Chances are, you monitor for plenty of things in your facility. You probably test for allergens. There are metal detectors to find metal contaminants. Maybe even biologic sampling for things like Listeria or Escherichia coli. You also monitor for pests. Most companies will likely hire a third-party pest management company to provide this service. A few still have an in-house team that covers pest control. Either way, the people overseeing the pest management program at the site still have some things to think about when it comes to monitoring for pests.
While your pest management professional should be assessing the site for potential pests, it’s still your facility. There are records of which pests were an issue in the past, and, based on what type of food is being produced, specific pests that may infest the raw ingredients coming in or your finished products. All the major audit schemes require that there be an annual pest management assessment that addresses what pests pose a risk to the site and what means are in place to mitigate those risks. Both you, knowing your site, and the pest management professional, who knows pests, need to work together to determine which pests are likely. The first step is always identifying the problem: Knowing what pests are and could be an issue means you can monitor for them properly.