Prepping Your Restaurant for Pests

Prepping Your Restaurant For Pests

As the temperatures begin to dip, it’s time to begin prepping your restaurant for unwanted guests. Rodents seeking shelter from the cold are sure to look at food service establishments as a warm, meal-filled haven. How can you make sure your restaurant is ready to defend itself against these unpaying, unwelcome pests? Read on.

Staff Awareness

Every member of your restaurant has a responsibility to keep things clean. Make sure your staff is aware that we’re in prime season for pests to invade, and to keep their eyes out at all times for visitors. Those receiving food deliveries should inspect each box carefully, as rodents often hitch a ride in delivery trucks. Other tell-tale signs there’s a pest around are chewed boxes or droppings.

Try to keep your doors closed at all times. If the kitchen gets too hot and your cooks often prop open the back door, consider installing a screen to help curb rodent break-ins. Additional actions to mitigate pests include regularly cleaning under booths and kitchen equipment and tightly sealing all trash bags and dumpsters. Between droppings, shredded paper and cardboard, and chewed wires, there are many warning signs your staff should be trained to look out for. This downloadable rodent checklist will be great to help you and your staff keep pests at bay.

Landscaping

As fall rolls into winter, it’s important to make sure your landscaping is properly cared for. Just as you would cut back perennials, trim bushes, and rake leaves at your own home, the same applies to your restaurant. Hedges and plants close to the perimeter of your building make a great hideaway for small pests, so be sure to cut back any foliage that’s right up against the building’s façade. Tall grasses and weeds should never be in close proximity to the edges of your restaurant either, so regular mowing and weeding is a must.

Proper Sealing

Did you know rats can fit through an opening the size of a quarter, and mice can sneak through an opening the size of a dime? You’ll want to be sure to properly seal any cracks—both interior and exterior—you happen to notice, repair any broken screens or windows, and be especially cautious of leaking pipes: Sources of water are a goldmine to rodents. Door sweeps are inexpensive, easy to install, and can help keep scurrying scoundrels out.

You want your restaurant to be a welcoming spot for customers, but completely unappealing to insects and rodents. Following these protocols should help you maintain a clean, pest-free place. Remember: Living things are just looking for food, warmth, shelter, and water as winter approaches. Eliminate those items (or at least make them hard to reach), and you’ve got the winning recipe for a no-drama restaurant.