Check the trash for stored product pests

Dr. Stuart Mitchell, BCE, technical director, PestWest USA

As pest management professionals, we monitor stored product pests (SPP) movement as they move out of one facility, in-transit to another, and then move in and take up “pestidence.” One method of limiting “pestidence” is through organizational cleaning and applied product rotation. The standards of practice include first in, first out (FIFO); last in, first out (LIFO); and first expired, first out (FEFO).

Like the gastroenterology of people, the trash coming out of the back of a facility can tell a lot about how things come through the facility. Consider yourself a facility “trashologist” by routinely examining the method of trash-handling, the quantity of trash, the type of trash, the trash content and the trash odor. These and other factors can provide significant clues to the root causes of poor product rotation and probable pestiferousness.

Don’t let “pestidence” take precedence. Waste can be evidence of haste. Glean from garbage. There’s cash in trash!