Protecting Your Trash From Hungry Pests

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You might be wondering why you should need to protect your trash bin from outdoor pests. Everything in it is garbage, after all. The problem is that after pests get used to eating garbage from your bin, they start to get bolder. Smaller pests like rodents and roaches will start looking for ways to get into your house, since they’re nearby anyway. Larger pests, like raccoons, will start to lose their fear of humans, which can be dangerous.

One of the best ways you can keep pests away from your home and property is by depriving them of an easy meal at your garbage bin. Follow these steps to make sure your bin is secured… so the only thing getting in and out of it is you.

 

black garbage bags

Only Throw Bags in Bin

It’s probably tempting to throw trash from your car directly into your bin when you get home, but it’s a bad idea. Loose garbage smells, attracting pests from near and far. It’s also a lot easier to get to and eat than food kept in a tied bag.

Throw any trash your home produces into bags before it goes out into the bin. The only thing that should go into your outdoor bin should be garbage bags. Make sure the garbage bags aren’t broken, and seal them tightly. If you only store bags in your bin, it’ll stay clean longer and won’t attract nearly as many pests.

 

bungee cords

Fasten Lid with Bungee Cord

Pests access your garbage bin by climbing up to the lid and squeezing under to get at the garbage inside. Pests can squeeze through tiny gaps, so if you’re going to secure your bin’s lid, you need to make sure it’s tightly and securely fastened down.

Make a chain of a couple bungee cords. Wrap them under and then over the bin from bottom-to-top, so that the pressure of the strain produced by the cords is weighing down on the lid of the trash can. Make sure there’s no slack in your bungee cord chain. If you made it tight enough, it should be impossible for any pests to open the lid and get into the bin. Unfasten the cord chain carefully before opening the lid yourself.

 

Rinsing out recycling

Rinse Liquids Out Before Disposing

Moisture, especially sugary moisture, attracts pests even more than easy food. Any trash that generates condensation or contains liquid will be like a beacon to thirsty pests.

Before disposing of recyclables like cans, bottles, or paper cups, make sure you rinse them out to get rid of any leftover fluid inside the receptacle. Do the same for any trash containing moisture, such as TV dinners or juice boxes. Dry the outside of the trash after rinsing.

 

Garbage and recycling bins sitting out on curb

Empty Once a Week

This one is obvious, but make sure your neighborhood’s garbage company empties your garbage and recycling bins once a week.

Check to make sure the garbage company is effectively collecting all of your trash. After their weekly collection, there should be nothing in your bin whatsoever. Make sure they aren’t letting any garbage fall out of the bin or truck to litter your property, either.

 

Hose spraying attachment

Wash Out Bin

Even if you only throw out sealed garbage bags, your bin will get dirty over time. Use your hose or a bucket of hot, sudsy water to rinse, wash, and re-rinse your garbage bin about once a month.

Scrape out any garbage residue and scrub down the inside and outside walls of the bin. Use dishwashing soap or another heavy-duty cleaning agent. Once you’re done, rinse out the inside and outside thoroughly. Repeat until your bin is totally clean.

 

Trash bins kept outside

Store Away From House

It’s a good idea to keep your outdoor garbage bin about 10 feet away from your house, even if it isn’t garbage day. That way, when pests come to check out the bin, they won’t associate it with your house and start to look for a way in.

This is especially important if your garbage bin smells, though regular cleaning should help remedy that problem.

 

Securing your garbage and recycling bins is a simple but effective way to keep pests out of your home and property. It’s also a good way to promote household hygiene awareness. If you can’t think about developing better pest-proofing habits until you’ve solved your current infestation problems, give Griffin a call today. We can make sure even the most frustrating of pests don’t trouble your home again.

April is National Pest Management Month

pest identification

Celebrate National Pest Management Month With Eight Great Pest Prevention Tips for Your Home

April is National Pest Management Month and Griffin Pest Solutions is joining fellow pest management professionals across the country in celebrating the valuable role the industry plays in protecting the public’s health, food supply and property from pests.

The dangers and annoyances pests bring to our everyday lives cannot be easily dismissed. The list of potential threats pest pose to property, food and people is very real. For example, did you know?

 Rodents can spoil food with their droppings and urine, and their chewing on electrical wires is a leading cause of house fires.
 Cockroaches contribute to asthma and allergies in children and adults.
 Bed bugs invade hotel rooms, dormitories, office buildings, apartment building and homes.
 Termites literally eat the wood – as much as a cup every two hours – in a structure without you ever hearing or seeing them.

That is why Griffin Pest Solutions’ highly-trained technicians work each and every day to help protect both our commercial and residential customers from these sometimes harmful but always annoying pests.

Spring marks a particularly busy time as pests emerge, looking for sources of food, water and shelter.  And, sometimes the simplest home improvements can be all that’s needed to help ward off infestations.  To assist homeowners in pest-proofing their home this spring, Griffin Pest Solutions offers the following

Tips:

1. Eliminate sources of standing water around the house, including birdbaths and in clogged gutters to help reduce biting mosquito populations.

2. Seal any cracks on the outside of the home with a silicone-based caulk, including entry points for utilities and pipes.

3. Replace weather-stripping and repair loose mortar around the foundation and windows.

4. Keep tree branches and shrubbery well-trimmed and away from the house. Overhanging branches can act as highways into the home.

5. Repair fascia and rotted roof shingles.

6. Keep mulch at least 15 inches from the foundation.

7. Keep basements, attics, and crawl spaces well ventilated and dry.

8. Store garbage in sealed containers and dispose of it regularly.

If you have a problem with or questions about household pests call or e-mail Griffin Pest Solutions at 888/547-4334 or callcenter@https://www.griffinpest.com/.

