Regardless of where in the world your convenience store happens to be, there will be a threat of pests: whether it is purely around the exterior of the property, in your warehouse, or in the store itself. In fact, there are very few convenience stores that sell food products that do not attract some type of pest or other.
This is not only because they store food items, but because they also offer warmth, shelter, and nesting materials. You will need to address this problem as a priority, and you can start by taking the following important steps.
1. Choose the right bins
There are precautions that you can take to lessen or reduce the amount of attention your store will receive from pests. Of course, making it harder to access food waste that has been deposited in bins should be high on your agenda. You should therefore look into getting lidded bins (preferably those that are not so easily opened by paws or noses). They should be emptied regularly so that the lids are always closed and not propped open due to having an overspill of contents. They should also be heavy enough that they are not easily tipped over.
2. Store your recycling properly
Deal with your recycling. Cardboard, plastic, and other recyclable materials can be very accommodating to those creatures looking for somewhere to shelter out of the rain, cold, or for that matter, the sun. Compacting these items or baling them together will not only stop fury pests from finding a nesting place, but will also keep them tidy. When choosing which type of machine would serve your business best, look for solutions at cardboard baling machines at recyclingbalers.com, which might fit the bill perfectly.
3. Protect your stock
You probably already know how to protect your stock in your warehouse area from unwelcome attention. It stands to reason that you do not leave external doors wide open and that you have the added protection of PVC curtains to protect your investments when your forklift is unloading delivery lorries.
However, you should also make sure that your employees are also protecting the area within your store itself. Disposing of items with damaged packaging which could encourage rodents, insects, and bacteria to collect on your shelves is just as important as those issues in your warehouse facility.
4. Deal with exterior pests
When it comes to convenience stores there are pests other than those looking for access to your warehouse. Customer intimidation and heckling from loitering youths outside the front of your store can be just as damaging to your profits and your store’s survival as the other kind of pests.
You may be interested to know that there are gadgets available on the market that can also help with this. Moving groups of problematic people without confrontation or harm to either party is far more desirable to both you, them, and your visiting customers.
In summary
Your convenience store will almost certainly have a problem with pests, and whether they happen to have four, six, eight, or hundreds of legs you will have to deal with them. Simple solutions such as lidded bins will work to keep them away from food waste, and dealing with recycling and other waste can solve the problem there. Two-legged pests, on the other hand, will need subtler treatment, and they can do as much harm as all of the others