Pests of all shapes and sizes spell trouble for business. There’s no denying this fact. However, there is one insect pest that, more than any other, can spell disaster for a business. Particularly a business involved in the storage, use, preparation or even cooking of food. That pest is cockroaches. Not only are they grotesque creatures that look like they’ve just stepped off a film set. They can also cause food contamination and are carriers of thousands, maybe even millions of different disease agents and bacteria.
If there is a cockroach infestation in your workplace, you need to deal with it as soon as possible. And, if you want to avoid cockroach food poisoning, you must take even one or two of these insects around food very seriously.
What is Cockroach Food Poisoning?
Cockroaches will contaminate food sources that they’ve eaten from. They do this by leaving behind faeces, dead skin, hair and empty eggshells. In addition, cockroaches can carry the bacteria most commonly known as Salmonella, which is a serious form of food poisoning.
To emphasise the seriousness of a cockroach infestation in your business, we are going to look at some ways this can impact your business negatively. Or, more accurately, ruin it.
Ill Customers and Staff
First and foremost, the most immediate way that cockroach food poisoning can obviously destroy your business is by making both your customers and members of staff poorly.
Food poisoning is never fun. And while it affects everyone slightly differently, it’s never anyone’s favourite experience. It can also be dangerous.
Loss of Customers
No matter what type of business you have, if it suffers from a case of food poisoning as a result of a cockroach infestation, you are likely to experience a decrease in customer numbers. You need people to visit your business – either to eat there or buy things – in order for your company to survive. It may just be a few customers that stop using your business. But, in time that number is likely to grow through word of mouth.
Bad Reputation
Dissatisfied customers also mean bad online reviews. That can hit your profits and customer base even more than local word of mouth. In business, your reputation is everything, after all. If your work premises are unhygienic, you can remedy the situation on a practical level.
If people come to think that a visit to your business might result in coming away feeling unwell, it’s bound to put potential customers off. However, it the news ends up on TripAdvisor, that can’t be undone.
Loss of Supplies
There are no two ways about it. If you had a case of cockroach food poisoning in your business, you’d have to make the smart decision to get rid of all potentially contaminated food stock. There’s really no way round it – this would mean you suffer a loss. Which is not something any business wants to experience.
Loss of Profit and Investments
When it comes to the money side of things, it’s a doubled-edged sword. Cockroach food poisoning not only causes you to suffer from profit loss, but also requires expensive remedial actions to clean up after the disgusting creatures.
It’s not just customers that will be put off having anything to do with your business if there’s an outbreak of food poisoning caused by cockroaches. Any investors that support your enterprise may not want to invest any more money in your business. They might not want to be associated with the negativity surrounding an outbreak of food poisoning.
Your Business Could Be Closed Down
Ultimately, any case of food poisoning, whether it’s caused by cockroaches or something completely different, could result in your business being closed. There are very strict laws surrounding health and safety. Even if this is only a temporary measure, the loss of profits during the time when you’re not allowed to open to the public can be devastating.
We hope the above points have shown you just how important it is, as a business owner, to prevent cockroaches. If you are unable to prevent them, then you need to hire a professional company like Empire to get rid of them…before its too late!
Professional Food Service Pest Control
It’s always advisable to seek professional pest control for cockroach problems, especially when they are shown to be carrying Salmonella. Empire have years of experience and expertise in this area, and have plenty of positive reviews. The feedback from our customers on CheckATrade – a trusted service providers platform – speak for themselves.
Our technicians are highly trained, and our professionalism is second to none. We are members of the BPCA, and also associated with professional bodies such as NPTA, SAFECONTRACTOR and SAFE4SITE.
If you run a business in London or the Home Counties and have a pest infestation of any kind, you can call us any time. We are open and available to take your enquiry 24 hours, day or night. We offer help and advice on any pest, on 0203 633 2143. Get in touch with us to find out the best way of treating a cockroach infestation in any type of UK business.
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