Flying insects are a universal cause of contamination throughout the food processing, manufacturing, and distribution businesses all over the world. As the summer months approach, this problem often becomes a huge issue. Controlling and trapping them is not the easiest of tasks because of their number and size. If left unchecked, these flying insects may start spreading illness and diseases by moving freely between garbage and food products.
From moths and mosquitoes to beetles, wasps, ladybugs, and different types of flies, there are over three hundred different flying objects that are continuous threats for food facilities that require consistent sanitation in order to comply with regulatory standards. Though flies are treated with maximum importance in this regards, night-flying moths and mosquitoes are more common intruders compared to them.
Trash cans with decaying debris, drains, crevices, and cracks can very easily attract phorid flies, bottle flies, fruit flies, and common house flies. Standing water is not only responsible for mosquito infestation, but it also invites fall invaders such as Asian ladybeetles and stinkbugs.
Though all flying insects have different breeding and feeding habits, it is possible to control all of them by properly deployed preventative measures. Before discussing how to protect your food business from flying insects, however, it is important to explain a few other relevant points.
What Attracts the Flying Insects?
Heat and odor, along with decaying food, debris, scum, and trash are the foremost flying insect attractants. Also, facilities with aging infrastructures such as old reservoirs, faulty sewer lines can very easily become breeding grounds for flying insects.
Areas with organic materials such as food wastes can be extremely attractive for filth flies and blow files. In fact, decaying organic material is a favorite breeding site for filth flies and they tend to follow both moisture and odor trails in search of these sites. In addition to food particles, different flying insects are also attracted to light for both warmth and heat. They are also attracted sometimes by the pheromones from other insects of the same species.
Key Food Business Hazards Caused by Flying Insects
- Flying insects tend to feed indiscriminately on excrement, waste, and food products. This invariably results in spreading of bacteria between different sources of food.
- Flying insects carry numerous unsanitary organisms that have extremely harmful impact on human health. Any deposition of these organisms on the produced food materials results in risk of disease transmission and increased spoilage.
- Flying insects sometimes embed themselves within the food particles, leading to further spoilage of food.
- All countries around the world have strict regulations prohibiting the presence of any flying insects within the premises of a food business. Therefore, adequate measures must be implemented by the business to control and eliminate all flying insects.
While implementing any pest control strategy, it is always better to consider preventative measures at the beginning. If these measures are strong enough, the requirement for major elimination procedures may reduce significantly. Mentioned below are some of the most important prevention strategies to protect your food business from flying insects.
Structural Prevention to Reduce Flying Insect Contamination
Door & Window Screening: Doors, windows, and ventilation points are key ingress areas for flying insects. It is a great idea to install insect screens on all entry points and maintain them properly.
Door Opening & Closure: Efforts must be made to reduce the door open time to absolute minimum because open doors are no less than invitations for all flying objects. If possible, you may consider installing automated door systems that are capable of opening and closing with very high speed.
Air Curtains: In all food related businesses, there are doors that remain open all the time, but need a protective barrier against flying objects. Air curtains are excellent solutions for these doors because they expel most flying insects by creating an airstream moving in a very high speed. Be careful to ensure that the airflow is directed outwards.
Strip Doors: In case of entry or exit points where air curtains are impractical because of size or cost, strip doors can be a viable solution. This not only deters almost all flying insects, but also offers a visual barrier.
Door & Window Seals: Every faulty seal or gaps in the door, window, or ventilation system create an opportunity for flying insects to enter your facility. Make sure that all these points are securely sealed and are well maintained.
Efficiency, Temperature, and Positive Pressure of Air Conditioning: Try to maintain a consistently cool and low odour environment within the facility because these conditions are not suitable for flying insects.
Further Measures to Eliminate Flying Objects
- All flowering plants must be located at least ten meters away from all entry or exit points.
- All the filters and exhaust outlets must be cleaned regularly to eliminate odor.
- All the trash must be stored in sealed bags and skip bins, and disposed on time before any overflow takes place.
- Regarding external lighting, it is better to avoid bright lights because flying insects are readily attracted to them.
- Eliminate all insect breeding grounds by regular use of sanitation products
- Power the lights down when they are not in use
- Make use of fly baits, sticky tapes, insect light traps (ILTs), and other popular elimination alternatives.
If you still have questions related to protecting your business premise from flying objects, please contact the experts at Vectothor. We take pride in being the creator of the most effective flying insect management system on the market.
