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Restaurant Pest Control Checklist for Closing Time
Family-run, licensed and insured pest control in South Florida.
$50 OFF your first service + FREE inspectionNew customers · No code needed · No expirationA restaurant pest control checklist works best at closing, when the crew is already cleaning and the kitchen is about to sit dark for hours. That's when roaches come out, flies settle into drains and rodents go looking for whatever got left out. The list below is station by station, in English and Spanish, so you can print it and tape it by the time clock. It won't replace professional service, and no checklist guarantees a clean inspection, but it removes most of what pests need between close and open.
Why closing time matters
Pests in a commercial kitchen need three things: food, water and a place to hide. During service, there's noise, heat and people everywhere. After close, the floor is wet, crumbs are under the equipment and nothing's moving. German roaches are the main roach in commercial kitchens. They live in the warm, tight spots around equipment. Drain flies breed in the film inside floor drains. House flies come in through back doors and dumpster areas. Rodents follow the trash.
The restaurant pest control checklist, station by station
| Station | English | Español |
|---|---|---|
| Cook line | Pull out what rolls. Sweep and mop under and behind the equipment. | Saque lo que tiene ruedas. Barra y trapee debajo y detrás de los equipos. |
| Cook line | Empty the grease trays and catch pans on grills and fryers. Wipe the walls behind them. | Vacíe las bandejas y recipientes de grasa de las planchas y freidoras. Limpie la pared de atrás. |
| Dish pit | Clear food from the sink strainers. Scrub floor drains with a drain brush. | Saque la comida de los coladores. Restriegue los desagües del piso con un cepillo. |
| Dish pit | Leave no standing water on the floor or in buckets. | No deje agua estancada en el piso ni en cubos. |
| Dry storage | Keep product off the floor and away from walls. Close every bag and bin. | Mantenga la mercancía separada del piso y de la pared. Cierre bolsas y recipientes. |
| Dry storage | Break down cardboard and take it out. Don't store it inside. | Desarme las cajas de cartón y sáquelas. No las guarde adentro. |
| Walk-in | Wipe spills. Check door seals and the floor under the shelves. | Limpie lo derramado. Revise los empaques de la puerta y el piso debajo de las repisas. |
| Bar | Rinse drink lines and drip trays. Clean under the ice machine. | Enjuague las líneas de bebidas y las bandejas de goteo. Limpie debajo de la máquina de hielo. |
| Bar | Rinse bottles and cans for recycling, and empty the bin. | Enjuague botellas y latas para reciclar, y vacíe el recipiente. |
| Dining room | Sweep under booths and the edges of the room. | Barra debajo de los asientos y las orillas del salón. |
| Back door | Close it and check the door sweep for daylight. | Ciérrela y revise si entra luz por debajo. |
| Dumpster | Close the lids. Pick up anything on the ground around it. | Cierre las tapas. Recoja lo que esté en el suelo alrededor. |
| Manager | Write down any pest sighting: what, where, when. | Anote cualquier plaga que vea: qué, dónde y cuándo. |
Things to check once a week
- Look behind and under equipment with a flashlight for droppings, egg cases or live roaches.
- Check the gaps where pipes and conduits go through walls.
- Look at door sweeps and the seal around the back door.
- Rotate dry stock so older product gets used first, and check it for webbing or beetles.
What a restaurant pest control provider should do
Cleaning is your side. Your provider's side is the treatment and the follow-through. At a minimum, expect:
- An inspection first, of the kitchen, storage, bar, restrooms and the outside of the building.
- Gel baits in cracks and crevices for roaches, plus growth regulators, instead of open spraying around food prep.
- Drain work for drain flies. Floor drains and drains under the dish pit are where drain flies breed in the film inside the pipe. Scrub them with a long drain brush; a splash of bleach doesn't remove the film. More on the drain fly page and in our post on roaches coming up the drain.
- Exclusion for rodents. Gaps around pipes, doors and walls are how rodents get in. We seal those gaps as part of exclusion work; we don't repair damage. See our rodent pages.
- Clear instructions. Treatment is applied according to the label. Nothing goes on food-contact surfaces, food and utensils are covered or put away first, and in food areas treatment is limited to bait and crack-and-crevice or spot application. Your provider should tell you which areas to keep clear and for how long.
Whoever you use, ask for a written record of each visit: what was found, what was done and where. Keep them together.
For the rules that apply to your restaurant, check with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Hotels and Restaurants.
How often, and how we work with restaurants
Most restaurants do best with service twice a month. High-risk sites and kitchens with an active infestation may need weekly visits, and a small, low-risk cafe may only need monthly service. We'll recommend a schedule after the FREE inspection. After every visit, we leave a written service report you can keep on file for health inspections. Pricing for businesses comes after the inspection too. For plan customers: "If pests come back between visits, so do we, at no extra cost." There are no long-term contracts and no cancellation fees, just a simple service agreement. We're family-run and licensed, with 30+ years in the business, and hablamos español, which helps with bilingual kitchen crews. Learn more about our commercial pest control, the German cockroach, the house fly and our guides.
Restaurant questions
How often should a restaurant have pest control?
What attracts roaches in a restaurant kitchen?
How do I get rid of flies in a restaurant drain?
Can you service the restaurant outside of business hours?
Get your kitchen inspected.
Get $50 OFF your first service plus a FREE inspection. No code, no expiration. Call or text anytime: 833-845-9284.
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