Make Your Facility Less Attractive for Pests

Break down and remove empty boxes. Pests, including rodents and cockroaches, use cardboard boxes for harborage. Cockroaches even eat the glue that holds these boxes together.

Hot Spot 3: Employee Areas

Just as pests can arrive in shipments, they can also hitchhike inside the facility on employees’ personal belongings or uniforms; small pests can burrow inside pant cuffs and enter the facility unnoticed. Food and water in break rooms or locker areas can sustain pests.

Ask employees to keep all food and beverages in tightly sealed containers and clean their lockers.

Regularly mop and sweep floors, and check the floor under ice or vending machines or around plumbing for leaking water.

Keep lined and tightly covered trash cans available in all employee areas. Remove waste regularly to outdoor disposal zones.

Hot Spot 4: Waste Disposal Zones

Unlike humans, pests gravitate toward odors that emanate from waste areas, which signal the presence of food. Dumpsters also offer shelter, while decaying organic matter can serve as a breeding spot for flies.

Work with a waste management company to remove all trash from the property regularly.

Don’t allow trash to sit unattended next to the building or around the dumpster. Secure all waste inside a dumpster or similar disposal device.

Position dumpsters as far from the building as possible, and rotate and clean them on a set schedule. Consider sanitizing dumpsters with an organic cleaner—similar to the one used in floor drains—to eliminate grease and grime.

Wash down the sidewalk and parking lot surrounding the facility to remove any waste or food debris.

Work with your staff and a pest management professional to incorporate these tips into a written sanitation program, and make sure that all employees understand their roles in the effort. Effective sanitation can help ensure that your product remains safe from pests and other hazards and that your facility does its part in the battle for food safety.

Dr. Siddiqi is a quality assurance director for Orkin Inc. in Atlanta. A board-certified entomologist with more than 30 years in the industry, Dr. Siddiqi is an acknowledged leader in the field of pest management. For more information, e-mail him at [email protected].