The 6 Common Restaurant Pests to Watch out For
We’ve all heard stories of insects ending up in someone’s soup and damaging a restaurant’s reputation (and business). Aside from resulting in an angry diner, complaints about pest sightings, dead insects or their random body parts in food items can easily get you penalised by the regulating authorities. These can even lead to the closure of your business, which is why, as a restaurant owner, you ought to always be on the lookout for such nuisances and prepared when there’s a pest sighting in your establishment.
Awareness Is Key
The first step to protecting your restaurant from creepy crawlies is by knowing what pests to watch out for and how to prevent them. Read on and discover the most common restaurant pests that can ruin your business.
1. Rats and Mice
Restaurants are a haven for rodents. Not only are there several food and water sources easily accessible to them, but a restaurant also provides them with warmth especially during Winter.
Widely known as food contaminators, rats and mice damage food, products, packaging and equipment through their gnawing, feeding and breeding. They also often carry illnesses which can easily be transferred through contact or their droppings, posing a threat to the health and safety of a restaurant. These illnesses include, but are not limited to, rat-bite fever, Salmonellosis, Leptospirosis and Murine Typhus.
2. Cockroaches
Apart from being particularly (if not the most) scary for most customers, cockroaches can establish huge infestations quickly and contaminate the area by releasing bio-waste like faeces, disgorged food and their own smell. They can also pollute indoor air with tiny parts of their exoskeletons.
3. Flies
Different fly species are attracted to different kinds of food odours coming from kitchens. Take fruit flies and drain flies for example. The former like fermented sugary liquids and can gather in bars and kitchens. The latter, on the other hand, are attracted to sewage and rotting food.
Flies carry vector-borne diseases and harbour pathogenic bacteria. It is recommended to opt for professional pest control when it comes to their eradication as they’re often immune to regular cleaning chemicals.
4. Stinging Pests
Bees, wasps and mosquitoes are major threats and nuisances to restaurants with an outdoor dining or waiting area. Not only are these pests annoying, but they’re also very dangerous, considering their painful stings can trigger severe allergic reactions in some cases.
5. Ants
Proper ant treatment begins with the correct identification of ant species present as different types pose different issues for restaurants. Whilst some ants can be managed with baits, different methods are required by others. Tracing the ants back to their colonies is also necessary for effective treatment.
6. Stored Product Pests
Moths, weevils and beetles are some of the most common pests attracted to stored food products. They can arrive within your next food shipment and make a home in your restaurant’s cabinets, cupboards and shelves.
Stored product pests can breed and build huge populations rapidly and are known to leave their eggs and larvae behind, contaminating food items.
Apart from prioritising your establishment’s sanitation and cleanliness, the best way to prevent the pests mentioned above is by employing the services of a reputable pest manager—just like Bob Gunn Termite Solutions.
Let us help you protect the reputation and ensure the integrity of your restaurant. Commercial pest control for the food and beverage industry is one of our specialties. For enquires or a FREE quote, get in touch with us today.
