Pest control is an element of facilities management that can save lives and the business bottom line. fmME looks into integrated pest management systems and gives you a check list to keep your facility safe
The cornerstone of an effective integrated pest management (IPM) programme is a schedule of regular inspections. These inspections should focus on areas where pests are most likely to appear: receiving docks, storage areas, employee break rooms, sites of recent ingredient spills et al. Also, identify any potential entry points, food and water sources, or harborage zones that might encourage pest problems. The following steps give a framework to build an IPM programme around.
Preventative action
As regular inspections reveal vulnerabilities in your pest management programme, take steps to address them before they cause a real problem in your facility.
One of the most effective prevention measures is exclusion, performing structural maintenance to close potential entry points revealed during inspection.
By physically keeping pests out, you can reduce the need for chemical countermeasures, which should be considered as the last course of action. Likewise, sanitation and housekeeping will eliminate potential food and water sources, reducing the attraction for pests.
Identification
Different pests have different behaviours. By identifying the problematic species, pests can be eliminated more efficiently and with the least risk of harm to other organisms. Professional pest management always starts with the correct identification of the pest in question. Make sure your pest control provider undergoes rigorous training in pest identification and behaviour.
Analysis
Once you have properly identified the pest, you need to understand why it is in your facility. Is there food debris or moisture accumulation that may be attracting it? What about odours? How are the pests finding their way in - through the floors or walls? Could incoming shipments be infested? The answers to these questions will lead to the best choice of control techniques.
Integrated pest management stresses the use of non-chemical control methods, such as exclusion or trapping, before moving to chemical options. When other control methods have failed or are inappropriate for the situation, chemicals may be used in their least volatile formulations in targeted areas.
Often, the right treatment will consist of a combination of responses, from chemical treatments to baiting to trapping. But by focusing on non-chemical options first, you can ensure that your pest management programme is effectively eliminating pests at the least risk to your food safety programme, non-target organisms and the environment.
You’ll also see higher pest control scores at audit time.
Monitoring
Since pest management is an ongoing process, constantly monitoring your facility for pest activity, implementing operational changes can protect against infestation and help eliminate existing ones.
Indeed, as the pest management professional may visit the facility on a bi-weekly or weekly basis, your personnel on the ground need to be the daily eyes and ears of the IPM programme. Employees should be aware of sanitation issues that affect the programme, and should report any signs of pest activity to minimise costly downtime when reacting to an infestation of any sort.
Documentation
The food safety auditor’s visit can make or break your business. Since pest control can account for up to 20 percent of your total score, it’s imperative that your IPM programme is ready for scrutiny at audit time. Up-to-date pest control documentation is one of the first signs to an auditor that your facility takes pest control seriously.
Important documents include a scope of service, pest activity reports, service reports, corrective action reports, trap layout maps, lists of approved pesticides, pesticide usage reports and applicator licenses.
To ensure that your IPM programme reaches its potential, approach your relationship with your pest management professional as a partnership. Open communication and cooperation between you, your staff and your provider is key. The benefits are fewer headaches, safer products and better audit scores.
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