As the owner of a restaurant, you need to focus on keeping pests out of the kitchen for more reasons than just maintaining generally healthy and sanitary facilities—you also want to avoid getting dinged on any surprise inspections. Eventually, word about a pest infestation in your kitchen will get out, and you will lose business (or at least suffer damage to your reputation) as a result.
Pests want to get into your kitchen because it has everything they need in abundance—food, heat, water and shelter. Therefore, it’s important to be proactive in preventing these infestations from happening.
Here is some information from a provider of commercial restaurant equipment in Delaware about how you can prevent pest problems in your kitchen:
- Seal off any potential points of entry: Look around your kitchen, and if you find any cracks, crevices or other holes, make sure you seal them off—even the very small ones. You’d be amazed at what types of holes and cracks these pests can fit into, so it’s best to seal them off as soon as you find them to block any potential entry. If you need help finding where these potential entry points could be located in your kitchen, you can work with a professional pest control specialist, who will be skilled in finding and neutralizing those points of entry.
- Routinely perform thorough inspections: You should regularly go through your food, packages and their storage areas to make sure they have not been affected by insects or other pests. It is not uncommon to find larvae in your food storage, especially in products such as flour, cereal and pasta. Larvae also commonly force themselves up against the edges of cans and jars, unopened packages and sealed cans. Therefore, you’re better off just getting rid of infested foods entirely, and wiping down sealed cans with vinegar. If you do discover an infestation, make sure to hire a pest control service to discover the source of that infestation.
- Make sure you’re storing items properly: Related to the previous point, make sure all of your food and containers are properly stored to prevent infestations. Wash and dry all containers, then empty them before putting them back in storage. Use airtight containers to store your food, because they will keep that food fresh and will keep out pests. Throw away foods that are no longer good so they do not attract any pests into your kitchen.
- Clean and de-clutter your kitchen: You should regularly clean the shelves in your kitchen to get rid of potential larvae or cocoons. Use a half and half mixture of vinegar and water to kill any eggs that exist, and consider adding peppermint oil as an insect deterrent. Be sure to clean up any spills as soon as they happen to discourage insects or other pests from coming into your kitchen.
For more tips about keeping the pests away from your commercial restaurant equipment in Delaware, get in touch with Commercial Equipment Service today.