For more information on National Pest Management Month, visit http://www.pestworld.org/news-hub/press-releases/april-designated-as-national-pest-management-month/

Food Safety: Making the Grade With Third-Party Audits

Food Safety – Pest-free product

The damage pests can do to a food processing company’s products, reputation and bottom line cannot be simply dismissed as the cost of doing business. With the threat of possible food contamination and transmission of dangerous bacteria including E. coli, listeria or salmonella, pest management is a vital part of a food processing facility’s operation.

The most important item on a food processing facility’s checklist is successfully passing a third-party audit of your facility. If a facility fails an audit it can mean production shut downs, possible product recalls, fines and citations, damage to the brand, and lost revenue.

What are the missteps that cause facilities to be written up or fail an audit? The British Retail Consortium (BRC), a food safety and quality certification program, audited more than 17,000 facilities and identified the most common failing as documentation.

Almost 20% of the sites audited in 2014 by BRC had nonconformities in documentation of cleaning procedures. The other top 10 infractions and the percentage of plants with deficiencies are as follows:

  1. Documentation of cleaning procedures (18%)
  2. Properly maintained doors & docks (14%)
  3. Processes for control of chemicals (12%)
  4. Proper design & placement of equipment (12%)
  5. Documented glass/brittle material handling (12%)
  6. Adequate raw-material identification (11%)
  7. Proper wall maintenance (10%)
  8. Up-to-date document control system (10%)
  9. Properly maintained ceilings & overheads (9%)
  10. Proper storage of finished goods (9%)

As the BRC study revealed documentation is the most common deficiency leading to a failed audit. The documentation provided by a pest management professional will be closely scrutinized by regulators and auditors.

If there is a pest incident or failure the documentation needs to show that the facility and their pest management partner did everything in their power to prevent it and that the failure has been acted upon and the desired results (i.e. pest elimination) achieved.

Clients are fully responsible for the pest management program within their facilities and part of that responsibility is documentation.

Food Safety Modernization Act requirements demand a pro-active approach to pest management in food processing facilities. The documentation must produce the following trail of information for auditors and inspectors:

  • Show that a pest management program is in place to intervene and eliminate pest threats.
  • Describe what the pest issue was and what the response was to the issue.
  • Document the effectiveness of the response.
  • Document that the risk to the facility has been mitigated.

Well organized documentation will provide clients, auditors or inspectors a clear view of where the pest management program stands at any time.

Griffin Pest Solutions experienced, well-versed staff knows what documentation inspectors and auditors need and in what order they want to see it. This not only helps inspections and audits go smoother but also gives clients 24/7 peace of mind that their pest management program is working for them, not against them.

If you have questions or concerns about third-party audit inspections call or e-mail Griffin Pest Solutions at 888/547-4334 or callcenter@https://www.griffinpest.com/ for more information and no obligation assessment.

Rodents & Avian Flu

cheese thief

Rodents are known transmitters of a variety of harmful bacteria including salmonella and leptospirosis but new research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests avian flu can be introduced into poultry houses through rodents and wild birds.

The avian flu or bird flu is a virus that infects wild birds and domestic poultry including chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese. There are two strains of the virus – low pathogenic and highly pathogenic.

The low pathogenic occurs naturally in wild birds and can spread to domestic birds. In most cases avian flu causes no signs of infection or only minor symptoms in birds. The highly pathogenic avian flu spreads rapidly when introduced into poultry facilities and is often fatal in chickens and turkeys.

Common ways for the avian flu virus to spread include sharing of farm equipment between infected and non-infected facilities; lack of cleaning and disinfection of equipment, storage units and vehicles; and employees moving between infected and non-infected facilities.

How can poultry houses protect their flocks from the threat of rodents and other virus carrying mechanisms from infecting their facility:

  • Hire a professional pest management company to design and implement a rodent control program that includes not only control measures (trapping, baiting (where permitted) but preventative measures as well including exclusion and sanitation strategies.
  • A pest management professional can also design a bird management program that offers non-lethal mechanical, cultural and structural strategies for preventing disease-carrying birds from establishing nesting sites in and around your facility.
  • Keep an “all–in, all–out” philosophy of flock management. Process each lot of birds separately, and clean and disinfect poultry houses between flocks.
  • Protect poultry flocks from coming into contact with wild or migratory birds. Keep poultry away from any source of water that could have been contaminated by wild birds.
  • Permit only essential workers and vehicles to enter the farm. Provide clean clothing and disinfection facilities for employees.
  • Thoroughly clean and disinfect equipment and vehicles (including tires and undercarriage) entering and leaving the farm; Do not loan to, or borrow equipment or vehicles from, other farms.
  • Change footwear and clothing before working with your own flock after visiting another farm or live–bird market or avoid visiting another bird farm if possible.
  • Avian flu viruses are inactivated by heat and drying and also these viruses are very sensitive to most disinfectants and detergents. The area to be disinfected must be clear of organic material, which greatly increases the resistance of avian influenza virus’ resistance to disinfection.

Griffin Pest Solutions has been in business since 1929 providing world-class commercial pest management services to Michigan and Indiana. We are known as pioneers in the pest management industry, using technology to improve training and documentation, reduce costs, leave a smaller environmental-footprint, and to enhance the overall customer experience.

Please, email or call me today at 888-547-4334, or visit our website to learn more www.GriffinPest.com