For restaurant owners
Cited or closed for pests? Here is what happens next.
A pest citation on a Florida restaurant inspection is fixable. Most start as a warning with a call-back visit; a closure ends when an inspector re-inspects and finds the problem corrected. The fastest path is the same either way: treat, clean, document, then ask for the re-inspection.
Start with your situation
Closed now
Closed for roaches or rodents: how to reopen fast
What the closure order means, the order of work that gets you a passing call back, and what the inspector looks at first.
Cited, still open
Cited for pests: what happens next
Warnings, call-back visits, administrative complaints and fines, explained in the order they can happen.
Call back coming
Preparing for your re-inspection
A walk-through checklist for the day before: treatment, cleanup, sealing, paperwork and the staff on shift.
Want a better provider
How to choose a commercial pest control company
Contract terms, service frequency, logbooks and what a good provider leaves on file for the next inspection.
How Florida restaurant inspections treat pests
Every licensed restaurant in Florida gets routine inspections, at least once and up to four times a year depending on its risk level, plus extra visits after a complaint or a failed follow-up. Inspectors group findings by category. Pests are violation code 35: live or dead roaches, rodent droppings, flies, and openings that let pests in.
Each finding is marked High Priority, Intermediate or Basic. The inspector then gives the visit a result, which decides what happens next:
No further actionInspection completed
Findings, if any, were minor or corrected on site. Nothing else is scheduled.
Warning issuedFix it by the call back
You get a deadline and a follow-up visit. Corrected by then, the matter closes.
Administrative complaintA case against the license
Often follows a failed call back. Can lead to fines and a required food safety course.
Emergency orderClosed until it passes
The restaurant stops serving until a re-inspection finds the problem corrected.
Each inspection reflects conditions at the time of that visit. One bad night does not define a restaurant, and a clean re-inspection is what the inspector is looking for.
Get help from a licensed company
If you need a company today, or a better one than you have, the quote form takes two minutes. Up to 3 licensed pest control companies that serve your county can contact you by phone or email. It is free for restaurants, and we do not send texts.
More answers are in the restaurant owner FAQ.
Free for restaurants
Get quotes from up to 3 licensed pest control companies
Tell us what happened and where. Up to 3 licensed companies that serve your county can contact you by phone or email. No texts, and you never pay us.
Questions people ask
Is a pest citation the same as being closed?
No. Most pest citations end with a warning and a call-back visit, and the restaurant stays open. A closure happens only when the inspector recommends an emergency order, usually for live activity in food areas or a problem that was not corrected.
How fast can a closed restaurant reopen?
As soon as an inspector re-inspects and finds the problem corrected. Reopening the next day is possible when the work is done. The usual delay is not the inspector, it is showing up to the re-inspection with live activity, dead pests or droppings still in place. See how to reopen fast.
Does it cost anything to ask for quotes here?
No. The quote form is free for restaurants. Up to 3 licensed pest control companies that serve your county can contact you by phone or email. We do not send texts.
Related
Cited for pests on a restaurant inspection: what happens next
What a Florida pest citation (violation code 35) means, how warnings, call-back visits, administrative complaints and fines work, and what to do this week.
Closed for roaches or rodents: how to reopen fast
Your Florida restaurant was closed by emergency order for pests. What the order means, the order of work that gets a passing call back, and how to ask for it.
Preparing for your re-inspection
A checklist for the day before a Florida restaurant call-back inspection after a pest citation or closure: treatment, cleanup, sealing, paperwork and staff.
How to choose a commercial pest control company
What a Florida restaurant should ask a pest control company: license and insurance, contract terms, service frequency, logbooks and what a good provider leaves on file.