Insects and rodents are always happy to come across a quick and easy meal. If the health department conducts a search of your business and they find evidence of insects and/or rodents it could be devastating to your business. The health department may not shut down your establishment but your reputation being destroyed by rumors is enough to ruin you. Insects and rodents are known to carry harmful bacteria that can contaminate food and result in widespread illnesses. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year, approximately 1 in 6 Americans gets sick, 128,000 people are hospitalized and more than 3,000 people die from various food-borne illnesses.
Signs You May Have Pests in Your Commercial Kitchen, Restaurant or Other Food Handling Facility
You may have rodents scurrying around if you notice small black droppings about the size of rice grains for mice or the size of jelly beans for rats. You may also notice a strong smell of ammonia or see nests made from fabric or lint. Cockroaches will leave egg casings that are black, brown or dark red in color, small droppings that look like pepper specks. If you notice a large number of flies around the garbage cans or the dumpster you may have a fly infestation. Fortunately, seeing a few flies every once and a while doesn’t necessarily mean you have an infestation.
Pest Prevention Tips
The best way to keep pests out is to block their way in. Do this by blocking entry points (exclusion) and eliminating sources of food, water and shelter. The exclusion method is done by sealing holes and inspecting shipments for signs of pests and rodents to help keep them out of your establishment. Pests and rodents are always looking for food, water and shelter so it’s best to prevent them from gaining access to your establishment in the first place. Other ways to prevent pest infestations are by keeping things sanitary. This can be achieved by cleaning, storing food away from walls and six inches above the floor, disposing of trash on a regular basis and making sure to keep the dumpster area clean.
Taking the Proper Precautions when Handling & Processing Food
If you don’t take proper measures for prevention it could result in product recalls, poor audit scores, lost sales if production is stopped, compensation claims, and a loss of customer confidence and revenue. In environments where food processing occurs, quality pest control is a must. The proper techniques need to be used as to not threaten food safety. Most times pest management is an ongoing process and not just a one-time event. Using only chemical controls is never the best option with all the other tools available in controlling pests and rodents. The root cause should always be determined, which includes access to food, water and shelter. Many times infestations can be prevented before pesticides need to be used. When you hire a professional pest control company, we help to work with food facility directors to adhere to the ever-changing regulations in the food safety industry. We will conduct an inspection of the facility and work to find out the conditions that are attracting the pests to your establishment.
Custom Pest Management
Whether you run a restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas, a school cafeteria in Muskogee, a food processing plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma or any other type of food handling or processing facility in our wide service area, Pied Piper Services can assist! If you notice any signs of insects or rodents in your facility, feel free contact us. We will consult with you and customize a program that is specific to the needs of your facility. This is imperative to prevent future infestations and the bottom line of your business. Call Pied Piper Services today.