Pest control and contractors

Pest Control is one of the key components of good manufacturing practices or a business’s hygiene controls. It is essential that the contractor providing this service must be a recognised provider.

It is not a great idea for a food business to do pest control themselves or to have a contractor that is only doing domestic pest control. A food business has specific pest control needs and legal requirements, so it is vital that it utilises the services of someone who understands those. Therefore, it is a good idea to use the services of one of the larger providers as these are the ones doing the big food businesses, and therefore have the required knowledge and skills to be a pest contractor for a food business -regardless of it’s size.

Pest control is not all about sprays and traps, it should first be about design. It is better to first build the pests out and then to train staff in closing doors etc, before thinking about spraying and trapping.

When pest spraying, only chemicals which are food grade should be used, and a copy of the current safety data sheet for that chemical should be held by the business.

Poisons like that used for killing rodents should not be used within the walls of the business, so traps are the only alternative. This prevents poison from being in the business and also stops the affected rodent from becoming a potential source of contamination.

There should be a map showing where all pest control is located, and that includes the insectocutor (or bug zapper). A good pest controller will know exactly where to place each of these items and will supply a map showing that.

There should also be some form of Pest Log for staff to record what they have seen and where. This is an important document as it gives a permanent record and allows the pest contractor to identify activity and record actions taken.

A man was recently fined $19 0000 in Victoria for six breaches of that states pest control laws. The main part of the case was around the licences and training. It is essential that food business only use suitably licenced and trained pest controllers.