Difficult by Design

This is one of the most frustrating situations we see in restaurants.

This is under the kitchen appliances: pipes and hoses that have been installed in such a way that food debris is certain to get caught behind them and yet there is no way a broom or mop can reach those areas.

This sort of situation is a recipe for pest conducive conditions and pest breeding and activity.

We showed ownership what it looked like down here, and after some choice expletives, the only solution they were left with was to hope that their sanitation team would take the time and effort to get down and dirty and clean behind here.

Needless to say, you can only expect what you inspect, so if your team knows you don't check up on them, they will probably be prone to wander from the prescribed course.

Get down yourself from time to time and see what your kitchen actually looks like.

You're our only hope.

Ew York City will be back next week.

New Black Hole Discovered

I love mice.

I love how the base of this wall was sealed off with cement (looks like a whole bucket of cement, if not a boat load), and the mice proceeded to climb the cement, climb the wall (see the dark vertical stripe) and chew a new hole a foot above the floor!

Don't think for a second that mice are anything less than masters of climbing.  I have seen them climb cement walls and just stared at them as they made their escape.

In this case we just kept baiting the new holes and then closing them, and just eventually wore down their armies with our armies.  It was just a game of numbers.

But they'll be back, sooner than later I'm sure.

Ew York City will probably be back eventually too.

Go to the Lime

Ants on a lime.

If you stare at the picture for a long time, things start moving.

See you tomorrow.

Office Space Invaders

I know you've come to expect gnarly photos on this blog, so you might be a little disappointed to see pictures of office supplies, but take a minute really to look at what's before you.

Do you see the pests?

Do you know why you don't see them?  Because there are literally more than 101 places where they could be hiding in an office or closet like this.

Now, if the pest in question is some tiny insect that doesn't bother anyone, who cares, right?

But in this particular office, the pests were mice, and the office workers were finding dozens if not hundreds of droppings every day all throughout the work space.

What we discovered was that the mice were living inside and behind the boxes that had not been moved in a long time.  But creating a space that is conducive to pest harborage, pests will harbor there.

It's not rocket science.

Rocket science is aerospace engineering.

The cleaner your office, and the less junk you have around, the fewer pests will be all up in your grill.

Ew york city will be back tomorrow, or maybe Thursday.

Eight Days a Week

I like walking into a restaurant first thing on a Monday morning and finding a huge pile of octopi in a sink.

Fresh or frozen, all natural or totally artificial, healthy or junky, the bottom line is you never, never, never ever can be absolutely certain about the food that you're putting into your mouth as it relates to pest involvement.  There are bacteria and microscopic organisms all around us every moment of our lives.  That's why we call it "earth."  It's alive.

Obviously, we take all the precautionary measures we can, including sanitation, refrigeration, saying grace before we eat, etc.

But we're always at risk.  And we know that.

Yet we have to live our lives.  We can't live in fear.

Which is why you're absolutely doing the right thing by having Pest Management Professionals (PMPs) regularly inspect your home, business, restaurants, and dojos.  PMPs are like police officers, superheros, and Alexander the Great, all rolled into one.  An extra set of eyes goes a long way in keeping you and your loved ones safe.

After licking each suction cup above, I gave these octopi the all clear.  Another test I sometimes do is the "add mayo and put it on a potato roll" exam.  Especially with lobsters.

Ew York City will be back tomorrow.  Have a nice Monday.

Crack House

No idea how this little incident mishappened, but not it has to be dealt with.

This cracked tile in the kitchen is immediately a perfect spot for organic matter and moisture to gather, decay, and attract pests for breeding and feeding.

You would be surprised at how often restaurants will allow these sort of scenarios to linger and fester.

Our practice is to bring various materials with us to seal up these sort of situations, but every kitchen ought to have a bucket of putty or silicone around to fix these sort of problems.

So take some time, look around your kitchen, see if anyone dropped the mortar and pestle on the floor and didn't tell you that the tile broke, and make sure there are no invitations to pest love.

Have a great weekend everybody.

ew york city will be back monday

Death From Above

Just a picture of some pigeons on the train station.

Stay warm.