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Cockroach Control in Sensitive Environments, Part II
14 Sep, 2009 By: Dean StanbridgeManaging any cockroach infestation can be a challenge, but add the restrictions evoked on food manufacturing and it would seem an impossible task. In Part One of this three-part series, we concentrated on defining the insect infestation zones as prioritized in a food processing environment. Because experience has taught us that cockroach infestations are not equally distributed throughout food-processing facilities, the execution of zone treatment fits perfectly into the complexities of food processing.
As a primary step, we’ve already defined the zones as described in the previous article and have created a monitoring program to fit the surroundings. The success to this type of program is integrating yourself with the plant staff, who will become known as The Pest Team. For too many years our industry has had the pressure of controlling cockroaches in these environments, yet we’ve not done well at being accepted into the fold of the plant staff. There are just too many factors outside of our control unless we are a part of that team — and without that collaboration, our success at controlling pests will continue to be ever elusive.
Tear It Apart!
Once evaluations, collection and staff interviews have determined that you have identified a primary zone, then understanding the nuances of that zone are critical. What control techniques have been applied there in the past? With what frequency have they been applied? Was the strategy evaluated by pre- and post-treatment monitoring? Were mechanical and sanitation staff involved in the process of equipment evaluation? Was the equipment or an area adequately disassembled? Without evaluation, you will have no success, only harvesting of insect populations.
Once the questions have been answered, you can determine what control strategies might need to be employed. If chemical application without proper evaluation has been the sole strategy, something as simple as assessing the zone from an access perspective may be the only improvement required. Things get slightly more complex when the previous company has done a pretty good job at control, but just couldn’t get the population to a “client acceptable” level.
If the client is willing to provide access, staff resources and the required downtime, there is no reason that a population can’t be eliminated. The real issue is that few companies are willing to give a “clean slate” and unlimited resource, so your expertise needs to be in understanding the insects’ requirements and eliminating them in a way that also benefits the client.
For example, let’s say you require more downtime on a line. If you and the rest of the “Pest Team” have checked the Standard Sanitation Operating Procedures (SSOPs) and Preventative Maintenance (PMs) schedules and find that certain items are being missed consistently, point out that extra downtime might also benefit the maintenance and sanitation teams. It’s always easier to get your wish when you have others agreeing to the issue.
The Team Approach
Once you’ve created sensible goals, you need to execute your plan. The days of taking over a food processing facility, fogging it and praying that populations won’t rebound too quickly are long gone. There was a reason we called it “spray and pray,” you know, because at one time or another, we’ve all tried it!
Strategy is everything in successful insect management within the food processing environment. You will be surprised to see how little pesticide you will require if you are using a well-planned strategy. Less pesticide application means less production downtime, and for those of you who’ve been involved in food processing pest management, you know that our charges pale in comparison to a line being down for a non-scheduled period of time.
We must be involved in the process of scheduled downtime to protect the facility from a pest perspective. That downtime needs to be utilized during the maintenance and sanitation staff operational times. Our job needs to be concentrated on identification and elimination of pest harborage areas. We can’t do that when they’re not present, as we can’t see the “real” pest harborage points once the equipment has been cleaned and reassembled.
If this means that PMs and SSOPs are performed on Tuesdays, our service needs to be on Tuesdays. If it’s Saturday, so be it.
Often, we can find and destroy insect harborage with a frequent, deep cleaning — combined with us vacuuming insects from harborages. Documentation of repeat findings will help to determine any additional strategies necessary, such as the application of a pesticide where permitted by the label (and common sense).
In Part Three, the conclusion of this series, we will explore alternative strategies to pesticides, their application, and efficacy. We will also look at how to successfully get your wish list accomplished within the Pest Team.
So until December... Happy Hunting!
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