Keeping On Top of Pests: Termites

If you own or manage a restaurant, hygiene and food safety are your top priorities. You can do everything else right and bring in plenty of customers, but if you're putting their health at risk, it won't be long before you get into serious trouble or even get shut down.

An integral part of keeping your restaurant and kitchen safe is controlling pests. Unfortunately, there are a lot of misconceptions about pest control, which leads to people taking inappropriate action. Here are some of the things you might believe, and why they're nothing more than myths.

You'll know if you have an infestation

It's true that some pests will leave a trace, like droppings or shed carapaces. You may even sometimes find dead bugs littered about, which will let you know for sure you have a problem.

In many cases, however, these telltale signs only appear when you have a severe infestation, and even then, there's no guarantee. Plenty of pests go completely unnoticed, but they still cause poor hygiene and put your restaurant at risk.

The only way to deal with the problem for certain is to call a professional for an inspection and some preventative measures.

It's easy to deal with pest control

There are plenty of products on the market for dealing with any type of pest. In general, though, these are different to the ones used by professionals, and with good reason.

First of all, they're not as effective as the substances used by professional pest controllers. They might also be unsafe to use in a kitchen, and it's difficult to get the application doses just right.

When you use a store-bought pest product, you also risk rodents and insects dying in their nests or hidden behind kitchen equipment, which will cause you serious problems in itself. A professional can help you make sure this doesn't happen.

Good hygiene is enough to keep pests at bay

Keeping your restaurant clean and storing ingredients properly limits food sources for pests, which can reduce your risk of an infestation.

However, it doesn't eliminate it completely. Bugs and rodents are attracted to the warmth and shelter provided by buildings, which can be enough for them to take up residence. It's also extremely difficult to make sure there's nothing at all for them to eat, so some extra prevention is needed to really keep them away.

One pest is nothing to worry about

You may have seen a single mouse or just a couple of ants and thought getting rid of them was the end of the problem.

In reality, they got in somehow, and that means others will too. They may already be nesting somewhere, the majority of them hidden out of sight. If you evict one pest, make sure you get an expert in to inspect your business for more.

Contact a commercial pest control company for more information.