Pest control log template for food businesses

Pests are one of the fastest ways to lose a hygiene rating, and one of the easiest to evidence when you're on top of them. An EHO who finds a clean pest log with weekly checks, contractor visits and actions signed off sees a kitchen that's managed. One who finds droppings behind the fryer and no record sees the opposite.

Below are three templates you can copy: a routine pest check log, a sightings and action log, and a contractor visit log. Then how to use them.

Template 1: Routine pest check log

Do a quick check every day as part of opening checks, and a full walk-round weekly. Copy this table and add a row per check.

Weekly walk-round checklist

Based on the FSA's Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB) pest control method and extra checks:

• All areas inside and outside checked for signs of pest activity
• Food in storage areas properly covered, nothing open on the floor
• Walls, doors, floors and ceilings checked for holes, gaps or damage that could let pests in
• Insect screens on windows and openings intact
• Gaps around pipes and cables sealed
• External areas tidy and free from weeds and rubbish
• Bins have close-fitting lids and have been cleaned and disinfected
• Insect killers working (if fitted) and catch trays emptied
• Bait points (if any) in place, undisturbed and away from food
• No food or dirty plates left out overnight

Template 2: Sightings and action log

Use this whenever anyone sees a pest or a sign of one. The FSA says to write down what went wrong and what you did about it.

Template 3: Contractor visit log

If you use a pest contractor, the FSA says to keep a record of their contact details and visits, any feedback or action points they recommend, and when you carried those out.

Contractor contact: name, phone number and out-of-hours number, kept where every shift lead can find them.

What to look for: signs of each pest

From the FSA's SFBB pest control method:

How to use the templates

Decide your frequency and write it down

There's no legal frequency for pest checks. The FSA's opening checks include making sure all areas are free from evidence of pest activity every day. Its extra checks add a fuller inspection of the building and storage. A sensible default for most kitchens:

• Daily: quick look at opening, as part of opening checks.
• Weekly: full walk-round using Template 1.
• Every delivery: check for gnawed packaging or insects, and refuse the delivery if you find them. See food delivery checks.
• Per contractor visit: Template 3.

Whatever you choose, write it in your food safety management system and stick to it.

Name an owner

Pest checks drift when they're "everyone's job". Give the weekly walk-round to one named person per site, with a back-up for their days off.

Close the loop

A log full of "mouse droppings in dry store" with no action is worse than no log, because it shows you knew. Every sighting needs an action and a date it was closed. Every contractor recommendation needs an owner and a completion date.

If you find pests

The FSA's steps:

1. Call a pest contractor immediately.
2. Throw away any food you think pests have touched.
3. Wash, disinfect and dry any equipment, surfaces or utensils pests may have touched.
4. Write it down: what you found, what you did.

Then stop it happening again:

• make your pest checks more frequent
• raise cleaning and housekeeping standards
• train staff to recognise signs of pests and report them straight away
• consider a pest contract if you don't already have one

Safety point: never let pest control bait or chemicals, including sprays, come into contact with food, packaging, equipment or surfaces. They're likely to be poisonous to people.

Prevention beats treatment

Most pest problems start with access, food and shelter. The FSA's guidance for new food businesses says premises must be kept in good repair, openings to the outside need removable insect screens, and food waste must be removed promptly. In practice:

• seal gaps around pipes, doors and the bottom of external doors
• keep back doors shut, or screened
• store dry goods off the floor in sealed containers
• empty bins regularly and keep lids shut
• clear food and dirty plates away before you lock up
• keep the yard and bin store tidy

Choosing a pest contractor

The FSA suggests using the same checks you'd use for a supplier: choose a reputable firm you can trust, ask for trusted recommendations from other businesses, and expect properly referenced paperwork for each visit. Agree how quickly they'll respond to a call-out before you need one.

Or let ShiftComplete run it for you

Paper pest logs tend to live in a folder nobody opens until the EHO asks. ShiftComplete puts the routine on your team's phones:

• Opening checklists with "no evidence of pest activity" as a named, timestamped tick every day.
• Weekly checks that only appear on the day they're due, because checklists can differ by weekday. Require a photo for the bin store or dry store if you want proof.
• Incidents for any sighting: logged in seconds with a photo, severity and status (open or resolved), plus resolution notes when the contractor has been, all visible on the dashboard.
• Maintenance for proofing jobs like a broken fly screen or a gap under the back door, tracked until it's fixed.
• A full audit log with CSV export when you need to show your records.

It helps you keep the records an EHO asks to see. £1.49 per staff member per month, free for 60 days, no card needed.