A town built around a castle and a harbour
Bodrum centre grew up around the castle and the harbour. The bazaar, restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels sit close together, and just behind them are apartment blocks where people live all year round. The centre is a shop window for visitors and an ordinary neighbourhood at the same time, so the pest problems found here tend to show both faces.
Shared walls, shared drains
Where shops stand shoulder to shoulder, walls, flues and drains are often shared as well, and they give pests a route from one business to the next. A spotless unit can still have trouble if the one beside it does. For that reason an inspection in the centre looks at the points where buildings connect, not only at your own counter or kitchen. Cockroaches are the best-known example, and if you are unsure which kind you are seeing, the guide to cockroach egg cases helps you tell.
Restaurants, cafes and bars
Kitchens that stay open all day, tables spilling onto the pavement and service running late leave only short gaps for cleaning and checking. The places worth a look in those gaps are the wash-up area, the dry store, the bin exit and the space under the counter. Our pages on restaurant pest control and cafe pest control cover them in detail, and getting ready for a restaurant inspection turns the same points into a short preparation routine.
Bins and waste in the warm months
Narrow streets, limited collection times and several businesses sharing one bin area make a combination that brings smells and flies in summer. A lid left open, a trickle of wash-water or a stack of crates can quickly become a magnet for ants, flies and cockroaches. Rinsing around the containers, tying bags at the neck and keeping food waste apart is a sensible start. For the habits inside the kitchen itself, see our kitchen pest prevention routine.
Flats behind the bazaar
In apartment blocks behind the bazaar, trouble usually travels through the bin room, the drains and shared shafts. When several flats complain, acting together with the building manager works far better than treating one flat at a time. The apartment building pest control page explains how we approach it.
Old buildings and gaps in the structure
Some buildings in the centre have been in use for a very long time, and over time pipework, flues and the spaces between walls can open up. Those gaps let pests travel inside a building. In a block with a business on the ground floor and homes above, a problem that starts in a kitchen or store can climb through the service gaps to the floors over it. The direction is usually upwards, so it helps when both the business owner and the residents take part in the visit, and when the building manager is told. Jot down what you have seen and where; it makes the inspection quicker.
Asking for an inspection in the centre
You can request a free inspection through the appointment form, by phone or on WhatsApp. Our office is in Akçaalan. If you are looking at the neighbouring areas, see Gümbet pest control and Akçaalan pest control, or open the full list of service areas.