Cited for pests on a restaurant inspection: what happens next

On a Florida restaurant inspection, pests are violation code 35. Each line under it starts with a code such as 35A-03-4 or 35A-05-4 and a short description in the inspector's words, such as dead roaches on premises, live roaches in the kitchen, or rodent droppings in dry storage. Each line carries a level:

• High Priority: a finding that can directly contribute to foodborne illness, such as live roaches where food is prepared or stored.
• Intermediate: a finding that supports food safety, such as conditions that let pests in or thrive.
• Basic: good practice items, such as dead roaches or old droppings left after a treatment.

The number of pest lines and their levels, plus whether the problem was corrected during the visit, shape the result the inspector gives.

1. Read the report line by line. Note where the inspector saw each finding: which room, which equipment, which shelf. That is where the call-back inspector will look first.
2. Get a licensed company in now, not the day before. Treatment, then a follow-up visit, takes time to work. If your current provider has not solved it, get up to 3 quotes and compare.
3. Clean up the evidence. Remove dead pests, droppings, egg cases and stained material, then clean and sanitize those surfaces. These are written up on their own.
4. Close the doors pests use. Door sweeps, gaps around pipes, ceiling tiles, drains, and cardboard stored on the floor.
5. Keep the paperwork together. Service reports, the pest sighting log and any receipts for repairs, in one folder by the office door.
6. Walk the kitchen the day before the call back. Use the re-inspection checklist.

If the call back does not show the problem corrected, the inspector can recommend an administrative complaint. Under Florida law that case can end in fines of up to $1,000 per offense, a required food safety education course at your own expense, or suspension or revocation of the license. For some critical violations each day of operation can count as a separate offense.

Most owners never get this far. The way to avoid it is simple, if not easy: have the problem fixed, cleaned up and documented before the inspector returns.

When pests come back after a treatment, the usual causes are a food or water source left open overnight, an entry point nobody sealed, deliveries in cardboard that carry roaches in, or a service plan that is too infrequent for the size of the kitchen. A good provider tells you which one it is, in writing. If yours does not, read how to choose a commercial pest control company.