As the owner of a business, you spend a lot of your time tending to necessary maintenance tasks and making sure all operations are running as planned. When rodents intrude on your daily functions as a business, it can be a really big deal and can even have a negative impact in your business. Even though you may do all you can to ward off rodents, they could still be hiding out in some pretty sneaky places throughout your structure–specifically, in the ducts. To get an idea of whether or not you have a rodent issue in the ductwork in your business building, check out these three telltale signs and symptoms.

You have issues with rodents even though you try to be extremely vigilant about pest control.

You have done all you know to do to keep pests out of your business, from setting traps all over to reaching out to a pest control agent for help. However, you are still finding signs of rodents inside the building and can't seem to figure out where the things are hiding. Unfortunately, this could mean the rodents are hanging out in an area that is highly inconspicuous: the ducts.

Your business building develops a foul odor of ammonia when the HVAC system is running.

Odor is perhaps one of the most telltale indications that you have a rodent problem, and it is no different when the primary point of the problem is in the ducts. The rodent droppings and urine inside of the ducts will develop a very strong odor of ammonia over time. You will notice this odor mainly when the air or heat is running because as air is forced over the affected areas, it will pick up the odor and bring it through the vents.

You are having issues with heat and air loss in your ductwork.

Because ducts in commercial buildings are generally ran overhead and along the ceiling, which can be taller than a standard home, it may take a while before you notice problems with leaking ducts. For this reason, it is a good idea to have the entire ductwork system checked by an air conditioning repair professional during annual maintenance checks. If the technician spots signs of damage that are allowing heat and air to leak out, it could be due to a rodent problem inside. Rodents commonly chew through the duct material in order to create pathways to other places.