Pest Control/Bug Lights and catch analysis
Hello!
I just started with a new company and I have never seen anything like what they are doing here. We batch oils and package oil for sale. That being said they have maintenance write down how many flies they saw dead in their light traps, which is all well in good. However, they have a bug chart for how many: Low 0-24 or below, Medium 24-49, High 50 or more. When I asked what they do when its 50 or more, they stated that is not to many so nothing. My reply was if you say it was high we need a corrective action. To me I would not even want a bug number chart, and do not believe it is needed, but wanted to get some opinions.
Hello!
I just started with a new company and I have never seen anything like what they are doing here. We batch oils and package oil for sale. That being said they have maintenance write down how many flies they saw dead in their light traps, which is all well in good. However, they have a bug chart for how many: Low 0-24 or below, Medium 24-49, High 50 or more. When I asked what they do when its 50 or more, they stated that is not to many so nothing. My reply was if you say it was high we need a corrective action. To me I would not even want a bug number chart, and do not believe it is needed, but wanted to get some opinions.
Do you have a pest control contractor?
I know bug counts are usually taken for trending purposes so a company gets to see an overall picture of the year; e.g. higher count in warmer months would be okay whereas in colder months wouldn't be so there might be issues to address.
Weird indeed to take count and do nothing about it, what does your pest control procedure say?
I am in the process of reviewing, as it does not even come close to what is needed. I plan on changing it but wanted to get feedback.
I personally would use the bug counts as a justification of when/how often you need to monitor your light traps. The pest control company at a previous employer justified turning off the light traps in the winter months b/c they weren't necessary. I got a trend report every week and I know they never counted how many bugs we had.
In 25 years of auditing and consulting I have never seen a maintenance department do a count on flies/bugs.
That is so dang funny!
General rule - a couple of flies is a problem and if nothing done then the problem is the facility management/owner and the PCO.
Hi,
1) It is best you consult a Pest Control expert to:
- identify the pests you get to know which appropriate mechanisms you can use
- ask recommended threshold/count to categorise "low", "action limit", etc.
- qualify your personnel and train them on dealing with high counts
2) With the trends that you have, determine which area/s has/have the more count. Conduct pest-proofing.
Are the flies just coming in from outside? Are the flies breeding within the facility? Within the stored raw materials? Within the product?
The monitoring of traps and other IPM monitoring devices are supposed to provoke these sorts of questions. They may even help answer them. Plotting trends means nothing without questions.
In 25 years of auditing and consulting I have never seen a maintenance department do a count on flies/bugs.
That is so dang funny!
General rule - a couple of flies is a problem and if nothing done then the problem is the facility management/owner and the PCO.
Certainly I deter to SQFconsultant's many years of auditing and consulting, but I have to say, I'm not sure why a program that counts or identifies flies/bugs is funny as such. I implemented one in our facility this spring/summer (I began at my position in winter) and plan on trending it. Through the program, I and our pest control company were able to identify an infestation of carpet beetles that emerged in a specific month and that was determined to be reproducing in stacks of cardboard in the warehouse. Through the program, the infestation was immediately caught and controlled.
I agree that counting/identifying without specified limits or corrective action is absurd, but, like other pest-control indicators, the program may have uses if properly deployed