Protect and Prepare: Keep Your Food Business Free from Pests

Although they may be small, pests have the power to shut your restaurant down. If a customer or food safety inspector highlights a pest infestation at your premises, you'll have to close it until you resolve the problem. As well as losing business, you may see a hit to your reputation, which means fewer customers in the future.

Fortunately, having a knowledge of which pests target food businesses, how to spot them, and the way pest control companies can help will prevent you from reaching this stage. Keep reading to learn more about avoiding pest infestations. 

Fly Infestations in Your Food Business

Although the occasional fly isn't concerning, an infestation means bad news for your Darwin food business. After landing on garbage, animal dung, human excrement and other sources of contamination, each fly could then land on your food. As a result, any pathogens they pick up along the way could reach your customers' mouths. Examples of such pathogens include salmonella, e.coli, and some eye infections. 

Signs of a fly infestation at your food business include:

• Regular fly sightings in various areas of the building. 
• Finding maggots in trash and food-preparation areas. 
• Dark pin-prick sized spots only visible in light-coloured areas. 

You can keep flies away by using electrocuting grids, sticky traps and fly swatters. These measures are prophylactic; however, if you have an infestation, consider using a local pest control service. With the right qualifications, your pest control professionals will identify the fly type and eliminate them using techniques that are safe for your Darwin food business.

Cockroach Infestations in Your Restaurant

No customer wants to see a cockroach scuttling across the floor as they eat their meal. In addition to giving the impression your restaurant is unhygienic, they'll probably prevent the customer from returning. 

Although cockroaches don't pose a health risk to everyone, they trigger asthma attacks and may spread harmful pathogens. If you don't cover your food and one scuttles across, their feet will spread diseases they pick up in other areas of your restaurant.

If you want to prevent a cockroach infestation, you should:

• Seal food adequately. Cockroaches love to feast, so sealing off your food deprives them of sustenance.
• Clean surfaces. Similarly, cockroaches will head straight for crumbs. Clean your kitchen thoroughly.
• Seal your bins. Cockroaches aren't fussy over where they gather. Failing to seal your bins invites them to colonise and spread throughout your restaurant.
• Watch out for dampness. They love to inhabit damp areas. If your restaurant has a basement, keep it dry and avoid storing food there.

If you spot a cockroach, look out for signs of an infestation, such as: 

• Droppings: Cockroach droppings range from small coffee-ground-like substances to large cylindrical ones. The type depends on the cockroach breed.
• Smells: If an infestation is severe, you'll notice an oily or musty smell.
• Presence: You may spot both live and dead cockroaches.

Unfortunately, cockroach infestations are difficult to tackle. As robust creatures, they're resistant to a lot of chemicals. Pest control professionals can identify the cockroach breed that's affecting your restaurant and choose powerful chemicals that eliminate their presence.

Ant Infestations

In areas such as Darwin and Palmerston, an ant infestation is unlikely to cause a significant health hazard. This is more likely to happen in the developing world where hygiene control is poor. However, ants are hardly aesthetically pleasing. No customer wants to share a meal with them. Depending on the type of ant, your employees or customers may encounter bites, which can become painful or cause a rash.

Ants love uncovered food, unclean surfaces, and dirty dishes. The best way to prevent an infestation is to maintain high kitchen hygiene standards. Also, cover cracks or crevices where ants can enter your business, as well as acting as points of entry and nesting areas.

Signs of an ant infestation include:

• Seeing large numbers of ants on your floor and in doorways. 
• Spotting a trail of ants walking in and out of your food business. 
• Locating a nest, which looks like a pile of dirt. 

If you do have an ant infestation, identify the source or their nest before using ant killing chemicals. If you're struggling to determine where the ants come from, contact a pest expert. Local pest experts have experience in seeking them out and can apply chemicals effectively.

Whether your food business is in Darwin, Palmerston, or one of the surrounding areas, both prevention and a fast response are key to tackling pest infestations. With each type of pest, implementing a stringent hygiene plan all employees adhere to provides the best chance of preventing an outbreak. If one does occur, using a pest expert from your area resolves the problem quickly, reducing potential loss of business and restoring your reputation.