Pest Control for Restaurants and Food Service

Areas of Concern Outside

Every restaurant has some primary areas of concern outside that always pose a threat to maintaining a pest free environment.

1. Bright Exterior Lights: Lots of flying insects are drawn to bright lights. Bright parking lot light attract a large number of bugs which inevitably spread to smaller building lights close to open windows and doors. These bugs will eventually find their way in, so the use of bug zappers strategically placed away from entrances and exits is a way to reduce the bugs drawn in by lights.
2. Entrance & Exit Access Points: Doors and windows should be kept closed whenever they are not in use. They should have air curtains installed to help prevent flying bugs from coming in and door sweeps to block rodents from using the gap under a door to gain access to a restaurant.
3. Dumpsters & Waste Collection: Dumpsters are usually outside and contain mostly food that has been discarded. The sheer volume of food will attract rodents, roaches, ants, and other bugs which will require on-going monitoring. These containers should be somewhere away from your building and should be tightly secured at all times. 

Areas of Concern Inside

The inside of each building presents an even bigger problem with so many places to hide:

1. Dining Areas: Next to in the food itself, this is possibly the worst place you want to have bugs and rodents be seen. Customers generally don’t approve of pest infested restaurants and dining areas that have pest activity can become an immediate problem. Tables and seats should be regularly cleared and wiped down to minimize the amount of food and crumbs that pests can feed on.
2. Food Prep Areas: Areas where food is being prepared likely has scraps laying around. These areas will need to be kept clean to ensure that they don’t attract pests and rodents.
3. Storage Areas: Dry storage can be difficult to maintain once pantry pests take hold. Avoiding them will require a good level of vigilance when it comes to incoming food deliveries. It is also important to elevate food off the ground by 6 inches and kept 12 inches from the wall to be able to inspect all food supplies. Following a FIFO (first in, first out) strategy will ensure that old product is sold first to reduce the chances of something going bad and attracting more bugs.
4. Trash: All trash cans are an immediate threat and should be lined and kept shut whenever they are not being used. In the event of spillage, the trash cans themselves should also be rinsed off and kept clean.
5. Drains: Floor drains and sink drains or anywhere washing can be done is usually a breeding ground for drain flies. Ensuring that drains are clear of debris and regularly disinfected with cleaning agents should help stop fly populations.
6. Employee Locker Room: Sometimes, employees are the cause of bugs in a restaurant. Leaving open food containers and drinks in lockers can lead to ants and roaches in a short period if not closely monitored. Pest prevention strategy will be provided to restaurant employees and staff to ensure they know how to avoid attracting pests and when to report pest activity.