Food businesses offer pests exactly what they need: food, water, warmth and plenty of hiding places. Even a well-run kitchen can have activity behind equipment or in storage areas long before anyone sees a pest in the dining room.
A pest problem in an F&B outlet affects food safety, customer reviews and your licence. Licensed food establishments are expected to keep their premises free of pests, and SFA can take enforcement action when they are not. Catching the early signs keeps a small problem from becoming a closure-level one.
Damaged or contaminated stock
Check your dry store and deliveries regularly. Warning signs include:
- holes or gnaw marks in rice, flour or sugar sacks;
- spilled grains or powder trailing from shelves;
- webbing, small moths or larvae in flour, cereals, nuts or dried fruit;
- tiny beetles or weevils in grains and spices.
What to do: separate and discard affected stock, clean the shelf and surrounding area, and move dry goods into sealed, hard containers stored off the floor. Rotate stock so older items are used first.
Droppings
Droppings tell you what kind of pest you have and where it is most active.
- Cockroaches: small dark specks like ground black pepper or coffee grounds, or dark smear marks, often in corners, hinges and behind equipment.
- Rats: dark, capsule-shaped pellets, roughly 1 to 2 cm long, often along walls and near food sources.
- Mice: much smaller, around the size of a grain of rice.
What to do: wear gloves, clean droppings up with disposable cloths and disinfect the area. Do not sweep or vacuum rodent droppings dry, as this can raise contaminated dust. Note where you found them for your pest control technician.
Egg cases, nests and hiding places
Cockroaches hide in warm, dark, tight spaces near food and water: behind fridges and ovens, in motor housings, under sinks, inside cabinet hinges and in cracks in tiles. Look for small brown egg cases, shed skins and clusters of droppings.
Rodents build nests from shredded cardboard, paper and fabric in quiet areas such as storerooms, false ceilings and behind stacked boxes. Small piles of soil along walls or in gaps can point to ants.
What to do: remove cardboard boxes from storage once stock is unpacked, keep storage areas tidy so you can see the floor, and check hidden spots weekly with a torch.
Gnaw marks, smears and noises
Rodents gnaw constantly. Look for chewed packaging, door edges, rubber seals and cables. Gnawed wiring is also a fire risk.
Rats leave dark, greasy rub marks along the walls and beams they travel. Listen for scratching or scurrying sounds in ceilings and walls after closing, when the kitchen is quiet.
What to do: call a professional promptly. Rodent activity rarely resolves on its own, and openings they have gnawed let more pests in.
More sightings, especially by day
Cockroaches and rodents are mostly active at night. Seeing them during service or in daylight often means the population has grown large enough that they are being pushed out of their hiding places.
If staff are reporting more sightings than usual, or a customer has seen something, act the same day. Online reviews mentioning pests are hard to undo.
What to do while you arrange treatment
- Log every sighting with the date, time, location and a photo. A pest sighting log makes the pattern easier to see.
- Deep clean under and behind equipment, drains and floor edges after closing.
- Store food sealed and off the floor, and cover food overnight.
- Fix leaking taps and pipes, and keep floors dry at closing.
- Empty bins at the end of each day and keep bin areas clean.
- Do not spray household insecticide over areas where bait has been placed, as it makes the bait less effective.
For daily opening and closing checks, use our F&B pest control checklist. If grease and food debris are building up behind equipment, commercial kitchen cleaning can help.
How often pest control is needed
SFA’s pre-licensing checklist for food shops says the pest control contract should cover rodents, cockroaches and flies for at least 12 months, with inspection or treatment at least monthly. Some premises also fall under the Environmental Sanitation Regime, which requires a broader pest management survey by a registered Vector Control Operator at least once every six months. Check which requirements apply to your premises.
KleanSG is an NEA-registered Vector Control Operator (VCO20220007) and provides monthly F&B pest control for restaurants, cafes, food stalls and kitchens, with a service report after each visit and after-hours or off-peak timing available on request.
