Managing Pests
Tailored pest control planning, documentation and advice to mitigate risks that could impact your reputation and revenue
‘The strategy is the solution – not the products’
In accordance with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) pest control in food industry – this is defined as ‘establish and maintain environmental and operational programmes necessary to create an environment suitable to produce safe and legal food products’.
Food.gov.uk has produced guidance for the meat industry, however the same pest control procedures could be said for non-food environments, for example where staff work, hospitality guests or multi-occupancy environments such as retail outlets or accommodation, including student facilities.
The management of pests, in accordance with the Food Quality and Safety Department, have a seven step programme.
There is no requirement in the United Kingdom to employ the services of a pest control contractor, however there are certain conditions which would need to be met in order of in-house pest management to be deemed competent and provide a suitable due diligence.
Click HERE for our pest awareness and competency training.
What are the methods of controlling pests?
Increasingly there is a hierarchy of methodologies which should be considered and implemented where suitable. This has a minimal impact on the environment, pest inhumaness and long-term benefits in preventing and being proactive towards pest infestations.
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Non-Lethal : Non-Chemical
Often referred to as Habitat Manipulation – this is looking to remove / reduce the opportunities that are present, which support pest infestations. Often this is food, water, harbourage or favourable temperatures.
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Non-Chemical : Lethal
The use of physical pest control (or mechanical pest control) has many advantages over just lower impact to the environment. Many pests have developed resistance to rodenticides and insecticides; often food standards and ethical treatments do not allow the use of poisons and very often non-chemical pest control is faster to control the unwanted species.
Chemical
The use of chemicals to control pests is not as simple as the marketing on a tub may imply. Consideration needs to be made about the different modes of action; different levels of how strong (toxicity) a pesticide is; as well as different techniques for pests, even rat control and mouse control have different uses of the same baits.
Insect -killing devices, pheromone traps and / or other insect monitoring devices also need to be considered as part of a pest management plan and appropriately sited and operational.
Monitoring and recording pest control activity is a key part of eliminating the threat and risk of pest activity. Pest control documentation is not just about records, but also include site plans; pest risk impact assessments; checklists; pest trend analysis and the application of control options.
For more information on pest awareness training; how to set up in-house pest control; pest control codes of practice or even the necessary documents required – click HERE for our training options.