Pest control in the hospitality industry

by Darryl Thomson BSc MIH

Welcome to Taking the Lead, a series of blogs from members of our  Technical Advisory Board covering hot topics across the food and hospitality industry to provide valuable expert insights to food business owners and operators.  

In this article, leading safety advisor Darryl Thomson is here to talk through all things pest control – diving into the challenges businesses face with pest infestations and the vital role that responsible pest control measures play in maintaining health & safety and food safety standards. 

In any food business operator’s journey through the hospitality industry, dealing with a pest or rodent infestation is inevitable – and even the best run and most hygienic establishments can suffer a pest problem.

Pests can enter food preparation areas, burrow into food packaging and contaminate it, rendering the food inedible. They can also spread diseases through their fur, feet, droppings, urine and saliva, as well as harmful bacteria like salmonella and E. coli if they are carrying it. Inevitably, this causes illness and food poisoning in anyone who then eats the affected food – and could cause a whole host of other problems. When faced with a pest infestation, the health of customers and employees is at risk, as well as the business’ reputation.

Food business operators need to employ the services of a pest control contractor and take ongoing preventative action to avoid pest infestations. These will include pest proofing the premises, high standards of cleanliness and hygiene – particularly the removal of all food debris – and trapping and baiting. In most circumstances, these actions are successful, the pest infestation is kept under control and the food risk is removed.

Exceptional pest infestations

It’s important to note that a heavy infestation can often be caused by external events. For example, major building work can cause a local population of rodents, usually mice, to move ‘en masse’ and invade a food business. The construction work associated with the Cross Rail Link and the creation of an additional 12 kilometres of tunnels under central London caused rodent populations to scatter and find new homes in many food businesses. When infestations like these happen, existing pest control measures can be overwhelmed and the risks associated with pest invasions become all too real once again.

Pest control measures: considerations around rodent glue traps

The measures that pest control contractors use are regulated with animal welfare as a priority. But, in exceptional circumstances, contracts might resort to the use of glue traps. A rodent glue trap is a type of device designed to attract mice onto a sticky adhesive which immobilises them. They’re a controversial method for catching mice, as while they are effective, they have the potential to be cruel if not used properly.

Glue boards are a safe and relatively inexpensive method of pest control and they prevent mice from dying in unreachable hiding places. However, they can be traumatising for non-target animals, especially pets and wildlife – with the RSPCA having rescued buzzards and cats from them in the last year. The glue traps can also cause immense pain to the rodents, so they must be monitored very carefully to ensure the least amount of suffering possible.

The right course of action is to introduce controls to ensure glue traps are used responsibly to minimise suffering and that they are only used by trained specialists, in exceptional circumstances and when all other control measures have been exhausted.

Governments in England, Scotland and Wales have introduced controls to remove or reduce the use of rodent glue traps – and in Wales, they’ve been banned since October 2023.

Here in England, Defra have previously stated they would introduce a licensing regime to control the use of glue traps, and in April 2024, they announced key principles and dates for glue board licensing in England – subsequently, the Glue Traps (Offences) Act came into force on 31 July 2024. This stated that glue boards could only be used in exceptional circumstances and that food service venues would not be considered as exceptional circumstances.

Food Alert clients and UKHospitality members were rightly concerned about this – for all the reasons I’ve mentioned above. Food service venues are under great risk of pest infestations, and they can be hard to remove if they get out of control. Therefore, Food Alert and UKHospitality support the introduction of licensing of rodent glue traps in food service venues, with their use being strictly controlled. They should only be used in exceptional circumstances which should be determined on a risk basis, rather than an arbitrary sector definition.

During discussions with Defra, Food Alert clients provided examples of when glue traps could be used in food service venues, as well as a general idea of the frequency of their use. Following this, Defra has removed their wording that food service venues will never be considered as exceptional circumstances. Following the introduction of the new licensing regime, Food Alert will continue to engage with Defra along with our clients and UKHospitality to ensure the food industry has our say in glue trap licensing and give feedback on how the licensing regime will work.

Understandably, no food business wants to be associated with pests and the food risks involved, and most will be managing the threat of pests on an ongoing basis. No food business wants to be associated with the use of cruel pest control methods either – however rodent glue traps are playing a role in reducing food risk and to remove them completely without consideration of how that risk is to be managed would be a worrying development for the sector.

Food Alert are delighted that our clients have been able to help influence government policy, cementing ourselves as leadership in important issues like this – however the task is not over yet. While we’ve persuaded Defra not to state that exceptional circumstances and therefore the use of glue boards cannot apply in food service, the next step is for operators, enforcement and government to work together to make the licensing regime work, and to ensure that food risk is controlled with the minimum use of glue boards.