.
- Document the evidence for the customer.
- Develop a control and diagnostic plan based on the findings.
If the targeted pest is captured inside the plumbing, the Sewer Assassin station can be converted from monitoring to an appropriate control program using products labeled for that application.
The pest professional can also recommend or perform a plumbing smoke test to locate the damaged pipe, failed seal, open connection or other breach allowing pests to move from the plumbing into the occupied space.
This creates a complete progression from detection to proof, control and correction.
Instead of repeatedly treating symptoms, the company can begin working toward the source of the infestation.
Better Documentation and Better Customer Communication
Customers may have difficulty understanding how a pest problem inside a bathroom, kitchen or commercial building could originate below the structure.
A monitoring board containing the same pest found indoors provides clear, physical evidence. It helps the technician explain why traditional interior treatments alone may not solve the problem and why plumbing smoke testing or repairs may be necessary.
That documentation can also help pest-control companies:
- Reduce unnecessary callbacks
- Support treatment recommendations
- Improve customer confidence
- Proof its time to run a sewer smoke test with the FogTrace
- Show why plumbing repairs may be required
- Protect recurring accounts
- Demonstrate the value of professional monitoring
- Verify whether corrective work has solved the problem
After treatment or plumbing repairs, another board can be deployed to continue monitoring and help confirm that activity has stopped.
It Also Works as a Traditional Monitoring Board
The Sewer Assassin glue board is not limited to plumbing applications.
It can also be used as a traditional pest-monitoring board in kitchens, bathrooms, utility rooms, mechanical areas, commercial accounts and other locations where pest activity needs to be measured.
A small adhesive mounting strip allows the monitor to be secured to nearly any suitable surface. This keeps the board from being kicked, moved during cleaning, displaced by air movement or accidentally relocated.
The technician can position it exactly where it is needed and expect it to remain there until the next service.
That means one monitoring board can serve two important purposes:
- Direct monitoring inside plumbing through the Sewer Assassin station
- Secured traditional monitoring throughout the structure
Stop Guessing and Start Proving
The plumbing system has long been one of the most overlooked pest-entry pathways in homes and commercial buildings. Sewer-based pests can continue entering through hidden defects while technicians repeatedly treat the areas where those pests are eventually discovered.
The Sewer Assassin monitoring glue board helps change that.
By placing the monitor directly inside the plumbing, pest-management professionals can collect the evidence needed to connect an interior infestation to a plumbing source. From there, they can establish the proper control program, perform plumbing smoke testing and locate the breach that is allowing the problem to continue.
It is simple, serviceable and easy to document.
Most importantly, it gives pest professionals a new way to close the final gap in pest-control programs—the plumbing.
Detect it. Prove it. Control it. Find the breach.
Stop guessing. Start solving—Become The Next Sewer Assassin.
How to Monitor Sewer-Based Pest Activity Directly Inside Plumbing
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Sewer Assassin Monitoring Glue Board?
The Sewer Assassin Monitoring Glue Board is designed for use with the Sewer Assassin Plumbing Monitor and Control Station. It allows pest-management professionals to monitor pest activity directly inside a plumbing cleanout instead of relying only on monitors placed inside the structure.
What pests can the monitoring glue board detect?
The glue board is primarily intended to monitor insect activity, including American cockroaches and drain flies associated with plumbing and sewer systems. If rodents are suspected, the Sewer Assassin station can be configured with appropriate rodent-monitoring components.
Where can the Sewer Assassin Monitoring Glue Board be installed?
The monitoring board can be deployed with a Sewer Assassin station inside compatible 3-inch or 4-inch plumbing cleanouts. It can also be used as a traditional monitoring board in kitchens, bathrooms, utility rooms, mechanical areas and other suitable locations.
How can plumbing monitoring help identify the source of pest activity?
When the same pests are captured indoors and inside the plumbing system, technicians gain valuable evidence that the drain or sewer line may be contributing to the infestation. This can support further investigation, including plumbing smoke testing to help locate possible breaches or failed connections.
Can the station be converted from monitoring to pest control?
If targeted pest activity is confirmed inside the plumbing, the Sewer Assassin station may be configured for an appropriate control program. Pest-control products must always be selected and used according to their labels and the intended application.
