Every commercial property has a chance of being infested by a pest at least once throughout their time of operation. However, the food industries are particularly susceptible to these infestations, even more so than the average company. While unfortunate, it does make perfect sense. Just like humans, most pests have three main needs in order to survive: water, shelter, and food. Luckily for pests, they can find all three of these in the food industry. To them, it’s often far more convenient than living in the wild. This is certainly unfortunate for food processing companies and means that they need to take extra precautions to protect against pest infestations.

Preventing pests from entering comes down to two very important factors: maintaining constant monitoring for areas where pests could be entering, and putting in place the proper prevention and elimination tools. Workers will want to continually be looking out for gaps in the exterior of buildings, particularly areas that are of high risk such as rooms that have been there the longest and may need repairs, in warmer areas of the building, and near easy access points. Maintaining the exterior of the building and keeping up with annual repairs is an important prevention technique. It’s important to inspect the packaging of food brought in from outside suppliers as well. Pests could be transferred from a supplier to your company in boxes or bags that they managed to crawl into before the transfer. If workers notice poor packing or holes, they should take a more in-depth look. If pests cannot access food because it is properly stored, they will head elsewhere. By noticing this, the risk of pest infestation can be limited. While visual inspection of workers may avoid some pest problems, it’s not 100% guaranteed. A pest could still get inside unnoticed.

What happens if a pest does infest a food processing company? The stakes are high when it comes to the damage that pests can do. They can introduce diseases and bacteria to your facility that could potentially make your employees and customers ill. Once this happens your reputation as a trustworthy brand is on the line. All it takes is one time. This will also cost the company money, as the inventory will be deemed a loss and need to be disposed of. Speaking of costs—pests such as rodents and termites can cause extensive and costly damage to the structure of your facility. It’s just not worth the risk. Why let pests ruin your brand, your products, and reputation? By investing in a commercial pest control plan through Schendel Pest Services, you can avoid this. Our plans are customizable by industry and are based on preventative and corrective techniques tailored to food companies. With a pest control plan, you get highly trained technicians who understand the connection between pest management and food safety, routine inspections, quality audits, and effective treatment protocols. All of this will be fully and professionally documented in an on-site logbook. Schendel also provides pest management training to staff. We currently protect 5 out of the 8 largest meat-processing plants in the United States. If your company needs protection from pests, Schendel Pest Services is the right choice.