A Guide to Your Facility’s Pest Control Hot Spots

Staying on top of maintenance and sanitation is a constant challenge — especially when it comes to food safety. So we’ve teamed up with NSF International to provide a series of free tips that can help ensure your facility is protected from head to toe against pests and the diseases they can carry.

Here’s a sample of some tips we provide around preparing for the facility walk-through portion of your next audit:

• Exterior – Make sure all landscaping is mowed and trimmed, and that the outdoor premises are free of litter, weeds, pallets and other clutter that may provide harborage or breeding places for insects, birds, rodents and other pests. Also, work with your landscaping team to create a gravel perimeter of at least 18 inches or more around the entire perimeter of your facility.

• Entrances & Windows – Check all external windows and ventilation openings to ensure they are effectively sealed when closed and proofed against dust. All doors, including overhead doors, should have a tight seal with no visible light observed between the floor and doorjambs.

• Interior – Check the inside walls to ensure they're clear and clean to allow for proper inspection. Any spilled or damaged products or ingredients should be cleaned up or disposed of immediately to help prevent pest attraction.

• Traps & Monitoring Devices – Ensure all traps and monitoring devices are strategically placed based on the recommendations of your pest management professional. Regularly check and clean the monitoring devices. Light traps should be installed in a way that doesn't attract insects to the facility.

• Bird & Wildlife Control – Birds should be controlled by exclusion using nets, traps and other appropriate structural modifications. Any bird activity, corrective actions and results should be noted as part of the in-depth facility documentation.

Check out the first blog post in this series on how to avoid poor documentation in audited food facilities.

If you're hungry for more about the latest in food safety audits, check out our Special Report about the Food Safety Modernization Act.