Insect heaven makes kitchen hell

27 July 2011

The UK’s current freak weather which sees sudden downpours followed by bursts of heat is creating a humid climate that’s ideal for insects to breed in big numbers and many pest exterminators are now reporting significant increases in calls from infested workplaces.

Plus the early, prolonged warm weather in spring appears to have led to the early arrival of wasps which means they have had longer to build bigger nests over the summer. However flies often pose a much bigger threat to workplaces and especially those with any type of catering facilities or food on the premises due to the pest's attraction to anything edible.

In addition with a single fly harbouring up to six million bacteria on its feet alone it's vital to take as many precautions as possible to protect against them according to workplace equipment provider Slingsby.

Common house flies can carry and spread a wide range of serious diseases including typhoid, cholera, gangrene, tuberculosis, gonorrhoea, bubonic plague, leprosy, diphtheria, scarlet fever, amoebic dysentery and poliomyelitis.

Lee Wright, Marketing Director at Slingsby, said: “Although there are lots of species of flies the most dangerous is the common house fly and these actually cause more deaths than sharks, spiders or snakes through the diseases they spread. For this reason businesses can't afford to take any chances where flies are concerned. Seeing flies near food is damaging enough for an organisation's reputation but there are also legal requirements under The Food Hygiene Regulations 2006, although it's not uncommon to see these laws being breached.

“The law states that where necessary, any windows opening directly into food preparation areas must be fitted with insect proof screens. These must be capable of resisting common flying insects, ideally with openings of less than 2mm, and also be removable for cleaning. In addition kitchen doors which lead outside and are open for lengthy periods should also have an insect-proof screen door.”

Lee added: “When you consider the dangers that flies pose, you can't afford to take chances with them. To beat any persistent flies that successfully find their way into food preparation areas, electric insect killers are very effective and we consistently sell high volumes of these to all types of businesses with kitchens and food preparation areas.”