8 tips to prevent mice and rats from entering your home
The Illinois weather is still cool, but hungry customers will soon be enjoying the sunshine while eating a culinary masterpiece on your cafe patio. Keeping your doors open for customers is a great idea, but a single furry invader could kill the ambiance in mere seconds. Unfortunately, any business in the food industry is a target for mice and rats. A restaurant rodent infestation might be cute in the movies, but in real life, customers and health inspectors won’t find it amusing. Whether your restaurant serves people indoors or outdoors, good rodent control starts with observation and prevention. Here are a few recommendations to help you stay one step ahead of hungry pests.
Restaurant Rodents: Prevention Tips from Top Exterminators
- Maintain spotless cooking, food prep and storage areas. Don’t forget to clean the floors.
- Keep both your indoor and outdoor dining areas as clean and clutter-free as possible. Rodents are attracted to the smell of food. Although it’s not possible to eliminate the smell of your customers’ orders, you can eliminate the pungent odors of garbage, dirty dishes and overflowing garbage cans. Be sure to wipe down tables with clean, moist towels, and remove spills promptly.
- Rotate products correctly, and remove outdated and damaged food stock often.
- Bag all food waste tightly. Empty your dumpster as often as possible, and keep its doors closed.
- Implement an integrated pest management (IPM) program. An IPM program eliminates rodent problems while minimizing risks to your customers and employees, as well as the environment.
- Search for and eliminate possible rodent entry points such as small holes and worn weather stripping.
- Keep your landscape clean and manicured to eliminate possible hiding places.
- Frequently check for signs of infestation both indoors and outdoors. If you notice rodent droppings, chewed boxes or wires, unusual odors or greasy marks along baseboards, it’s time to call a rodent control professional.
Anderson Helps Keep the Illinois Food Industry Pest-Free
At Anderson Pest Solutions, we’ve developed a comprehensive treatment protocol that addresses the special needs of restaurants and other food service operations. As an industry leader in IPM practices, we keep our skilled exterminators up-to-date with continued education and training to ensure that the Illinois food service businesses we protect enjoy a sanitary work environment and praise from health inspectors. Visit us online to learn more about our commercial services or schedule an inspection.
