Restaurants and commercial kitchens provide everything pests need to survive: food, water, warmth, and plenty of places to hide. Keeping pests out can be difficult. Effective pest control is an important part of maintaining a clean, compliant, and safe food service operation.
Does New Jersey Require Restaurants to Have Routine Pest Control?
Yes, New Jersey restaurants are required to maintain their facilities in a manner that prevents pests from becoming a food safety problem. Under the New Jersey Retail Food Establishment regulations, food establishments must take measures to prevent the presence of insects, rodents, and other pests, including maintaining the building to prevent their entry.
New Jersey food establishments must keep doors, windows, and other potential entry points adequately protected, maintain the premises to prevent pest harborage, and take appropriate action when evidence of pests is discovered.
For restaurants, pest control should therefore be treated as an ongoing part of food safety rather than something to address only after a problem appears.
Commercial kitchens also face similar challenges. Regular inspections and preventative treatments help identify these problems before they turn into an infestation.
Most Common Pests Found in Restaurants
Restaurants deal with many of the same pests found in residential buildings, but the combination of food, moisture, heat, and frequent deliveries creates additional opportunities for pest activity.
Cockroaches
German cockroaches are one of the biggest concerns for commercial kitchens. They thrive in warm, humid environments and can hide in extremely small cracks and crevices.
Cockroaches are commonly found around dishwashing areas, sinks, drains, refrigerators, ovens, and other equipment that provides warmth and moisture. They can also arrive in cardboard boxes, food shipments, and other deliveries.
Once a cockroach infestation begins, it will be nearly impossible to eliminate on your own. Be sure to contact your pest control vendor for immediate cockroach treatments.
Rats and Mice
Rodents are attracted to restaurants because food is readily available. Rats and mice enter through gaps around doors, pipes, utility lines, vents, foundations, and other openings.
Once inside, they can hide behind appliances, inside walls, above ceilings, and in storage areas. Rodents also create a serious food contamination concern because they can spread pathogens through droppings, urine, saliva, and contaminated surfaces.
If you see a rat or mouse, or their droppings, be sure to call a professional rodent exterminator immediately.
Flies
Fruit flies, house flies, and drain flies are common problems in restaurants. Different species are attracted to different conditions, but standing water, food residue, garbage, drains, and organic buildup can all contribute to fly activity.
A fly problem that keeps returning often points to a sanitation or moisture issue that needs to be corrected at the source.
Ants
Ants may enter commercial kitchens while searching for food and water. They can travel along walls, pipes, utility lines, and other pathways before reaching food preparation or storage areas.
Simply killing the ants you see often does not eliminate the colony. Effective ant control focuses on identifying where they are entering and locating the conditions attracting them.
How to Prevent Rats and Rodents from Entering Your Restaurant
Rodent prevention starts with making your building difficult to enter and removing the conditions that attract them. These tips are specifically for rodents, but most apply to all pests.
Seal Entry Points
Inspect the exterior of the building regularly for gaps and openings. Pay particular attention to areas around pipes, utility lines, doors, vents, loading docks, and the foundation.
A damaged door sweep can create an easy entry point, particularly around back doors and delivery entrances that receive frequent use.
Keep Food Properly Stored
Store food in sealed containers and keep ingredients off the floor. Clean up spills and food debris promptly, particularly underneath shelving, appliances, and other equipment that is difficult to move.
Do not overlook storage areas. Rodents often find food in places employees rarely inspect.
Manage Trash and Dumpsters
Keep garbage containers closed and remove waste regularly. Clean up spills around dumpsters and keep the area surrounding the dumpster free of unnecessary clutter.
If your restaurant shares an alley or dumpster area with neighboring businesses, pay particular attention to signs of rodent activity around the property line.
Eliminate Water Sources
Fix leaking faucets, pipes, drains, and refrigeration equipment. Standing water around sinks, floor drains, mop areas, and other parts of the kitchen can provide pests with the moisture they need.
Keep the Building Clean and Organized
Sanitation plays a major role in pest prevention, but even a clean restaurant can experience pest activity. Regularly clean beneath and behind equipment, remove unnecessary cardboard and clutter, and keep storage areas organized.
