A pest inspection report records what a pest control technician — or a site doing its own check between visits — looked at, what evidence of pests was found and where, what about the site is inviting them in, what happened at each bait station and trap, and what was applied. This one is written for general pests in homes, food businesses, offices and warehouses, and you can fill it in here and download a finished PDF without creating an account.
What a pest report is for
A pest report has two readers. The client needs to know whether there is a problem, how serious it is, and what they have to do about it. An auditor — a food safety certification body, an environmental health officer, a landlord — needs to see that the site is monitored on a schedule, that activity is acted on, and that every product used is accounted for.
That is why this form separates three things that often get blurred: evidence of pests (what you found), conditions that attract them (what the site controls), and treatment (what you did). A site with no evidence but bins left open is not in the same position as a site with no evidence and good housekeeping, and the report should say so.
This is a general pest report. Termites, borers and other wood-destroying insects need a different inspection with different access and a different report — use the wood-destroying insect inspection for those.
Evidence by pest type
Each pest group is switched on only if it is in the scope of the service. For each, record what you saw and where, not just whether:
- Rodents — droppings (fresh are soft and dark, old are grey and crumbly), gnawing, grease smears along runways, nesting material, burrows outside.
- Crawling insects — live or dead cockroaches, cast skins and egg cases in warm voids, ant trails, catches on monitors.
- Flying insects — adults around bins and drains, and the wet organic build-up they breed in.
- Stored-product insects — beetles, weevils, moths and webbing in dry goods, and the spillage that feeds them.
- Birds — roosting, nesting and droppings near entrances and loading areas, and the gaps they use to get in.
The device log is the record auditors read
Every bait station, trap, glue board, insect light trap and pheromone monitor should carry a number that matches a site plan. On each visit, each device gets a line: is it there and serviceable, what activity was in it, and what was done.
Trends come from that log, not from the summary paragraph. Three visits of bait taken at stations 12 to 15 tells you where the entry point is; one line that says "rodent activity low" tells you nothing.
Treatment records — follow the label
Apply any pesticide only as its label directs and only within what your licence permits. The label is the legal instruction in most places, and licensing rules for commercial pest control differ by country, state and product.
Record each product as it is named on the label, with its registration number, the active ingredient, how much was used, where it was applied and what precautions the site was given. Many jurisdictions require exactly these records to be kept for a set number of years, and a food site's auditor will ask for them.
Common questions
What should be in a pest inspection report?
The site and areas inspected, the date and technician, evidence found by pest type and location, conditions that encourage pests, the status of each monitoring device, any treatment applied (product, registration number, amount, location, precautions), and recommendations with who is responsible for each.
How often should a business have a pest inspection?
Food businesses commonly have a scheduled visit monthly, and some certification schemes expect at least that, with more frequent visits during an active problem. Offices and low-risk premises often run quarterly. Your contract, your auditor and your own risk assessment set the actual frequency.
Is a pest inspection report the same as a termite inspection?
No. Termites and other wood-destroying insects need a specific inspection of the structure — subfloors, roof voids, timber in contact with soil — and in many places a specific report format. This form covers general pests; use the wood-destroying insect inspection for termites.
Who is responsible for fixing conducive conditions?
Usually the site. The technician can recommend proofing, cleaning and storage changes, but gaps under doors, overflowing bins and food left out are the client's to fix. That is why recommendations here name who has to act — it stops the same finding appearing on every report.
Can we do our own pest checks between contractor visits?
Yes, and food businesses often must. Staff can complete the evidence, conditions and device sections, and log sightings for the technician. Leave the treatment section to a licensed technician.
Why number bait stations?
So activity can be tracked to a place over time, and so a missing or moved device is noticed. A numbered site plan, kept current, turns a pile of visit reports into a map of where pests are getting in.