Pest Control for Pet Food Manufacturers: What You Should Know

Just like human food manufacturers, pet food manufacturers are committed to high standards. This includes high standards of hygiene and keeping food free from pests.

But if you’re in the pet food manufacturing game, you’ll know that this can be easier said than done. Pests can try to access facilities or even be present in the food supplies you buy. So, what’s the solution for keeping pet food pest-free?

Let’s take a closer look at the issues at play and exactly what pet food manufacturers need to know about pest control.

The Cost of Pests in Pet Food Manufacturing

For pet food manufacturers, the presence of pests in facilities is more than an annoyance. An infestation can have a serious impact on profitability in a number of ways.

Firstly, once a pest infestation is identified, you have to temporarily halt operations. This allows time to call pest control and try to perform damage limitations in an effort to control the infestation. These treatments and protective measures should also prevent pests from returning.

Then, you have to deal with the aftermath. You may have to discard large quantities of supplies in storage that have been infested with pests, or you may have to discard prepared food that hasn’t been packaged yet.

It’s important to note that infestations don’t happen overnight. By the time you notice an infestation, damage may already have been done. You may have to issue a product recall and stop the sale of inventory that’s already been shipped out.

As a result, bad press may ensue, which no company wants. All in all, pest control for pet food manufacturers is a very serious matter!

Best Practice for Avoiding Pest Infestations

In the United States, the pet food industry is highly regulated. Food manufacturers follow high standards in both food safety and general hygiene.

Once ingredients reach the warehouse, testing for pests can take place. This avoids introducing pests that are already active in ingredients, such as grain, from entering the facility and causing an infestation to spread.

The main danger time is during storage. Meat and other perishable items are usually stored in deep freezers before processing. But, other ingredients may stay in warehouses at ambient temperature. This is when larvae already present in the dry goods could further develop and cause issues.

A quick turnaround of raw ingredients can help to keep this problem at bay. It’s best practice to store ingredients for as little time as possible.

High standards of hygiene are vital to stop pests from making their home in warehouses. Clean up spilled food immediately; even crumbs can be enough to attract pests.

Warehouse racking also needs to be regularly cleaned. Some pests will migrate to hidden crevices in the racking to pupate. You will not eradicate an infestation and keep it away unless the racking is clean.

Pest Threats for Pet Food Manufacturers

As with any place that stores food, pet food manufacturers are magnets for cockroaches, rats, and other common pests. But for the food manufacturer, the biggest threat sometimes comes from inside the facility. This is a group of pests called stored product pests (SPPs).

If you make pet food, you’ll likely have to store large quantities of dried goods. This is fodder for many SPPs.

Identifying SPPs

There are many types of SPPs, and most have a type of food they are particularly drawn to. For example, the rice weevil feeds on kernels and flour beetles feed on processed grain.

But then there are SPPs that are cosmopolitan feeders. These pests chow down on anything they can sink their tiny teeth into. This pest type includes warehouse beetles and indianmeal moths.

The problem with these pests is that they can be very difficult to spot when the product first arrives in the warehouse. You may be handling large quantities of grain or flour to prepare dog food or cat food, for example. If you keep this longer than 30 days, the tiny larvae can mature into full-grown insects and wreak havoc.

To properly control these pests, you need a solution that kills not only the adult beetles but also the eggs. If they are not controlled at this point, they can get into packaged products. This can lead to the aforementioned recalls and all the negative consequences that go along with them.

Infestations can then easily spread to trucks and the structure of the building. Tackling the infestation at this stage can lead to significant disruption. This could include downtime for manufacturing processes.

Cryonite is the Solution

To handle pests common to pet food manufacturers, you need a solution that is safe and effective. It needs to be non-toxic to your ingredients, and to your workers. It also needs to kill the larvae, as well as the adult pests.

Enter Cryonite. Cryonite is a unique pest control solution. It harnesses the power of freezing temperatures to bring an end to pest infestations.

Cryonite is highly effective on pests from tiny beetles to critters as large as German cockroaches. It works by spraying liquid carbon dioxide. This freezing snow shower kills most insects on contact.

The CO2 is simply released into the air. There is no toxic residue, which allows you to preserve the value of your stock items.

Also, it is a low prep pest control solution. You don’t need to close the entire facility down and leave it for a period of time. It involves no harmful chemicals and allows you to get on with business as usual.

Choose Cryonite for Pet Food Manufacturing Pest Control!

Don’t let pests affect your bottom line or your reputation. Smart pet food manufacturers have found the solution to pest control. The answer lies in the freezing method of Cryonite.

Cryonite will help you to control insect infestations without the use of unpleasant and toxic chemicals. This protects your inventory and your staff, allowing your business to function as usual.