The goal is to eliminate food, water, and hiding places wherever possible.
Signs Your Current Pest Control Isn’t Working
A pest control program should do more than reduce the number of pests you see temporarily. If activity continues, the underlying problem may not be adequately addressed.
You’re Still Seeing Live Pests
Occasional pest sightings can happen in any commercial kitchen, but frequent sightings or increasing activity are warning signs. Seeing cockroaches during daylight hours can be particularly concerning because cockroaches are generally more active at night.
You Keep Finding Droppings
Rodent droppings around food storage areas, equipment, walls, or other parts of the restaurant indicate active or recent rodent activity. Simply cleaning the droppings without determining where the rodents are coming from does not solve the problem.
Pests Keep Appearing in the Same Locations
If cockroaches repeatedly appear around the same sink, drain, appliance, or storage area, there may be an entry point, harborage area, or food and moisture source that has not been addressed.
Employees Are Finding Pests During the Day
When employees regularly encounter pests during operating hours, the problem deserves immediate attention. Customers should never have to encounter insects or rodents while dining, and employees should not have to work around recurring pest activity.
The Problem Keeps Returning After Treatment
If pest activity disappears for a short period and then returns, treatment may be addressing the symptoms rather than the source. Effective commercial pest control combines treatment with monitoring, sanitation recommendations, exclusion, and ongoing inspections.
Restaurant Pest Control Checklists
Implementing consistent, daily, and monthly routines is one of the most effective ways to prevent pest infestations, and doesn’t require professional help.
Daily Inspection Checklist (For Opening/Closing Staff)
Perimeter Check: Inspect all exterior doors and loading docks; ensure seals and sweeps are intact and doors close tightly.
Waste Management: Empty all indoor trash bins and ensure outdoor dumpsters are closed and latched. Clean up any debris around the dumpster area.
Sanitation: Wipe down all food preparation surfaces and ensure no food residue remains. Sweep/mop floors, paying special attention to corners, under appliances, and behind equipment.
Moisture Control: Wipe down sinks and faucets to remove standing water. Check floor drains for debris buildup and clear if necessary.
Storage: Verify all food items are stored in sealed containers and off the floor. Check delivery boxes for signs of pest activity (e.g., egg cases, droppings) before moving them into storage.
Monthly Deep Inspection Checklist (For Management)
Structural Integrity: Conduct a thorough walk-around of the building exterior. Seal any new cracks in the foundation, gaps around utility lines, or damaged vents with pest-proof materials.
Equipment Audit: Move heavy appliances (refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers) to clean underneath and behind. Inspect these areas for droppings, grease buildup, or nesting materials.
Drain Maintenance: Treat all floor drains with an approved enzymatic cleaner to prevent organic buildup that attracts flies.
Storage Organization: Rotate stock to ensure older items are used first and that there is no hidden clutter or cardboard where pests could harbor.
Logbook Review: Review the pest control logbook. Ensure that all service reports are present, internal staff reports of pest activity are logged and addressed, and any recurring issues are flagged for discussion with your pest control vendor.
How Much Does Restaurant Pest Control Cost?
The size and location of your restaurant, frequency of treatments, and types of pests needing treatment for all impact the price of the service. Most restaurants in New Jersey invest anywhere from $75-$300/month for routine pest control, while an emergency or one-time infestation treatment could be more.
The key is to prevent a larger infestation from occurring. Once this happens, it will not only be more expensive to treat, but could cause restaurant closure.
Restaurant Pest Control in New Jersey
Running a restaurant is complicated enough without worrying about cockroaches, rodents, flies, ants, and other pests. A proactive pest control program helps protect your customers, employees, food, reputation, and compliance with New Jersey food safety requirements.
ELDER Pest Control provides commercial pest control services for restaurants and commercial properties throughout South Jersey. Our team will inspect your restaurant, identify pest activity and potential entry points, and develop a preventative treatment plan based on the specific needs of your facility.
If you’re dealing with recurring pest problems or want to strengthen your restaurant’s preventative pest control program, contact ELDER Pest Control today to schedule an inspection.