Pest infestations are a restaurant owner’s worst nightmare. They can halt operations, leading to fines and forced closure, and have a devastating effect on your reputation and your future success.

Unfortunately, large quantities of food and drink, and warmth are not only attractive to your guests, but also exactly what many of the most common pest species in the UK are looking for in a nesting site and without the appropriate pest prevention in place, you could soon yourself with a major problem.

It is easy to put the nightmare idea of pests scuttling about your restaurant to the back of your mind and hope that you won’t be the one unlucky enough the be targeted, but this is a recipe for disaster. Instead, take heed of these 6 top tips for the best way to prevent pests from accessing your restaurant in the first place.

Why is restaurant pest control so important?

Before we look at how you can prevent pests from targeting your restaurant, it is essential that you first understand the threat they pose.

Food safety should be the main priority of any restaurant owner worth the name and a failure to control pests will compromise yours massively.

Pest infestations have the potential to:

• Cause your restaurant to be closed temporarily or permanently by the local authority
• Put the health of staff and customers at risk
• Contaminate food and spread a variety of nasty diseases
• Tarnish your reputation within the local community should news spread across social media or in the local press
• Pose a fire risk if rodents choose to gnaw through your restaurant’s electrical wiring
• Cost you thousands of pounds in property repair or replacing lost/contaminated foodstuffs

6 tips to avoid pest infestations in restaurants

Store food correctly

Easy access to food is the main attraction of restaurants to most pests and storing yours correctly will help the reduce the likelihood of being targeted.

All food should be stored in airtight containers and food waste disposed of in sealed bags placed into self-closing external bins that are cleared as regularly as possible.

Clean up spills

Pests are a lot less picky when it comes to food than your customers and will happily feed on spilled food and drink.

Makes sure that any spillages are cleared away promptly and used dishes are cleaned immediately after use to prevent the build-up of residue attracting unwanted guests.

Arrange regular pest controller visits

A local pest control firm such as Harvey Environmental Services shouldn’t be an emergency only contact, they should be someone you work with on an ongoing basis to create an effective pest prevention plan.

Having a pest professional visit your restaurant on a regular basis will help you identify the earliest possible signs of pest activity and take precautions to guard against a repeat incident.

These highly trained individuals will know all the places to look for potential pests as well as having an in-depth knowledge of pest control legislation that they can use to help you meet all of your pest related obligations.

Install fly screens on windows and doors

In the summer months, flies and wasps are a constant battle that must be won by restaurants looking to maintain a hygienic environment without boiling to death.

Electric fly killers are one option, but these still require flies to enter your premises first, buzzing around and annoying customers before meeting their end. Fly screens on the other hand are a simple way to guard against flying insect pests whilst still allowing you to open your windows and doors and keep your restaurant at a comfortable temperature during the summer months.

Seal any obvious gaps

It is common knowledge that pests will exploit even the smallest of gaps in their search for food and shelter.

Pests are crafty enough, without rolling out the red carpet for them so conduct an extensive examination of your entire property looking for and sealing as many gaps as possible.

Make sure that all your doors fit perfectly in their frame and that door sweeps are fitted to the bottom to prevent pests from crawling underneath.

Check your pipework and guttering for any cracks and have them repaired before insects can exploit them.

Train your staff

It is not enough for you as the restaurant owner to be aware of best practice regarding pest activity, your staff needs to be just as committed to the pest prevention plan you have in place for it to be effective.

Make pest control a key topic of staff training and ensure that each and every member of your team is fully aware of the responsibilities that they have and why they are so important.