Hot and sweaty summer days are just around the corner, and while you may be dreaming about flocking to the beach to cool down, have you given any thought to the flurry of little creatures who could be flocking to your manufacturing premises during the hotter months?
The summer months are peak breeding time for pests, and FMCG companies need to be proactive rather than reactive when the heat picks up.
Prevention is better than cure
Failing to plan, is planning to fail, so before it’s too late, get wise about what you can do to prevent infestations.
David Spero, general manager of PestOz, highlighted the importance of keeping spaces immaculately clean and dry.
“Keep it clean and dry, with no dirty dishes in sinks, and try to get rid of as much cardboard as possible,” Spero warned.
Often cockroaches can enter food manufacturing spaces by travelling in on cardboard from suppliers. Many places that PestOz works with have followed their recommendations and avoid keeping cardboard on their premises at all.
“They hatch in the cardboard and come out,” David said. “many establishments have followed our recommendations and don’t keep cardboard at all now, everything goes into plastic containers.”
PestOz treats commercial and residential spaces for rodents, flies, cockroaches and spiders. They work primarily with hospitality business and are experienced in treating food production spaces.
For food industry spaces like these, particular care is given to ensure there is no rick of contamination. A HACCP-approved spray is used that is both water-based and odourless; and employees can re-enter the space once it has dried.
“Generally people cannot be in there when you’re spraying and they’re only allowed back in once it’s dry; depending on the weather, it can dry in an hour or two hours,” he said.
“All the chemicals we use are AVPMA approved so the stuff is pretty safe. But before we spray we always ask questions to make sure there are no pets, children, fish or things like that around.”
One speck of poison could kill a whole fish tank so a thorough inspection is always completed beforehand.
Sprays and poisons are only used when necessary and only on the ground. Often gels and powders under the cracks and crevices do the trick, and are a safer option.
The amount of spraying to deal with or prevent infestations depends on the type of business and location, with nearby waterways and fields posing additional risks.
“A lot of restaurant and hotel businesses have pest prevention services every month, or every three months; while factories or big offices could be every three, six or 12 months.”
A lot of the time businesses are not even aware of infestations, Spero said, particularly concerning cockroaches which generally come out at night when it’s dark and quiet.
“When we do inspections, we’re looking underneath shelving and counters, inside dishwashers and behind fridges,” he said.
Besides being generally good practice, food safety inspections are a big push towards regular inspections, but authorities are unlikely to close a business unless there are recurring issues.
“We live in a humid area and you’re always going to get cockroaches and rodents in these areas. Health inspectors are around all the time and if there are problems they’ll pick it up.”
The biggest problem Spero encounters is clients that are unwilling to work on the issues.
“We photograph issues that we come across and strongly suggest that those areas are addressed,” he said. “If it’s dirty behind fridges, we include that in our reports and expect it to be clean next time.”
Businesses have to live up to their end of the bargain, whether that’s by retraining staff or hiring new cleaners.
“We have to work as a team,” he added.
Read more about Pest Oz at https://pestoz.com.au/
