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Home  /  Pest Control  /  Prevent Illnesses Caused by Pests: Bar Cleaning and Sanitation
Don't let the bed bugs bite... and other pest-related sayings
24 May 2021

Prevent Illnesses Caused by Pests: Bar Cleaning and Sanitation

Written by Carin Arenz
Carin Arenz
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Pest problems in food and drink establishments can cause serious foodborne illnesses. We take a look at some cleaning and sanitation best practices you can employ in your bar to prevent a pest problem.

Whether you run a restaurant with a bar attached or a stand-alone bar or pub, pests –  especially flies and cockroaches – can be a real problem. And customers definitely don’t want to patronise an establishment with a pest problem. And you definitely don’t want to run the risk of passing on a pest borne disease to them. Rentokil can help you protect your business and your customers from pest-related problems and diseases.

Why are pests attracted to bars and pubs?

The fermenting sugars in alcoholic drinks – whether from spills, the dregs left in the bottom of the glass, or the residues in sinks and drains – are extremely appealing to flies, fruit flies especially.

Fruit flies will take advantage of any fermenting or sugary substance, which means that everything from the maraschino cherries, pineapple wedges, and fruit garnishes prepared for exotic cocktails through to the beer and cider soaked bar mats and drip trays become an attractant. You can read more about the problems caused by fruit flies in your bar in our previous blog post.

And if your bar serves food or bar snacks, then cockroaches are also a potential problem, because they too love the crumbs and spills your patrons leave behind. Both cockroaches and flies can pose real illness risks to your patrons.

So here are 14 best practice tips that you can implement in your bar to reduce the likelihood of pests setting up residence and potentially making your customers ill.

Best practice sanitation and cleaning tips that you can implement in your bar:

We’re certain that implementing these best practice tips for cleaning and sanitation in your bar will go a long way to eliminating pest problems and the illnesses associated with pests.

Book a free pest risk survey with one of our pest experts today to ensure that your establishment is completely pest-free.

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Carin Arenz
Carin Arenz

Carin Arenz is the Senior Online Content Executive at Rentokil Initial South Africa, where she creates and optimises digital content that helps businesses and homeowners better understand pest prevention and control. She specialises in developing user-focused, search-optimised content, improving website copy, and enhancing the online customer experience through clear, engaging, and informative content. Working closely with technical experts and the wider marketing team, Carin is passionate about creating content that is both valuable to readers and aligned with digital best practices.

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