We’ve all seen the viral videos of restaurant kitchens filled with cockroaches, giant rats walking through grocery stores, and mice in a meat display at Whole Foods.
If you have a pest infestation at your business, especially if it is food-related, you might find that it is going to cost you a lot more than just paying an exterminator to get rid of them. From lost customers to health department violations, bugs, rodents, and other pests in your place of business are a huge problem.
The best way to avoid this is to prevent pests. Read on to learn more about our best preventative pest control tips.
Block Their Entry Points
Rodents and bugs can squeeze through the tiniest of cracks or holes. By blocking their entry points, you can keep any outside bugs or rodents out of your kitchen, grocery store, or other business. If you see any holes in your walls, cracks along the bottom, areas around doors that don’t seal, patch them up.
A professional exterminator can also identify these entry points for you and seal them off as well. When you get shipments of food, make sure to inspect them for any pests as well. This is a common way that they make their way into your business.
Remove Sources of Food or Shelter
Bugs and rodents are typically looking for food, water, and shelter, and when they find it in your place of business, they’re going to keep coming back and they’ll multiply. Just like you want to cut off their access points, you should also cut off their food and water supply and make sure they don’t have anywhere to hide.
Make sure that all food is properly stored away from walls and 6 inches off the floor, clean up any spills or messes, keep dumpster areas clean, don’t allow any standing water to pool on the floor, keep work equipment up off the floor, and dispose of trash properly.
Recognize the Signs of Pests
Despite your best efforts, you might find that a pest or two makes their way inside. To get rid of them as quickly as possible, you need to recognize the signs of an infestation.
Some of the most common signs include droppings (especially from rodents and cockroaches), strong oily odors (cockroaches), a strong smell of ammonia (urine from rodents), and flies around garbage cans or dumpsters.
If you notice any of these signs, take action immediately to prevent them from getting worse. You can learn more here about commercial pest treatment and prevention.
Use These Tips to Prevent Pests
If you use our tips to prevent pests, you can avoid public shame and ridicule when someone spots a bug or rodent in your establishment. It’s hard to overcome the reputation of running a business that seems dirty and customers may have trouble getting the vision of a pest out of their mind.
If you found these tips helpful, be sure to check out some of our other useful articles.