Dec 20, 2011 – Water, Water Everywhere
QUESTION:
A restaurant has an issue with flies. They hose down the kitchen floor every night with hot water, leaving standing water every night. They also leave the fountain soda dispenser soaking overnight, and thus more water.
ANSWER:
You don't indicate what kind of flies you are dealing with here, but we can probably talk about this without knowing the details. However, it is important with respect to controlling the problem whether this is large flies like House or Blow flies or if it is small flies like Phorids, Drain flies, or fungus gnats. Since these different kinds of flies choose differing breeding sites, and the essence of fly management is to find and eliminate the breeding sites, knowing the enemy is important.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
A restaurant has an issue with flies. They hose down the kitchen floor every night with hot water, leaving standing water every night. They also leave the fountain soda dispenser soaking overnight, and thus more water.
ANSWER:
You don't indicate what kind of flies you are dealing with here, but we can probably talk about this without knowing the details. However, it is important with respect to controlling the problem whether this is large flies like House or Blow flies or if it is small flies like Phorids, Drain flies, or fungus gnats. Since these different kinds of flies choose differing breeding sites, and the essence of fly management is to find and eliminate the breeding sites, knowing the enemy is important.
From all the water you describe I'll assume the problem is going to be small flies. Hosing down the floor with hot water each night probably makes them feel secure that a good cleaning job has been done, but I am willing to bet that it comes up short of being thorough. Most likely it is the accessible open spaces that get hosed down, perhaps not even really washed so much as sprayed, and this could even lead to debris being shoved under equipment and into gaps in and around the floor. What a wonderful breeding medium this will create for phorids and drain flies. It also is a wonderful breeding environment for bacteria, which thrive in damp locations where any kind of organic matter resides. I have no idea how receptive they may be to your suggestions, but it would pay to get down on hands and knees with a flashlight and carefully inspect all those out-of-sight-out-of-mind places under equipment, and document what kind of buildup of organic crud is there. Put your findings in writing as a Sanitation Inspection that points out likely breeding sources for small flies, and work with the customer on an action plan for resolving the issue.
If the customer chooses to leave this entirely in your hands then wonderful, a new source of revenue for you. There are several excellent products at your fingertips for dealing with exactly this kind of unsanitary situation, such as Invade BioCleaner from Rockwell Labs. This product combines microbes with citrus oil and other cleaners and is labeled for application to surfaces where there is any buildup of organic material. The product eats away that buildup, including within crevices of floors or equipment that you treat. You also should carefully open and inspect all floor and sink drains, and if these have (and probably do) a buildup of scum they too can be treated with one of the many drain cleaners. Inspect the grease trap to be certain it is being properly maintained and emptied, and consider dropping one of the Invade BioBullets into this chamber. The standing water is less the issue than the fact that it encourages the growth of organic matter in wet settings, and this in turn breeds flies, and you can be paid for this add-on service.
As far as the fountain dispenser, I'm not picturing this very well. Do they remove the spigots or just put a bucket of water up under each of them? Either way it probably isn't being done in a manner that a health agency would approve of, so you might find out how this should be done and work with the customer to do it in that manner. Hot wash and allowed to dry overnight would seem to be a better procedure than just letting them sit in water.
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