MAY 02 2022 /
Pests of all kinds are a major threat for businesses in the food industry. Whether it be rodents, cockroaches, or some other type of pest, these unwanted nuisances can be detrimental to your business in more ways than one. Maintaining a high-level of food safety is critical for keeping consumers safe and happy with your products and services, but this can be very hard to do if pests are present. Recently, we assisted a business in successfully eliminating a rodent infestation by using our SMART digital pest control system. Truth be told, this business is actually a well-renowned bakery that you’ve likely heard of before! This bakery was having issues with “mischievous” rodents getting into their food supply and contaminating their ingredients and baked goods. When traditional methods of pest control seemed to be lacking the necessary capabilities to control the pests, the bakery owners decided to call us to step in and take matters into our own hands. Right from the start, we were able to address their situation and prevent the infestation from no longer disrupting their business. Unfortunately, handling rodents on your own doesn’t always work and can actually make infestations worse. If you are dealing with rodent sightings, it’s important to get in contact with a pest control company right away. Pests can multiply quickly, especially if the conditions are right. You may find yourself with a bigger issue later if you don’t take care of rodents early on. If you find yourself in a similar situation, continue reading to see how we handled these intrusive pests causing havoc for a bakery. Our success story is here to show you first-hand why digital pest control is the best solution for protecting your food-related business from pesky pests.
Sure, a bad meal or poor customer service is enough to elicit a bad review from a customer, but a pest sighting? That can mean bad news for your restaurant, bakery, food truck, or any other type of food-related business. Rodents are associated with being filthy and carrying disease-causing bacteria, so it’s no surprise that people wouldn’t want to share their food with them. What’s worse, once you find a rodent in your food supply, you must start from scratch and restock your entire inventory as there’s no guarantee it hasn’t all been contaminated. However, mice and rats aren’t the only common pests to watch out for! Other rodents such as squirrels and insects (like cockroaches and ants) can also contaminate your food supply. The staff at the bakery were specifically dealing with rats — a nocturnal pest that can be difficult to prevent and get rid of. Whereas some rodents require a biologically appropriate diet to survive, mice and rats can eat literally anything and be just fine. This is why baking ingredients such as sugar, flour, and butter are perfectly acceptable foods for these pests to live off of, which is good for them but bad for you! Instances like this are the reason why food businesses are never safe from the likes of destructible rodents. Related: Pests are a nuisance to almost every industry imaginable. Digital pest control services are also available for the manufacturing industry, hospitality industry, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities.
As mentioned, no food businesses are 100% protected from rodent infestations, not even establishments that regularly clean their businesses. Unfortunately, rodents and other pests will always go where the food is. So no matter how clean you keep your business or how well you store your food items, pests will find a way to get in. In case you weren’t aware, rodents are extremely smart and capable of outthinking us humans. Rats can easily avoid most traps thanks to learned behavior. They will become cautious and only try a small portion of food to see if what they ate is edible before going on to fully consume it. On top of this guarded behavior, rodents can also develop a resistance to poisons, rendering the majority of rodenticides basically useless. Over time, rodents that survive pesticide application can pass down genes that have developed a resistance to these chemicals. Methods of traditional pest control consists of routinely spraying chemical rodenticides in order to take care of any infestations, but as you can see, this won’t always be effective. So, you might ask, “what can we do to eliminate them?”. We were able to help the bakery get past these issues by applying our own SMART digital trapping and monitoring service.
The SMART system is a one-of-a-kind, fully digital rodent monitoring and trapping service. Through digital automation and professional expertise, our SMART Digital Pest Control system monitors rodent activity through high-tech devices, such as self-activating traps. This system is ideal for food-related businesses as the system is nontoxic, discreet, and will not disrupt your daily business. Even better, this method of pest control requires little to no effort on your part to produce positive results. Once the devices are installed, our extermination technicians take care of the rest — a business owner’s dream! What separates digital pest control from traditional methods — such as pesticides and snap traps — is that data is the driving factor in eliminating these pests. The bakery was desperate enough to resort to using snap traps, but they quickly noticed how inconsistent the results were. Frankly, the traps were being triggered without a catch. So if that’s the case, then what’s the point of even using these?
The SMART system is made up of multiple monitoring and trapping devices that seamlessly work together to eliminate rodents. But here’s what is happening behind-the-scenes when we are taking care of a pest infestation. First, we start with a thorough site analysis to pinpoint rodent activity and address any vulnerable areas within the building. Our pest specialists are trained in analyzing rodent habits and behavior and can map out an action plan utilizing our SMART digital equipment. From there, we place our SMART multi-catch devices in areas with the highest detected activity so they can get right to work. Once rodents are detected, the traps use attractants to lure rodents inside a self-locking chamber. The rodents are then shocked with an electrowave current, exterminating them instantaneously, but in a more humane way than traditional traps. Not only are we eliminating the infestation, we are doing it with quantifiable and reportable results. With these reports, we can tell you exactly how many rodents have been eliminated until they are all gone. In addition, we also have the ability to eliminate and monitor rodent and cockroach activity, all while collecting informative data in real time. As you can see, this system is much more efficient than what’s been the industry standard in the past.
Our friends at the bakery not only had rodents getting into the pastries, but also burrowing into the planters and making themselves at home in their business. One of our pests experts on-site explained, “we knew we had to jump into this with a different mindset if we were ever going to outsmart these guys”. After the initial consultation and device set-up, we received email alerts that three rodents were caught within the first 48 hours! These alerts are important for us to monitor as they determine any necessary changes we need to make quickly if we notice a new area is experiencing rodent activity. After communicating our findings with the bakery owner, he mentioned that his previous pest control provider was unable to keep up with setting snap traps and was providing poor results. Fortunately, the owner instantly realized the benefits of our SMART Technology and could already see a difference in how fast we were eliminating unwanted pests for him.
Once the infestation is gone, the protection shouldn’t stop there. Pests are ever-evolving and will always find a way back, eventually. After installing the devices and controlling the infestation, we recommend leaving a handful of devices for continual monitoring and pest maintenance. The idea is to always have an eye on the property — much like an alarm system would. As of now, the bakery is rodent-free, however, they still use our SMART system to continue monitoring for activity. This type of extended protection from pests can ensure that an infestation won’t happen again!
Don’t let rodents make themselves at home in your business. That’s our philosophy here at Killingsworth, and one of the many reasons why we’re so passionate about protecting your business from pests. Just like our friends over at the bakery, we can protect your business too. Our SMART Pest Control process is second to none – we handle pest issues quickly and efficiently, while protecting your business and your hard-earned reputation. Our entire service process is seamless and easy for you to navigate because we understand you’ve got more important things to do than worry about a rodent in your business. If you’re in need of pest control, schedule a service with us so we can get started on getting your business back to being rodent-free.
