A restaurant has everything cockroaches, flies and rodents want: food, water, warmth and hundreds of hiding places behind equipment that rarely moves. A restaurant pest control checklist walks the building the way a technician does, from the back door through the cook line, dish area, storage and walk-ins to the dining room and the dumpster, recording what was found and the conditions that are keeping pests there. It is strictly about pests, so it pairs with, rather than replaces, the restaurant's own food safety checks. Fill it in here and download a PDF without an account, or speak while you walk, and the document writes itself.
Cockroaches live where you do not look
German cockroaches spend most of their lives hidden within a few feet of food and water: behind and under the cook line, inside equipment motor housings, in hollow table legs, under shelving, in wall voids behind the dish machine, and in cracks around sinks and drains. Seeing them out in the open during the day usually means a heavy population.
Look for them with a flashlight, low and from the side. The signs are pepper-like droppings and brown smears in corners and hinges, empty egg cases and shed skins. The form asks about harborage in each area, and photos of the worst spots help the kitchen understand why moving equipment to clean behind it matters.
Flies follow the drains and the trash
Small flies in a restaurant are usually breeding in organic buildup inside floor drains, under the bar, behind the dish machine or in a neglected mop sink, while house flies come in from the dumpster through a propped back door. Fly lights help, but only if they are placed away from food prep and out of sight of outside doors, so they catch flies already inside rather than drawing new ones in.
Rodents, doors and the dumpster
Mice and rats get in through gaps under doors, around pipes and at the foundation, and they are drawn by the trash and grease area. The back door, the dumpster pad and the grease container are checked on every visit, and the device log records each trap and station by number, its condition and any activity.
A to-do list the restaurant can act on
Most of what keeps a restaurant infested is not something a technician can fix: food debris under equipment, a leaking pipe, a door left open for air, cardboard boxes stored in the kitchen. Each failed check becomes a finding, and the recommendations list says who acts — the restaurant, the pest control company or the landlord — and by when. The manager signs the report so the list is acknowledged.
Common questions
How often should a restaurant have pest control service?
Most restaurants have a scheduled service at least monthly, and many busy kitchens are serviced every two weeks. An active infestation usually needs follow-up visits until activity stops. Your local health department, landlord or franchise standard may set its own expectations.
Is this the same as a health inspection checklist?
No. It covers pests and the conditions that support them. Food temperatures, hand washing, labeling and the rest of a food safety inspection belong on a separate checklist.
Who should fill it in?
The pest control technician on each service visit, ideally walking with the kitchen manager. A manager can also use it between visits as a self-check, especially before a health inspection.
Does the form say which products to use?
No. It records what was found and what the restaurant should change. Any treatment is chosen by a licensed applicator and must follow the product label; record it on a service report.
Why is the bar its own section?
Bar drains, soda gun holsters, garnish trays and empty bottles are a favorite breeding place for fruit flies and drain flies, and they are often missed on a kitchen-focused walk. If there is no bar, answer No and the section folds away.