Where there’s food, there are pests — it’s an unfortunate truth all restaurant owners face. The abundance of snacking opportunities, ideal moisture and temperature conditions, and sites perfect for harboring critters, creates plenty of potential for unwanted dinner guests.

Whether it’s flies in your dining room or rodents in dry storage, unwanted pests will be a bust for any business. A significant pest problem will even prevent you from complying with the necessary health department regulations to keep your restaurant open to the public.

Fortunately, most of these problems can be avoided with a few security measures and proper pest control.

(Not a restaurant owner? We have plenty of tips to keep pests out of your home pantry, too.)

Common Problem Areas and How to Protect Them

The main pest concerns in any restaurant are cockroaches, stored product pests (like beetles, weevils and moths), flies, and rodents. Once you identify the main problem areas in your restaurant, it’s easier to develop a strategy for managing pest infestations.

Outdoor Dumpster Areas

These places are an open invitation to pests if waste disposal isn’t handled properly. And once they’re in your garbage, it’s only a matter of time before they follow the food trail to get inside the kitchen — especially if you leave the door open for them to fly or crawl through.

To protect the dumpster area:

• Make sure all bags are sealed before being thrown away
• Firmly close dumpster lids when they aren’t in use
• Clean additional food debris from the area

 

Drains and Cleaning Supply Storage Areas

Places that collect moisture, such as sink and floor drains and cleaning stations, are the perfect breeding ground for flies. Flies feed on any food left in these spaces, and where they feed, they will breed. Before you know it, you’re restaurant will be taken over by flying pests.

To protect drains and supply spaces:

• Dry cleaning equipment before putting it away
• Keep drains clear and free of organic matter
• Store mops and hoses away from food preparation areas

 

Food Storage Areas

Open food containers attract cockroaches and ants, so proper food storage is a must. Your dry storage facilities and main kitchen space are at high risk for insects looking for a tasty treat. Cracks, crevices, and hollow areas in equipment legs are all typical havens for roaches, ants and mice.

To protect food storage and your kitchen:

• Keep dry storage areas clean and tidy
• Follow proper food rotation procedures (“first in, first out”)
• Seal obvious cracks or voids, and try to block hollow areas from cockroaches or rodents

 

How to Treat an Infestation 

Some unwanted guests, like rodents and cockroaches, leave behind obvious clues of their presence, while others, like moths and beetles, are more stealthy. For stealthy pests, a few well-placed glue boards should do the trick. If pests have found their way into your restaurant, you have a few ways to send them packing.

Baits and liquid treatments can be a good temporary fix, but the full spectrum of drain management, as well as termite control, from a pest professional will provide a long-lasting treatment.

Keep in mind that steam, heat, moisture, and grease — all of which are found in a restaurant— can reduce the effectiveness of many products used to control pests. So proper application and continued follow-up is a must.

Hopefully the tips outlined here will help you avoid any major problems, but if a large infestation should occur or if you want advice on how to better prevent pests in your restaurant, remember to call a pest professional at Arrow for a thorough inspection.

They may be creeping in your home and you don’t even realize it… They spend all their time eating away at the wood and never get tired… what are they? TERMITES! These wood destroying insects can be in your home for years without you even realizing it! Also known as the ‘silent destroyer’, a termite is an insect that eats wood as its main source of food. They build satellite colonies away from their food source and then travel to their food source to eat the wood from the inside out. If this food source is your home, you have plenty of reasons to worry!

What kind of damage can termites do?

Because termite damage isn’t obvious to begin with, their damage is usually overlooked for YEARS. As they begin their feeding on the wood in your structure, you may never even realize they are present. Eventually they hollow out the wood in your home’s structure, making it look water or weather damaged and packing it full of ‘mud’, which is really just termite excrement. Wood can look saggy or droopy and wood that has extensive termite damage can become structurally unsound.

What are signs of termites?

As we already mentioned, it can be challenging to recognize a termite infestation until the problem becomes out of hand. Some signs of termites may include:

• Mud tubes along walls- these tubes are used by termites to travel to your home from their colony, which is usually located outside and away from your home. Since termites dry out easily, the mud protects them and keeps their delicate bodies moist.
• Painted wood that has termite damage looks blistered and the paint can peel.
• Shed termite wings are a sign that termites have ‘swarmed’ in or near your home. These ‘swarms’ are what happens when the reproductive termites fly up out of the ground and attempt to find a mate. Once a mate is chosen, the termites drop to the ground, their wings fall off and they go in search of a place to build their new colony.
• Wood that has termite damage may sound hollow when tapped on.
• Door and window frames with termite damage look like they are sagging.
• Termite damage can present like water damage, but if you look closely, you may see termite mud seeping through cracks or fractures in the wood.

CALL NOW!

The German cockroach is one of the most common roaches found in apartment houses, restaurants, and hotels. German cockroaches (eggs included), are “brought in”, usually on man’s belongings, luggage, boxes or packages.

All it takes is bringing in one egg capsule, six months later you have an infestation.

German Roach Control & Treatments
German Roaches & Sanitation
When beginning your German roach control program, sanitation is one of the first things to consider. German roaches only need a small amount of food to sustain them.

Remove indoor trash or keep them emptied.
Keep trash dumpsters clean.
Make sure food is not left in sink stainers and frequently run the garbage disposal.
Keep dishes clean, no residue of food remaining.
All kitchen appliances (microwaves, toasters, ovens, refrigerators and stoves) should be maintained in a clean condition so that it is food free and grease free.
All pet food needs to be picked up.
No food left out.
Sweeping or vacuuming of any food particles or crumbs.
Clean any crumbs or food particles in your kitchen cabinets.
Inspection : Look for Evidence
When inspecting for German cockroaches, thoroughness is very important. It is important to place the insecticides as close to their runways and harborages as possible. Their excrement looks like black pepper.

A flashlight would be a handy tool to check the following places.

• Cracks and Crevices
• Behind and under refrigerators
• Behind and under stoves
• Behind and under microwavesa and toasters
• Under tops of tables
• Behind and under sinks
• Cabinets-corners and cracks and crevices
• Motors of refrigerators and soft drink dispensing machines
• Switchboxes and electical outlets
• Under and behind cafeteria counters and soda fountains
• Cash registers
• Telephones
• Vegetable bins
• ecycling bins
• Meat counters and check-out stands
• Meat cutting blocks
• Anywhere else conditions are favorable.
• Every situation may be different, inspect all places with favorable conditions