World Grain - March 2018 - 96

FEATURE

SANITARY

DESIGN

Proper design will minimize the risk of pest infestation inside a facility

by Chelle Hartzer

FACILITY STRUCTURE AND LIGHTING
Pest management should be a consideration from the
ground up. It's worth the investment to use materials
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ity door sweeps and permanent seals (versus temporary
foam) can prevent pests from gaining access.
Older facilities likely have structural issues like wall
voids, ledges and crevices, which are perfect for harboring pests. It's worth having an inspection of your fa96

cilities, especially if you haven't in the last few months,
to ensure there aren't any high-risk areas of this nature.
There's a good chance these areas have been overlooked for a while and could use a deep clean.
Once the structure of your facility is built for success,
you need to consider the lighting installed both inside
and outside the building. There's no reason to attract
additional pests to your facility if you can easily install
different lighting to prevent it. It's recommended to use
sodium vapor lights on the outside of your building.
Lights should not be directly over personnel or dock
doors. If possible, lights should not be installed on the
building itself, but pointed toward the structure for illumination. That way, the brightest point of the light will
attract insects up and away from the building while still
providing enough light source on the building. Inside
the building, lights can still attract insects if they are
near enough to windows. Consider using solid doors,
covering windows or installing motion-activated lights
so they aren't on all night.
AIR CIRCULATION
At any facility, it's important to establish positive air
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facility.
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them inside your facility.
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try the following: stand in an open doorway when there's
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blows toward the inside of your facility, then you have
March 2018 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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uilding a new facility or renovating your current
one? There's a lot to consider when designing
your new space, especially when it comes to pest
management.
First and foremost, the ability to clean all areas of
your facility - be it underneath machinery, in the
cracks and crevices between walls and storage, or within the machinery/structures themselves - needs to be
included in the planning process from the start.
Keep in mind that sanitary design for a new space
will help save time and effort down the road by making
it easier to clean up and eliminate the food, as moist
and sheltered areas attract pests the most. While this
should be considered as part of any current Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) program, it's often overlooked
when designing a new area.
If you don't consider sanitary design in the planning
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machinery. If that's the case, your facility will be set
up for future pest issues. And with pests comes the risk
of dangerous pathogens being spread around a facility.
Don't let this be the case. Consider the following even
if you're simply looking to make changes to the design
of your current facility layout.

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World Grain - March 2018

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