Stored product pests pose a significant danger to your inventory. Throughout the world, these insects are thought to destroy about 10% of grain production every year. In the US alone, that translates into a loss of about $3 billion every year. It is practically challenging to tell how many pounds of food are destroyed annually because of various types of contamination from stored product pests, but we know these pests are capable for costing you money and threatening your bottom line.

Stored product pests don’t feed only on grains; they will eat many types of food, but are known to contaminate more food than they actually eat. Pests including the red flour beetle, the sawtoothed grain beetle, the warehouse beetle, the cigarette beetle and the flour beetle are all drawn to your commercial environment because of warmth, light and the presence of food or high levels of moisture. Some pests are internal feeders, which lay their eggs within the grain so that the larvae can munch on the inside of the grain. Some of these pests are external feeders, which means they prefer to feed on the exterior of the grain. No matter how they like to feed, if they are in your inventory, they will be harming your product and costing you money.

You Can Prevent Food Pests By:

• Committing yourself to a first-in, first-out system by writing the date of arrival on the product packaging and rotating items in the order received.
• Storing products on wire-back shelves that are up off the floor and away from the wall to prevent product deterioration, which makes it more attractive to hungry pests.
• Keeping temperatures in your facility below 65F and reducing areas of humidity by keeping the environment ventilated.
• Introducing an effective sanitation program to eliminate the conditions that may attract these pests to your facility in the first place.
• Regularly inspecting the facility for signs of infestation that may include adult pests, webbing and live larvae.
• Partnering with a commercial pest control professional to help identify conditions that are conducive to pests and eliminate pest activity.

At Copesan, we have more than 55 years of experience protecting food environments and our Signature Care program is a comprehensive solution for your commercial pest management needs. Through enhanced inspection, strategic protection, immediate escalation and fast resolution, real-time electronic documentation, customized reporting, trending and analysis we can deliver pest management service to all types of facilities to keep your inventory protected from stored product pests and other pest invaders. Contact us today for more information on our pest management services for the commercial sector.