3 min

Delivering solutions to clients: Controlling bird, vermin and insect infestations

Imagine you run a manufacturing business. It’s the peak season, and you’re busy ensuring that your employees stay healthy, your production is efficient, compliant with your customers standards, and your equipment runs smoothly. Then, you start to notice some issues: packages have holes in them, workers are getting ill, the machinery isn't working as well as it should be. Pests have infiltrated your warehouse, contaminating products, chewing through wiring, putting employee health at risk, and customer relations in jeopardy.

Pests can spread throughout a facility very quickly if not managed effectively. They can cause unsanitary issues, leading to legal action or public health concerns. They can wreak havoc on machinery and equipment, leading to costly repairs or replacements. They may also damage a company's reputation and revenue if customers stop trusting the product range and opt for a competitor. Taking preventative action against pest damage is pragmatic, diligent and much more cost effective in both time and money – we can help you implement this.

Industry-leading solutions

Our UK colleagues at Kiwa’s Pest Management Consultancy support many companies across Europe with industry-leading solutions in pest management. Often, this begins with a reliable, independent pest management strategy, designed to protect food manufacturing, storage, and distribution facilities from potential damage caused by pests.

Preventive action may include the following measures:

  • Appropriate storage and sanitation to ensure premises don’t attract pests
  • Helping companies comply with all the relevant regulations
  • Regular on-site inspections to identify potential problems early

A diligent pest management strategy, in short, can help protect public health and save businesses time, money, embarrassment and severe economic losses.

An exciting dimension for Kiwa

Business Unit Manager Lisa Williams comments “Acheta, the UK's largest independent pest management specialist, joined the Kiwa family back in 2019. Pest Management consultancy complements the Kiwa Agri Food service offering very well. Our Pest Management consultants provide support to food manufacturing, pharmaceutical, hospitality, retail, food service, museums, heritage and property management companies throughout the UK and Europe. Our ambition is to offer a truly global service.”

Independent industry experts available to you

Kiwa’s Pest Management services are independent pest control providers. We are a member of the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) Certificated Field Biologists and work with clients to discover the best, most cost-effective pest control solution for client’s situation. Experts in inspection, they are trained to identify the nature, extent and root cause of long-standing infestations helping to implement effective solutions. Clients and retailer auditors find  our independence and control strategy services valuable. This service can include permanent or temporary remote rodent monitoring, along with data analysis and heat mapping to help strategise eradication. Our UK colleagues also provide training and education in areas such as essential pest awareness, advanced pest awareness, rodent pests and their control, bed bug awareness and pest control contract management.

The pest management market is growing steadily, driven by trends such as urbanisation, increased global travel and transport, and tightening regulations in many countries. At Kiwa, we want to be in the lead in this vitally important field. “Today, our technical pest management consultants provide independent consultancy for challenging pest situations around the world. The key to our success is our established and highly qualified consultants operating to rigorous standards and utilising their extensive experience.  Whilst the pests, environments and practices may be different, our approach translates perfectly” explains Mark Bowron, Operations Manager, for Kiwa Independent Pest Consultancy

The darker sides of birds, rodents and insects

Insects, rodents, and birds contribute to life on our planet in many ways, and there are many places where they naturally belong. The food processing environment is definitely not one of those places. Read on for some unsavoury details – and to learn why pest control is so important.

Faeces, body parts, or hairs

The presence of birds, rodents and insects in the food processing environment can lead to various health hazards. These organisms can contaminate food items and operational equipment with faeces, body parts, or hairs. They may contain multiple disease-causing pathogens that put consumers at risk. Furthermore, parasites carried by these species can also be transferred to humans, causing illness and psychological stress.

Rodents and insects

Rodents and insects can cause extensive property damage, consume stored food products, and spread disease. Rodent gnawing can easily puncture wood and aluminium. Rodents can also put buildings at risk of fire if they attack electric cables.

Insect infestations will decimate food stocks, block production, damage machinery, and can potentially lead to product recalls. 

Bird droppings

Bird droppings can transmit disease, create many hazardous slip and trip risks, clog gutters and chimney flues, and attract many other pest insects to the site. This damage can be costly for property owners in terms of lost production time and financial outlay. It is paramount to take preventive measures against such pests for the protection of people and property.