T-R-A-I-N Your Staff on Pest Prevention

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While you rely on your staff to accomplish their day-to-day duties that keep operations running smoothly, it’s essential to add pest management to everyone’s job description. A team approach is necessary for pest prevention, ensuring your facility – and your products – are kept safe from the structural damage, food-borne illness and health implications pests can cause. Get everyone on board with the help of training.
 

Take the Time.
Training might not be top of mind when it comes to running your facility, but investing in employees now can prevent problems down the road. Pests can become more than just a nuisance around your facility. Rodents can gnaw through electrical wires, mistaking them for plant roots, and cause fires. A cockroach infestation can potentially lead to employees developing conjunctivitis, pneumonia or gastroenteritis. Even birds attracted to your facility can be a threat – their droppings can corrode your building’s metal structure or exposed machinery.
 

Reactive versus Proactive.
While your facility might run like a production line, with one activity triggering the next, you don’t have to wait for a pest sighting to implement pest management. If you haven’t already, work with your pest management professional to create a customized Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program to meet your facility’s specific needs. IPM employs a variety of methods to prevent pests, including sanitation and facility maintenance, and only utilizes chemical treatments as a last resort. Staying proactive about pest management can help create healthier surroundings for you, your staff and the environment.
 

Activate Your Team.
One easy way to get your employees on board with your pest management program is to ask your provider to conduct training. Most reputable providers offer free on-site staff education. Many can even provide helpful tip sheets or other employee communication to remind everyone of their role in pest management. Other alternatives include contacting professional associations, such as the International Association for Food Protection or International HACCP Alliance.
 

Identify Roles.
Each staff member should understand what they can do to help prevent pests on a daily basis, but another key element of a successful pest management program is regular monitoring.  Instruct employees to act quickly and notify the appropriate individuals if they spot a pest or see interior or exterior conditions that might contribute to a future pest infestation. If you do experience a pest problem, assign individuals to take the right steps to help contain the issue:

• Capture the pest and provide the sample to your pest management professional, along with when and where it was found.
• Work with a professional trained in pest biology and behavior to correctly identify the pest. 
• Once a professional identifies the pest in question, ask your staff to assist in locating where it gained access into the facility.

Notice Surroundings.
Pest management can be as simple as noticing your surroundings and making improvements to help with prevention. Keeping the facility clean ensures that food and water attractive to pests are kept out of reach. Pay special attention to key areas where these items are available, such as employee break rooms, dumpster areas and the plant floor. Look out for places where pests have an opportunity to get inside. Any cracks in the walls or gaps around utility penetrations should be sealed with weather-resistant sealant. Outside, be sure to check for excess water around leaking air conditioning units that might sustain pests nearby. Ensure shrubs, tree branches or other vegetation are not touching the building exterior, as various crawling insects and rodent pests can use this to access the building. Contact maintenance to fix any issues immediately.

Once your staff is up-to-date on your pest management program and understands what they can do to help keep pests out, you can rest assured that your facility will stay on top of prevention and ahead of any issues.

 or visit www.orkincommercial.com.

By Zia Siddiqi, Ph.D., B.C.E., Director of Quality Systems, Orkin, LLC

Dr. Zia Siddiqi is Director of Quality Systems for Orkin.  A board certified entomologist with more than 30 years in the industry, Dr. Siddiqi is an acknowledged leader in the field of pest management.For more information, e-mail zsiddiqi@rollins.com