Connect the Dots with a Cockroach Assessment

‘‘Everyone wants to know, ‘What do we spray? What do we treat? What do we do?’ but the first thing you need to ask is, ‘Why is the cockroach there?’” said Dan Collins, president, Independent Pest Management Consulting in Evansville, Ind.

Collins advises food and beverage processing clients to conduct a site risk assessment first. Based on this information, create inspection points and then develop a treatment process for those areas.

It’s really a game of connect the dots.

“Say an oven has a history of German cockroaches inside the inlet and outlet, and this is very common,” Collins said, pointing to the high heat, humidity and presence of food as an appealing environment. “So, you make that oven an inspection point. Then when the PMP comes in, he can scan that bar code and acknowledge an inspection took place.”

Mapping inspection points and tracking captures at each will help guide a cockroach treatment program. “You have to be systematic in everything you do, and there needs to be an understanding on both sides that this is not a pest control issue or a food plant issue, it’s an ‘our’ issue,” Collins said. “It’s all of our jobs to make sure that cockroaches are not invited into the facility.”

Stopping Pest Entry. A site assessment also guides exclusion efforts — crevices that need sealing, production line “gaps” that require re-engineering, employee policies that demand improvement.

Collins points to the frequency of employees introducing cockroaches that ride into lockers and break rooms on backpacks, clothing and lunch containers.

He recommends a captured uniform policy, meaning street clothes are stored in lockers and professionally laundered uniforms are worn on the floor. Assigned lockers should be cleaned and inspected at least monthly. Another option is to install metal shelving without harborage points on walls. Employees can store lunches and personal belongings there. Refrigerators should be cleaned weekly.

If cockroaches are entering from the exterior through water or sewer lines, consider a one-way drain valve. If sanitation is lagging, revisiting procedures and introducing bioremediation can go a long way, said Scott Green, an associate certified entomologist and technical service manager for Rentokil Terminix. “Bioremediation has changed the game to mitigate pest problems in drains, sinks and sewer areas,” Green said.

Again, addressing risk areas identified on a site assessment is the first step to managing cockroaches. Collins said, “You have to eliminate those conditions.”

Multi-Pronged Control. A layered, integrated pest management (IPM) approach involves a combination of exclusion, monitoring, sanitation, baiting and use of other products like insect growth regulators (IGRs) and residual treatments.

QA survey respondents identified regular inspections as the most important aspect of cockroach control (73 percent). Following that was insect monitoring at 57 percent and residential pesticide applications, 43 percent. Seventy-four percent have implemented an IPM program.

Treatment depends on the location inside or outside of the facility. “You might not be able to bait an area because it is a food-contact surface,” Collins said, pointing to the intricacies of developing a pest management program for food and beverage companies. Sometimes, a shut-down is necessary to perform spot applications with contact or flushing insecticides, followed by cleaning surfaces.

“Baits are an effective control,” Collins said, suggesting that baits be rotated. “Ants will eat any bait there is. But German cockroaches are more finicky.”

IGRs that disrupt the cockroach development cycle can be applied in susceptible areas. They are ideal for electrical panels where cockroaches can nest.

Green urges companies to place monitors even in areas you believe are not at risk. “If you are not monitoring an area because you think it’s safe, prove it,” he said. “Keeping a monitor there is better than having the health department find something. Early detection is the key.”

Collins added: “Monitors should be mapped and numbered, then checked on an agreed-upon interval, and captures need to be trended. So, if you have four ovens or three milk tanks, you have to know where you are catching cockroaches. That allows you to ask, ‘Why am I catching them in this spot?’ and identify something you are overlooking or a process that is not effective.”

Consistent monitoring and inspection go a long way toward preventing an infestation of any kind. A monthly program might not be enough. “German cockroaches reproduce every 21 to 28 days,” Green pointed out. “So, if you don’t catch the problem sooner [that could be bad].”

Food manufacturers usually adhere to at least a bi-weekly program and often weekly. A plan must be reviewed and evaluated, too. Pressure points can change. For instance, Green notes how a food production facility had to institute a policy requiring employees to bring belongings in clear plastic bags to reduce the likelihood of introducing pests.

Also important is understanding the pest management protocol at suppliers’ facilities. “A delivery of cardboard boxes filled with No. 10 cans can bring in a problem,” Green said.

And employees should understand the importance of these practices and how to respond if they spot a pest. For instance, 71 percent of QA survey respondents said they would write up a cockroach sighting in a dedicated logbook. Sixty-nine percent would contact a pest control technician. Employees are often the eyes and ears, with 88 percent noting that sightings are how cockroach presence is determined in a facility.

Collaboration is the main ingredient in an effective pest management program. Green said, “Having a good relationship with your pest control provider so you can talk to the right people when these problems occur is essential.”