Adhering to warehouse safety tips and taking simple steps to cleaning and disinfecting facilities and monitoring for pests can make huge impacts in keeping a safe and pest-free work environment. Per Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements, employees should be trained annually regarding specific guidelines when it comes to the health and safety of their facilities. This is not just a single person’s job — it’s imperative to task different employees with different jobs so nothing falls through the cracks.
Offering incentives to employees for ongoing safety training and implementation can motivate employees to keep up with these tasks – and could even cost you less than having to deal with the consequences of a pest issue. Use the following checklist as a road map for helping employees stay on track when it comes to your facility’s pest control:
- Conduct a risk analysis with a trained professional to address the risks associated with pests and to determine how a facility can manage potential issues. Each facility should analyze its risk to make an informed plan on how to mitigate pests. It also creates an objective view of the situation.
- Train employees to identify signs of rodent activity including burrows near building exteriors, capsule-like pellet droppings, gnaw marks around your properties, and nests built from shredded soft materials (think paper and old cloths). Packaging is one of the first places you can spot various problems so be sure to inspect deliveries for bite marks, tears, rips, droppings, and leaks.
- Create a sanitation schedule to keep employees involved in maintaining a pest-free facility. Cleaning spills immediately, vacuuming, and wiping down all used surfaces daily will help make your facility less attractive to food and dirt-seeking pests.
- Seal up holes of every size. Think that tear in your window’s screen won’t cause major issues in your warehouse? Think again. Rats can fit through holes the size of a quarter and mice the size of a dime. If there is any food or trash inside your facility, rats and mice as well as ants and roaches are sure to find it.
- Store all food in air-tight containers in addition to washing dishes and cleaning countertops in break rooms. Beetles and moths love getting into stored foods, grains, and animal-based fabrics, and can very easily damage transported goods. Be sure to remove any trash or debris under appliances and machinery to eliminate potential rodent hiding spots and limit pest attractors.
- Check all incoming containers and goods. Did you know that many pests and rodents find their way into facilities through pallets and loading blocks? Pallets attract wood-eating pests who love to hitchhike into buildings.
- Take charge of dumpsters to help keep pests like cockroaches, ants, and rodents away. While it may be easy to let trash overflow after large deliveries, it’s imperative to keep trash where it needs to be: locked away and ready for regularly scheduled pickup.
Maintaining a pest-free facility is crucial in the logistics industry. Western Pest Services conducts a pest prevention risk analysis with every prospective customer before offering a proposal that is free of charge. We provide a professional outlook on pest prevention, sanitation, and facility maintenance prerequisites to determine a custom pest management program needed for each specific facility.
Finding signs of pests in your facility? Contact Western Pest Services to help create a customized integrated pest management plan.