Birds, Bugs, and Rats, Oh My!

A good pest control program is essential to any Food Safety Plan and making sure it is being carried out is necessary. Birds, rodents, and insects can spread disease whether or not they actually have contacted the food or surfaces that food is prepared upon. Diseases can be spread from the packaging in which items are contained. Pest control programs are needed at food preparation establishments, restaurants, and storage locations, and warehouses. This is where the Family Dollar Store has failed (1). Pest control plans must be actively managed, verifications must be done, and any signs of activity must be reported to your pest control officer or other responsible party.

What Diseases Can We Catch from Pests?

Many diseases can be transferred from pests to humans. Birds can carry Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI or Bird Flu), Psittacosis, Salmonellosis, and E. coli. Rats and mice can transmit up to 35 diseases through their urine, feces, and bites. These include the Plague, Salmonellosis, Rat-bite Fever, Hemorrhagic fever, Leptospirosis, and Hantavirus (2). Cockroaches and flies can lead to diarrhea, dysentery, cholera, typhoid fever, and many other diseases by carrying germs on their bodies as they move through drains and other unsanitary areas (3).

How Can We Deter Pest Activity?

Pests can be problematic for restaurants, food manufacturing facilities, warehouses and even our homes. However, there are ways to mitigate pest problems before they happen.

1. Keep refuse outside of buildings to a minimum. Old lumber piles, spare parts or machinery, tall grass, and standing water can all attract pests that we do not want to see inside our buildings. Remove any debris that can be used to shelter or hide pests. Keep grass cut and shrubs or other foliage at least 18 inches away from the foundations of buildings.
2. If you have commercial buildings, rodent bait stations should be situated along walls and near trash cans or dumpsters.
3. Keep all holes around pipes insulated and any holes in walls or insulation repaired. Holes around fans, pipes, expanding metal joints, or other means of entry should be repaired as soon as they are noticed. No hole is too small.
4. Make sure that food is stored in appropriate, sealed containers. Cockroaches and rodents love a midnight snack too.
5. Make sure trash is removed frequently.
6. Make sure that leaks and standing water are taken care of promptly. Standing water breeds bacteria, attracts rodents, flies, and cockroaches.
7. Make sure that birds are not attracted to buildings by spilled grain, food, or nesting areas.
8. If you find a dead bird, do not touch it.
9. If needed, contact a professional to help you eradicate any pests that resist the above efforts.

What should you do if you have pests?

After removing any attractants, make sure to clean areas thoroughly using soap, water, and disinfectant. Wear gloves to make sure that bacteria do not enter small cuts on your hands. When sweeping up dry rodent or bird droppings or debris, make sure to wear a mask, as inhaled particles can cause Hantavirus or the Plague. Dispose of any food that is not in a glass or can, which can be disinfected prior to opening. Remove any corrugated or paper products in the suspected areas. Black lights can be used in darkened rooms to see where rodents have been. Rodent urine will glow under black light (4).

Remember, preventing pests from invading your home, food preparation facility, or warehouse is much easier than eradicating the pests once they are there. A good line of prevention, monitoring, and calling in professionals when you need help is much cheaper than getting an illness or suffering recalls for unsanitary conditions. Routine inspections, keeping food properly put away, and keeping things neat and tidy can go a long way to ensuring that pests do not take up residence.

As always, wash your hands, stay safe, and make sure that you keep the mice at bay!

1. Family Dollar closes 400 stores, recalls products after FDA finds decaying dead rodents in warehouse. (2022, February 20). The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/02/20/family-dollar-recall-fda-rodents/
2. Rodents. (2018, September 2). https://www.cdc.gov/rodents/
3. vector288to301.pdf. (n.d.). https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/resources/vector288to301.pdf
4. William Kolbe, B. C. E. (2016, September 21). Using Black Light to Detect Rodent Evidence. PCT – Pest Control Technology. https://www.pctonline.com/article/using-black-light-to-detect-rodent-evidence/