Pest Control for Restaurants, Cafes and Takeaways

Why food premises attract pests

A kitchen provides everything a pest needs: warmth, moisture, shelter and food. Rodents, cockroaches, flies and ants all find a busy food business appealing, and a small lapse in routine can be enough for them to settle in behind equipment or inside wall voids.

In Devon there are extra pressures. Seaside cafes and takeaways are very busy in summer, when doors stand open and flies come in with the warm weather. Older town centre buildings often have shared walls, cellars and drains that connect neighbouring premises, so a problem next door can quickly become yours.

Signs to look for

The sooner you notice a pest, the easier it is to deal with. Staff who open and close the premises are often well placed to spot early signs, so make sure they know what to look for and feel able to report it without worrying about blame.

Check the places that are hard to see: behind fridges and cookers, inside storerooms, around bins and under shelving. Look at the delivery area as well, since pests often arrive in packaging, boxes and pallets rather than on their own.

• Droppings in cupboards, stores, along walls or behind equipment
• Gnawed packaging, sacks or insulation, and greasy rub marks on skirting
• Live or dead cockroaches, especially in the dark or around drains
• Flies gathering around bins, windows, waste or damp areas
• Scratching or movement noises from ceilings, walls or voids

What staff can safely do every day

Most of pest prevention is good housekeeping. Clean spillages promptly, sweep and mop under equipment, and make sure food waste goes into bins with tight fitting lids that are emptied often. Keep bins outside away from doors and wash them out regularly so they do not smell and attract flies.

Store dry goods off the floor in sealed, sturdy containers, and rotate stock so nothing sits forgotten at the back of a shelf. Keep doors closed when you can, and use fly screens on windows and doors that need to stay open for ventilation.

• Raise stock off the floor and away from walls so you can clean and see underneath
• Wipe down surfaces and equipment at the end of each shift
• Fix dripping taps and leaking pipes that give pests water
• Check deliveries before they go into the store
• Keep a simple log of what is found, where and when

What not to do

Do not put down poison, sticky boards or sprays yourself in a place where food is prepared. Products used carelessly can contaminate food and equipment, and a rodent that dies from poison in a wall or ceiling can cause a smell for a long time and attract flies.

Avoid hiding a problem or hoping it will pass. Pests multiply quickly in a kitchen, and a customer sighting can do real harm to a business. It is much better to act early, treat the cause, and be able to show that you dealt with it properly.

When to call a professional

In a food business, any sign of rodents, cockroaches or a recurring fly problem calls for a professional. We will identify what is there, find how it is getting in, and treat it in a way that suits a working kitchen, with advice on timing so that disruption is kept to a minimum.

A regular visit schedule is often a sensible option for busy premises. Routine visits help find small issues before they grow, and the written records we provide can be useful when an environmental health officer or a customer asks about your pest control arrangements.

Building proofing into your premises

Treatment clears an existing problem, but proofing stops the next one. Look at the building itself: gaps around pipes and cables, damaged door seals, broken air bricks, cracked drain covers and loose floor edges can all let pests through.

Fit brush strips or sweeps to the bottoms of doors, mend holes in walls or ceilings, and keep the area outside tidy and free of stacked boxes or overgrown planting. If you share a building, speak to your neighbours and landlord, since a gap in one unit can affect the others.

Staff habits and keeping records

A pest-free kitchen depends on the team. Include pest awareness in staff training, make it clear who to tell, and encourage people to report small sightings straight away. Seasonal staff in summer deserve the same briefing as permanent employees.

Keep dated notes of checks, sightings and any work carried out. These records help you notice patterns, such as pests appearing after a particular delivery, and they show that you take food safety seriously.

Frequently asked questions

Need help?

If you would like a professional to look at the problem, call us on 01392 590 140 or send an enquiry.