PREVRA Pest Control Checklist: Detect Infestations Before They Take Hold
A systematic pest monitoring checklist for UK food businesses. Covers all pest types, monitoring points, proofing checks, and the records your EHO expects to see.
Why pest control monitoring matters for your food hygiene rating
Pest activity is one of the fastest routes to a hygiene rating of 2 or below. An EHO finding rodent droppings, cockroach casings, or fly activity in a food preparation area will take immediate enforcement action — including potential closure. The financial cost of pest-related closure averages £5,000-£15,000 in lost revenue alone, before remediation.
The counter-intuitive reality: a single house mouse produces up to 80 droppings per day and urinates constantly as it moves. You will not necessarily see the mouse — the droppings, smear marks, and gnawed packaging appear first. By the time you spot the animal, the infestation is already established. Your checklist must train staff to look for the signs, not the pest itself.
Using this pest control checklist in your weekly routine
Assign pest monitoring to a trained staff member — ideally the same person each week so they notice changes. Check all bait stations, monitor for droppings and gnaw marks, inspect door seals and drain covers, and verify that fly screens are intact. Record every finding, even negative ones. An EHO wants to see consistent monitoring, not just problem reports.
Paper pest control logs are acceptable but easily neglected. Digital SFBB pest monitoring reminds staff when checks are due, stores photographic evidence of bait stations and proofing, and builds a timeline that proves your due diligence. If a pest issue does arise, you can show the EHO exactly when your monitoring picked it up and what corrective action you took.
Mistakes in pest control that cost ratings
DIY pest control. Using shop-bought rodenticide or insecticide in a commercial kitchen is illegal and dangerous. Only a certified pest control contractor can apply treatments in food premises.
Ignoring the exterior. Most pest ingress happens through external doors, drains, and delivery bays. If your checklist only covers the kitchen, you are monitoring the symptoms, not the cause.
Not acting on findings. Recording droppings in a bait station and doing nothing about it is worse than not recording at all — it proves you knew about the problem and failed to control it.
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