With some preventative measures, it should be easy to keep your restaurant pest and bug-free regardless of the season.
Restaurant managers and food business owners know so well the negative implications of a pest-infested establishment. After all, the industry has extremely strict regulations and standards when it comes to sanitation and commercial pest control wherever food is handled.
Pest control in Augusta, GA is a necessary step, and not only for establishing your brand’s reputation. More importantly, it assures the safety and wellbeing of your employees and the customers that you serve.
1. Inspection is often the first and perhaps most crucial step when it comes to commercial pest control. Enlisting the help of a professional pest control company in Augusta is the best way to make sure that your premises are thoroughly inspected. A pest control professional will know exactly what to look for when performing pest inspection. They will not let any corner, crevice, or crack in your foundation be left unsealed, nor will they allow openings, vents, and pipes to be sources of infestation.
2. Volunteer your electrical outlets, sink areas, kitchen equipment, and even electrical boxes for inspection. These areas are common hiding places and breeding grounds for pests.
3. Proper sanitation is also a critical aspect of commercial pest control. Experts can provide you with great advice on this matter. Listen to your pest control professional when they talk about how to keep pests away from your establishment—from keeping your kitchen and service areas trash-free, to maintaining the utmost cleanliness in all parts of your establishment, including inspecting the food supply shipments for any bug contamination.
4. As with everything else, prevention is always better than the cure when it comes to pest control. Don’t wait for signs of an infestation before calling a professional commercial pest control service. Schedule regular inspections of your facility to make sure that problems can be prevented before they start.
5. If infestation is already present, make sure to choose a commercial pest control service in Augusta, GA that can provide you with extensive service options and completely safe products to help you control and eradicate the problem, like Team Bugstopper.
There are two species native to our area, the striped scorpion and the devil scorpion, and because they prey on large numbers of insects, they’re a natural pest control! Scorpions in our area like to hide under bark that is quite flat to the tree, which is why we don’t seen them often. Striped scorpions can be identified by three dotted stripes running down the back. Contrary to popular belief, the sting of most scorpions is no more poisonous than that of a bee or wasp.
LEARN MOREThere are many species of wasps in Georgia and South Carolina. The most common you will encounter in our area are yellow jackets and various paper wasps. Yellow jackets vary in their appearance, aggressiveness and habits. As a group, yellow jackets are considered very aggressive. They can deliver a painful sting and will attack in large groups if their nests are threatened. Yellow jackets are commonly seen buzzing around trash pails and dumpsters. Paper wasps are not aggressive and only attack or sting if they are threatened or provoked. Paper wasps build their nests in hollow voids in attics, roofs, hollow fence posts and wall voids. Paper wasps get their name form their practice of building nests made of paper that they manufacture from chewed wood and bodily secretions.
LEARN MOREMillipedes and centipedes are not insects. They are closely related to lobsters, crawfish and shrimp. Centipedes can typically be found in moist areas with high humidity and are most active at night. Centipedes have an elongated, flattened body, have 14 body segments and one pair of legs per body segment. They eat insects, spiders, birds and reptiles. Depending on the species, they can vary in length from 1 to 12 inches. Most species found in our area are less than 5 inches long. Centipedes also have poison glands in their jaw. Occasionally, humans may be bitten by a centipede, but the poison usually produces a reaction similar to a bee sting.
LEARN MORESilverfish are usually seen when cabinet doors or other objects are moved. They feed on a wide variety of things including glue, wallpaper paste, starch in clothing, book bindings, rayon, and dried meats. Silverfish are active at night and hide during the day.
LEARN MOREThere are 19 Georgia and South Carolina species of grasshoppers and crickets. Male crickets produce a chirping sound at nighttime. Both grasshoppers and crickets make these sounds but crickets make theirs at a higher pitch. Males are smaller in size than females. They can be found in the kitchen when they are found indoors. They feed on food waste like crumbs.
LEARN MOREAt least 61 types of mosquito species exist in our area. Mosquito means “little fly.” They are closely related to gnats and no-see-ums. The most common diseases in our area include West Nile, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, La Crosse encephalitis, and dog/cat heart worms. To help with mosquito control, you can reduce the number of adult mosquitoes around your house by eliminating sites with standing water. Most mosquitoes bite during dawn, dusk and night.
LEARN MOREIn Georgia, there are 25 species of spiders, and there are 21 species in South Carolina. Spiders can often times be found outside of their range due to accidental or intentional misplacement from humans by cars or luggage and other belongings.
LEARN MORESquirrels, mice and rats can be a nuisance and destructive. If a squirrel population gets out of control, you will find damage to and most likely hear them running in the attic or walls of your home. Rats and mice carry diseases and parasites and can cause damage to furniture. To get rid of rodents, we will inspect the building to find where they may get in. Based on entry points, we will set traps and seal entry points. Then, if it’s possible, we will repair the damage the rodents have caused at the entry point which will help to prevent future rodents.
LEARN MOREIn Georgia and South Carolina, we share a common hatred for Palmetto bugs (cockroaches with a fancy nickname). Both smokybrown and American cockroaches are referred to as Palmetto bugs. American cockroaches are reddish brown, while smokybrowns are darker and more uniform in color. Both typically live and lay eggs in dark, moist and humid spaces like bathrooms, kitchens, crawl spaces, mulch and gardens. Palmetto bugs can carry multiple harmful pathogens. Seeing a Palmetto bug has nothing to do with cleanliness or economic conditions because they are just looking for food, and they eat anything!
LEARN MOREThere are over 12,000 ant species in the world. Only a fraction of these ant species make themselves a problem for humans. Here in South Carolina and Georgia, we only have a handful that can be considered common pests. Here is a list of the usual suspects you’ll find in your yard or in your home: Fire Ants, Carpenter Ants, Sugar Ants and Pavement Ants.
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