Super clean kitchen in Port Reading still has cockroaches

Challenge

One of my larger commercial accounts, a restaurant in Port Reading, was experiencing sporadic roach sitings in different areas. To help monitor pest activity and determine the effectiveness of treatments, i set up insect monitors. These monitors are my “eyes” between visits. Usually, when you find trapped roaches on a monitor, they are trapped very close to their harborage areas, and you will find clusters or “pockets” of roaches, not individual roaches scattered here and there. 

I had placed insect monitors around the typical harborage areas —  near the water pipes under sinks, electrical conduits around the dishwasher, inside appliance cabinets, and near appliance motors. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and the roach activity based on the monitors didn't follow the usual pattern. I found a single roach trapped on a monitor in one area of the kitchen and then another roach on a trap in a totally different area. Roaches are not “lone wolves,” and when one is trapped in a monitor, there are usually others. So, finding these isolated roaches in my monitors was somewhat puzzling.

I sat down with the kitchen staff and building supervisor to explain my findings. This kitchen staff took exceptional pride in keeping their workplace spotless.  This was one of the cleanest commercial kitchens that I service, and they are a pleasure to work with. The stainless steel counters, cabinets were always kept spotless, and looked brand new. This roach infestation was not due to the usual hygiene and sanitation deficiencies. 

Solution

During our discussion, we talked about the one potential problem I noticed that was likely contributing to the roach infestation: There was an abundance of cardboard all over — on the shelves inside the cabinets and on the shelves in storage areas throughout the kitchen and dining areas. Roaches can easily be brought into a building with either live roaches or egg cases inside the spaces of corrugated boxes. And once the boxes are inside, they are a roach attractant. First, a roaches’ diet extends well beyond what we think of food. They eat household items including wallpaper glue and cardboard. Also, cardboard provides a dark and warm place for the bugs to hide and live, away from bright lights that they instinctively avoid. Because roaches use pheromones to communicate, they prefer porous surfaces that can soak in the scent. such as cardboard or wood. Based on the roach activity reflected in my monitors, the cardboard was providing a home for the roaches. As boxes were moved around, roaches were carried to different areas of the restaurant, and that was the likely reason why my monitors were trapping individual roaches.

The staff was ready and willing to help. They immediately removed cardboard from the kitchen areas, transferring all of their stored items to airtight plastic storage bins. Plastic bins are great for protecting against mold, mildew, insects, and rodents. I always encourage residential and commercial kitchens to use plastic storage and remove cardboard boxes and paper grocery bags immediately. When you store these paper products, you’re asking for trouble! Finally, the building supervisor took steps to seal all of the cracks and crevices throughout the kitchen areas to remove potential harborage sites.

My treatment plan was focused on reducing insect harborage areas by eliminating the three necessities for insect survival: food, water, and harborage areas. Unfortunately, roaches are among the most resilient insects on the planet. They can live for a month without food and for a week without water. Even if they lose their head (literally), they can even continue to live for a week or so!  

I’m confident that this particular roach infestation in this restaurant will be short-lived. Cooperation with the client to take appropriate preventative measures is the key for solving tough insect infestations and for preventing future infestations. In cases like this, when you have a team effort with your client, not only is a positive outcome virtually guaranteed, but also the infestation will be resolved quickly. And with restaurants, one day of a roach infestation is one day too many.