As temperatures rise outside, so do the problems with insects and pests. At food and beverage processing facilities, the presence of pests can threaten the health and safety of products, customers and employees. A pest problem also can affect a plant’s reputation and its bottom line—from having to discard a batch of compromised product to fines for noncompliance.
“Pest management is a partnership between the provider (or in-house team) and everyone else at the site,” says Chelle Hartzer, entomologist and technical services manager, Orkin. “Frontline employees need to know what to look for and whom to report it to. The professional needs to communicate sanitation and other issues to the sanitation and quality teams. Maintenance departments need to be involved in fixing exclusion points. So whatever the pest, whatever the issues, good communication is essential.”