Dealing with a fly infestation in your restaurant can be a frustrating ordeal. Not only do flies pose a health risk, but they can also tarnish your restaurant’s reputation, deter customers, and disrupt your staff. In the hospitality industry, maintaining a pristine environment is paramount, and effective fly control is a crucial part of this. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to tackle house flies in your restaurant, with an emphasis on sustainable solutions and professional pest control assistance.
Identify the Source
The first step in solving any pest problem, including flies, is identifying the source of the infestation. Flies are attracted to food waste, standing water, and other decomposing material. In a restaurant setting, common sources include:
- Garbage areas: Ensure bins are tightly sealed and emptied regularly.
- Drains and sink traps: These can accumulate organic matter, which attracts flies. Regular cleaning and maintenance are required.
- Food storage areas: Keep these areas clean and well-organized, ensuring that food is stored in sealed containers.
- Implement Sanitation Measures
Maintaining rigorous hygiene practices is vital:
- Regular cleaning: Implement a daily cleaning schedule that includes wiping down surfaces, sweeping and mopping floors, and sanitising areas where food is prepared.
- Manage waste effectively: Remove food waste promptly from the prep and dining areas and ensure that waste bins are cleaned and disinfected.
- Keep doors and windows closed or screened: This simple measure can significantly reduce the number of flies entering your establishment.
Train staff
- To manage a fly problem in a restaurant it takes a collaborative effort. In the pest control industry, we call it “cultural pest control” where staff adapt the way the operate to help eliminate a pest.
- Key thing to understand is that flies are entering because they smell an attractant. For larger fly species, such as house flies or blue bottles flies, what attracts them to a restaurant is not so fresh meat. The goal of these flies is to lay eggs in it.
- So, staff may need to adapt how they store meat. Here are some tips:
- Check temperatures in fridges to ensure they are 4°C or below
- Reduce the amount of time that meat is out of the fridge for when it’s in use.
- Ensure out of date or spoiled meat is thrown out immediately
- Place all waste meat (scraps created during preparation, or even leftovers from the customer’s plate) into a bin and ensure that this bin is placed outside the restaurant at regular intervals.
- Clean all utensils and surfaces well. Sweep the floors regularly to clear any fallen scraps.
- There are food hygiene courses designed for restaurant staff, such as this one which can help get the right food hygiene procedures in place.
- Speak to a pest control expert to get personalised advice for your commercial kitchen.
Getting rid of flies in commercial kitchens
Electric fly killers (EFKs):
These devices use UV light to attract flies and then eliminate them. They should be placed away from food preparation areas to avoid contaminating food. These are the best option for commercial kitchens. Flies will either get zapped or glued to a board.
Baits and traps
These devices attract flies with some bait and then trap them so they can’t fly around the kitchen.
Regular Inspection and Monitoring
Inspect incoming goods: Check deliveries for signs of flies or larvae. Reject infested supplies.
Monitor fly activity: Keep records of where and when flies are most problematic to help target treatments effectively.
Engage a Professional Pest Control Service
While DIY methods can provide temporary relief, a professional pest control company brings expertise and effective, long-term pest management tailored to your specific situation through ongoing monitoring and maintenance.
Benefits of professional intervention include:
- Expert assessment: A thorough evaluation to identify the source and extent of the infestation.
- Customized treatment plans: Professional treatments that are safe for use in kitchens and dining areas.
- Preventative strategies: Advice on long-term prevention and control measures to ensure flies do not become a recurring problem.
Merlin are exclusively a commercial pest control company. We help many restaurants and hotels, fully managing all pest issues for them. Get in touch with us via our contact form if you’d like help too, or click here to learn about our restaurant pest control.
