In Beloeil, on the South Shore of Montreal, the manager of a well-established family restaurant in the Le Gardeur area, near L’Assomption, called on our team after the discovery of traces of German cockroaches in the professional kitchen. While cockroaches require their own treatment protocol, their continued presence in a food establishment is often a sign that multiple entry points allow them to be re-infected from the outside or from adjacent premises. Our intervention therefore combined a targeted treatment and a complete professional caulking program adapted to the sanitary requirements of food establishments in Quebec.
Inspection of the professional kitchen and risk areas
Restaurant kitchens are particularly conducive to the proliferation of pests: constant heat, high humidity, abundance of food and a multitude of hard-to-reach corners. The inspection focused on areas that are usually overlooked during daily cleaning: the space under and behind cooking equipment (stoves, fryers, ovens), the pipe penetrations under the sink, the inside of the low cabinets, the joints between the refrigeration equipment and the wall, as well as the goods receiving area at the back of the restaurant.
Several critical entry points were identified: an unsealed gap around the hood drain, cracks in the tile at the baseboards, a floor drainage pipe with a degraded rubber seal, and a space under the rear service door wide enough to allow the passage of insects and small rodents. The silicone seals around sinks and countertops had detachments that were ideal refuges for cockroaches. Our technician also noted that some panels of the false ceiling were not joined, creating a space for circulation between the neighboring premises.
Caulking work in a certified food context
In a food establishment, all caulking materials used must comply with sanitary standards and cannot release volatile compounds that could contaminate the food. Our technician used only NSF-approved food-grade silicone sealants that are solvent-free and resistant to washing temperatures. The spaces under the equipment were treated with compressed, sealed steel wool, secured in such a way that it could be removed during the annual thorough cleanings. Cracks in the tiles were filled with a water-repellent epoxy grout that is resistant to professional cleaning products.
The hood duct was fitted with a stainless steel sealing collar with high-temperature silicone seal, and the space around the ceiling duct was closed with a lockable access panel for easy future maintenance. The rear service door has been fitted with an automatic door sill and side sealing strips. The disjointed false ceiling panels were readjusted and caulked at the perimeter. For commercial buildings, our team also recommends inspecting the exterior entry points around the building, especially at garbage dumps and delivery areas that attract pests.
Compliance, monitoring and regulatory obligations
Restaurants in Quebec are subject to regular inspections by MAPAQ, and the presence of insects or rodents may result in the temporary closure of the establishment. Our detailed intervention report, including the list of items treated with the materials used, can be presented during sanitary inspections to demonstrate the manager’s due diligence. Monthly follow-up for the first three months confirmed the absence of reinfestation. In addition to physically caulking the breaches, the manager reviewed his procedures for receiving goods by making sure to systematically inspect incoming boxes and crates, a frequent source of cockroaches in professional kitchens. The cleaning schedule behind the equipment has also been tightened to a monthly frequency, eliminating organic deposits that are a source of food for the pests. These operational adjustments, combined with the caulking work, form a robust two-level barrier. Also check out our commercial caulking and our case study on smoke testing in the workplace to see similar interventions. Our extermination services in Quebec are adapted to the constraints of establishments with high health requirements, with complete documentation at each stage of the intervention.