Ten Easy Steps To Control And Prevent
Cockroach Infestation

There are three types of cockroaches that may be found inside restaurants: German, Oriental, and American cockroach. They commonly feed on decaying food, crumbs, and scraps and live in unsanitary areas such as sewage systems. Their unsanitary living habits lead to cockroaches transferring diseases to food and food-contact surfaces. All three types of cockroaches are known to transmit bacteria such as E.coli, Bacillus cereus, and Salmonella.
Cockroaches have three requirements for survival: water, food, and shelter. Listed below are ten easy steps you can take to help control and prevent a cockroach infestation.

- Paint or seal all unfinished wood surfaces. Roaches leave a scent that attracts other roaches. Unfinished wood surfaces absorb this odor.
- Remove all cardboard boxes and unusable paper products. Do not use cardboard boxes for storage. Roaches drop egg cases in the corrugated sides of cardboard boxes.
- Clean and sanitize. Keep all food surfaces cleaned and sanitized. Set up a schedule to regularly clean the floors, walls, and equipment. Cleaning and sanitizing removes the food source and disturbs living patterns of the cockroach.
- Repair all water leaks. Do not leave standing water on the floor. Do not "wet nest" pots and pans. Keeping areas dry will remove a water source.
- Insect proof. If you can't clean it, seal it. Eliminate all harborage (shelter) areas by removing all unused equipment and furniture, sealing all crevices between equipment to equipment and between equipment to walls. All wall attachments should be sealed to the walls. Seal the floor to wall junctions.
- Store all nonfood items at least 6 inches off the floor and food and food- contact items at least 18 inches. Do not store items on the floor under shelving. This would provide shelter or harborage areas for the cockroaches.
- Remove all debris and garbage from the outside of the building to eliminate food, water and harborage areas for cockroaches.
- Check incoming supplies for roaches. If incoming boxes have evidence of droppings, egg cases, nymphs (baby roaches) or adult roaches, refuse delivery.
- Hire a licensed pest control company. If you have an infestation, a licensed pest control operator is trained to place pesticide properly and safely. Do not try to do it yourself. Pesticides are both dangerous to the environment and people.
- Monitor. Set up a monitoring program using glue boards with insect attractants. Talk to your licensed pest control company. Place the glue boards throughout the facility and check the glue boards weekly to determine location(s), of any infestation.