Pest Control
The pest control register records contractor visits, what was found, and what was done about it.
Recording a Visit
For each visit, record:
- The area — e.g. "Back kitchen"
- The contractor who attended
- Treatment carried out — what they actually did
- Findings — including "no activity found", which is a finding
Log every visit, even the uneventful ones. A register showing eight routine visits with nothing found is strong evidence of a well-run kitchen. A register with two entries, both problems, suggests you only call someone once things are bad.
Recording What You Find Yourself
Your contractor visits periodically. Your team is there every day.
Record anything staff spot between visits — droppings, gnaw marks, flies, a propped fire door, a gap under a delivery door. Note what was done and whether the contractor was called.
That in-between record is often the most valuable part, because it shows the gap between visits is covered rather than unmonitored.
Acting on Findings
If your contractor recommends proofing work — sealing a gap, fitting a door sweep, repairing a damaged wall — do it and record that you did.
An unactioned recommendation sitting in your file is worse than not having the report. It shows you were told about a specific risk and did nothing, which is exactly the position you do not want to be in if there is later an infestation.
Prevention Is the Real Register
The record documents your control. The control is everything else:
- Waste in closed bins, emptied often, away from the building
- No standing food or spillage overnight
- Deliveries checked for evidence before they come inside
- External doors closed, gaps proofed
- Dry goods in sealed containers, off the floor
Most infestations are fed by something. Removing the food and the entry point does more than any treatment.
If You Find Evidence
Act immediately, and record what you did and when.
Call your contractor, remove and dispose of anything that may have been contaminated, clean and disinfect the area, and keep recording until the matter is closed out. An inspector arriving mid-problem is a manageable situation if your record shows a professional response already under way. Arriving to find evidence and no record at all is not.