Hanbook-Pest Control Industry

Insects and rodents have been in competition with us for food since humans first walked the earth, Billions of dollars in food products are lost each year due to pests, and the restaurant industry spends an estimated 1.5 billion dollars annually to control them. Pests can carry and transmit diseases, including foodborne illnesses through cross-contamination, and can damage buildings, equipment and consumer confidence, While pest is defined as any plant or animal that is detrimental to man, in the restaurant industry, the particular species of animals and insects identified as pests are well established. Cockroaches, mice, rats, flies and some birds are probably the most common, and there are specific measures that can be taken to manage them. Although the goal certainly is to completely eradicate pests, the impossibility of that task means we must find the best ways of controlling them, Understanding basic control principles will assist your operation in accomplishing the following: Maintaining consumer confidence: There is nothing less appetizing than spotting a cockroach, fly or rat while dining. Even if a food establishment is clean and the meal is exquisite, it pests are a problem, a Customer may remember only them. Incorporating preventive measures: Simply hiring a pest control operator (PCO) to visit your establishment on a routine basis to do some spraying is not enough. Basic preventive measures should be taken before the technician arrives and adhered to after the technical treatment. Inspections, monitoring, building repair and maintenance, sanitation, landscape design, garbage/trash disposal and delivery procedures all play important roles in deterring and controlling pests. Assuring reliable contract service: If a restaurant operator does hire a PCO, but does not make contact on each visit, the PCO may conclude that the operator does not really care. Even if he is wrong, a PCO with this perception may be more likely to provide minimal in-and-out type treatment. On the other hand, if a restaurant operator possesses a basic understanding of pest control principles and demonstrates an interest and willingness to do what is necessary from an operational standpoint, exceptional service is almost guaranteed. Perform random walk-through inspections with the technician, ask questions, take notes, point out any implemented preventive measures and ask for recommendations.