March/April 2020 - 15

PEST CONTROL
SANITATION
connected world of
online reviews and
social media.
Proactive
approach
Mo n i t or i n g
and t raceabil ity
impor t a n t ,
and continue to improve your program
over time.
Get employees involved by scheduling
a re
especially when it
comes to proactive
pe st management .
Monitoring helps detect
pest issues early, before they
become widespread, and can
help trace issues back to their origin.
Having this monitoring network helps
focus on traceability. It helps determine
where along the supply chain pest
issues originated, leading to quicker
resolutions for pest problems and
mitigating the negative side effects.
Team effort
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
emphasizes customized, proactive,
integrated solutions whenever possible.
This program is most effective when
there's a strong partnership between
management, employees and the pest
management professional to implement
a training session with your provider.
Go over the basics of pest management
and issues specific to your facility. A
critical point to make is that everyone
is clear on their role; specifically, how
to report a pest issue (or even signs
of activity) immediately and how to
properly document it. Ensure everyone
knows what to look for, including the
pests themselves and any secondary
signs (like chew marks). It can even
be taken a step further and include
conducive conditions (conditions that
a pest could take advantage of), like a
broken door sweep (entry point) or a
sanitation issue (food resource).
Inspecting incoming shipments are
also a team effort. Anything coming in
needs to be inspected, which can mean
taking samples off the truck or railcar
or ensuring there are no pests or signs
of damage to the packaging. That all
needs to be documented, passed along
and multiple teams and individuals may
be involved. Spotting pests early, before
they can even enter your facility, helps
minimize the threat of pests spreading
and establishing.
Monitoring devices
One of the great ways to make
informed, strategic decisions to help
eliminate the threat of pests is by
working with your pest management
provider
to set up monitor ing
devices. Like using all the eyes of the
employees, these are an extra set of
passive eyes! These should be in key
areas, such as loading docks, near
personnel doors and other high-risk
areas, to track activity. Over time, this
will help identify trends, hot spots and
problem species.
Rats and mice, for example, can
carry and spread disease-causing
pathogens. They can quickly become
a major threat because they're
capable of squeezing into tiny openings
(mice as small as a dime!), and they
can also gnaw their way in and
put produce at risk. Traps and bait
stations are useful tools to utilize
as they monitor and reduce rodent
activity. Bait stations are placed
around the exterior of facilities and
traps are place along the interior
perimeter of a facility often by dock
and personnel doors.
Similarly, insect light traps can be
used to attract and capture flying
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March/April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March/April 2020
