The owner of a regional cuisine restaurant in the commercial heart of Candiac, on the South Shore, called Nova Extermination after noticing the presence of black ants in the professional kitchen and in the dry grocery store. The stakes were high: a health inspection was scheduled in the following weeks, and any presence of insects in food preparation areas could result in severe penalties. Our exterminator in Candiac showed up the next morning, before the restaurant opened, to make a complete diagnosis.
Diagnosis in a professional kitchen
Inspection of the premises confirmed the presence of common black ants established within the walls of the reserve, attracted by the bags of flour, sugar and other dry ingredients stored on open shelves. The professional kitchen, with its many motorized equipment such as industrial refrigerators and freezers, offered ideal heat zones for the development of nests. Two columns of active tracks were laid out from the storeroom to the workstations and the cold pantry. Outside, nests have been located in the cracks in the sidewalk along the back façade of the restaurant, directly adjacent to the thresholds of the delivery door. This door, often left ajar during reception periods, was the main vector for the introduction of insects. Our expertise in house ant extermination also applies to ants invading catering establishments, with the necessary adaptations.
Processing in accordance with MAPAQ standards
For a professional kitchen subject to MAPAQ standards, the treatment must be carried out outside of service hours and with products approved for use in the food environment. The technician intervened at the end of the evening, after the kitchen had been completely cleaned. Specialized gel baits for food environments were placed in secure stations inaccessible to food and work surfaces: behind stainless steel counters, under standing equipment, in the corners of the storage room and along baseboards. Outside, the nests in the cracks in the sidewalk were treated by injecting a dry insecticidal powder, and perimeter spraying was carried out around the entire foundation of the building. An external insect treatment covering delivery areas and secondary accesses has been incorporated into the protocol to form a complete barrier against reinfestations.
Organization and prevention in the professional kitchen
In addition to the chemical treatment, our technician caulked the identified entry points : the rear delivery door was equipped with a new threshold joint to fill the gap under the sash, and the cable and pipe passages in the walls of the storeroom were sealed. Organizational recommendations were also made: transfer all dry ingredients to airtight containers as soon as deliveries are received, install drip bins under motorized equipment to facilitate the cleaning of grease residues, and wash floors under fixed equipment on a weekly basis. These habits greatly reduce the attractiveness of the kitchen for ants and many other pests.
Results before the health inspection
A follow-up visit was made ten days after treatment. No ant tracks were visible in the kitchen or in the storeroom, and outdoor activity had greatly decreased. The restaurant passed its health inspection without observations related to the presence of insects, allowing the owner to obtain the required certification. To consult other projects in the context of restaurants or food shops on the South Shore, we invite you to browse our realization in house ants in a business. Our team serves Candiac, Delson and all the neighboring municipalities on the South Shore. Long-term prevention remains the best protection for a restaurant establishment: seasonal control visits allow us to detect any new activity before it becomes a major problem, and we can establish a maintenance schedule adapted to the operational constraints of the restaurant. Visit our page to learn more about our services and our approach to food settings.