Read commercial pest control in london: practical guidance, useful next steps and clear information about this independent London website.
Build a plan around the way your premises work: food handling, delivery areas, waste storage, opening hours and people who may be exposed. Ask your contractor to document findings and agree responsibility for prevention.
Pest control is a legal duty, not an optional service
A food business in Great Britain must have adequate procedures in place to control pests, and must keep the premises in a condition that prevents contamination. That duty sits with the business, not with the contractor: appointing a pest-control company does not transfer it. The Food Standards Agency’s Safer food, better business pack for caterers includes a dedicated pest control section covering what to look for and what to do, and is a reasonable baseline for a small food premises.
What an environmental health officer will look for
An unannounced inspection tends to concentrate on evidence rather than paperwork alone. Being able to produce a current, dated record of findings and the actions you took carries more weight than a contract alone.
Live or recent activity: droppings, gnawing, smear marks, insect casings, flies at waste and delivery points.
The condition and proofing of the structure — door seals, gaps around pipework, damaged flooring and inaccessible voids.
Storage and waste practice: food off the floor, containers closed, external bin area kept clear and lidded.
Your pest-control records: dates of visits, what was found, what was recommended, and what you actually did about it.
Whether recommendations from previous visits were closed out or repeated unchanged over several reports.
Specifying a commercial contract properly
Contracts are commonly sold on visit frequency alone. Frequency is the least informative part. Before you compare prices, agree what each visit actually produces.
Scope: which buildings, floors, external areas and waste stores are included, and which are explicitly excluded.
Visit output: a dated report with findings, evidence and photographs, not a signed attendance sheet.
A site plan of monitoring points, with each point identified and checkable by your own staff.
Response standard: how quickly a call-out is attended outside the scheduled visits, and whether it is charged separately.
Escalation: who is told when activity is found, and at what point it goes above the site manager.
Proofing: whether recommended works are quoted, who carries them out and who pays.
Records: where reports are held, how long they are retained and how you get them if you change contractor.
Questions worth asking before signing
Which technician will attend the site, and what training and certification do they hold?
How are visits timed around service, deliveries and cleaning so they do not become superficial?
What happens when the same recommendation appears on three consecutive reports?
Is the contract a fixed term with automatic renewal, and what is the notice period?
What is included in the price, and what is quoted separately — proofing, out-of-hours call-outs, insect units, drain work?
Published by Pest Protect London. Updated 9 September 2026. General information; treatment decisions require an assessment of the property. Editorial policy.