Chemical-free pest control for pharmaceutical and food packaging facilities

Pharmaceutical and food packaging environments require strict hygiene controls to protect consumer health. These areas may come into direct or indirect contact with packaging surfaces used for food, pharmaceutical products and medical supplies. The presence of insects or rodents, as well as inappropriate pesticide residues, can create significant physical and chemical hazards.

For this reason, non-chemical pest management for pharmaceutical and food packaging facilities is increasingly being prioritised by businesses. This approach focuses on physical exclusion, structural controls, hygiene management and pest monitoring supported by digital data. This approach helps protect product and packaging integrity while supporting facilities in meeting the requirements of demanding international certification audits.

1. Risks of excessive pesticide use in food and pharmaceutical packaging facilities

Broad-area pesticide fogging or spraying in packaging areas can pose risks to finished-product quality.

Airborne pesticide droplets or residues may settle on plastic films, bottle caps, pharmaceutical blister packs or carton packaging. Chemical migration from packaging into the product may compromise an entire pharmaceutical batch or alter food quality.

Packaging materials such as carton, wooden pallets and recycled plastic materials may absorb moisture and retain chemical odours. When strong-smelling pesticides are applied, vapours may be absorbed by packaging materials and later affect the finished product.

This may expose businesses to rejected shipments, quality complaints or potentially costly product recalls. International systems and standards such as GMP, HACCP, ISO 22000, FSSC 22000 and BRCGS Packaging set strict requirements for pesticide use in cleanrooms and high-care packaging areas. For facilities preparing for an audit, see common pest control requirements across standards and systems applied in manufacturing facilities to determine the level of control your current programme needs to demonstrate.

Uncontrolled pesticide application, inadequate concentration control, missing safety data sheets (SDS) or the use of products outside approved requirements may result in audit findings.

Pesticide spraying may also create inhalation exposure risks for employees working in enclosed production areas. Moving towards non-chemical control methods can help improve occupational safety and reduce the need for production interruptions associated with pesticide application and odour isolation.

2. Pest risks specific to packaging areas

Packaging areas typically handle high volumes of material movement while also containing structures and concealed spaces that may provide harbourage for pests.

Flying insects such as house flies, fruit flies, mosquitoes and moths may be attracted to industrial lighting and organic odours associated with materials or products. They may enter through frequently opened loading doors, ventilation gaps or be transported into the facility through movements of forklifts, pallets and incoming materials.

Rodents may use concealed areas beneath pallet racking, cable ducts or suspended ceilings as harbourage or nesting sites. Rodents continuously gnaw to maintain their incisors and may damage carton packaging, electrical wiring and equipment components, while their droppings and urine may also create contamination risks.

Stored-product insects and cockroaches may be found around long-term storage areas containing wooden pallets and cartons. Damp or deteriorating wooden pallets can provide favourable conditions for wood-boring insects and beetle larvae.

Cockroaches commonly harbour in warm, concealed spaces behind electrical panels, around machinery motors and within cracks at wall-floor junctions, where egg cases may also be deposited.

The presence of even a single pest inside a sealed pharmaceutical blister pack or packaged food product can create a serious product-quality incident. Therefore, correctly identifying pest species and signs of pest activity in the facility is an important step before determining monitoring locations and appropriate control measures.

3. Non-chemical pest management solutions

3.1. Physical exclusion and facility structural management

Physical exclusion is one of the first and most important lines of defence against pest entry. Businesses should systematically inspect the building envelope and potential pest entry points:
• Install appropriately specified air curtains at frequently used entrances to help reduce the entry of flying insects when doors are open.
• Use suitable PVC strip curtains at loading and transition areas to provide an additional physical barrier against flying insects.
• Seal structural gaps, cracks at wall-floor junctions and utility penetrations with materials appropriate for rodent exclusion.
• Minimise gaps beneath loading doors and use appropriate door seals or thresholds to reduce the risk of mice entering the facility.
• Install suitable pest-resistant screens or mesh at ventilation openings, exhaust points and other service openings where appropriate.

For facilities under design or renovation, these risks should be addressed at the infrastructure stage. Read more about integrating pest management into factory design and construction from the outset.

3.2. Flying insect control using LED insect light traps with glue boards

High-voltage electric-grid insect killers are generally unsuitable for sensitive packaging areas where there is a risk of insect fragments contaminating exposed materials or surfaces. Electric-grid units can fragment insects on contact, potentially dispersing insect debris into the surrounding area and creating a cross-contamination risk for packaging surfaces.

A suitable alternative is an insect light trap using a glue-board capture system, such as selected LED models from Ensystex Vectothor. The unit uses UV or LED light designed to attract target flying insects towards an internal glue board where they are captured.

Captured insects remain contained on the glue board, reducing the risk of insect fragments being dispersed into the surrounding area.

ILT placement should be carefully planned so that the light source is not directly visible from exterior openings, which could attract insects towards the building. Installation height and location should be determined according to the device manufacturer's guidance, target insect behaviour and site conditions, while keeping units away from exposed packaging and sensitive product-contact areas.

3.3. Rodent control using enclosed mechanical trapping systems

In clean packaging rooms and sensitive packaging storage areas, rodenticide use may be restricted or avoided to reduce contamination risks and the possibility of rodents dying in inaccessible locations.

Technicians may deploy lockable rodent monitoring or trapping stations designed for use in sensitive areas. Depending on the risk assessment and site requirements, the station may contain mechanical snap traps or suitable glue boards.

Stations should be clearly numbered, mapped and positioned along likely rodent travel routes, including wall edges where appropriate. Enclosed stations help protect traps from accidental disturbance and reduce the risk of employees coming into direct contact with trapping devices or captured rodents.

3.4. Pheromone traps for monitoring stored-product insects

For stored-product pests such as flour beetles, grain weevils and cigarette beetles or moths, pheromone-based traps can provide an effective monitoring tool. These traps use synthetic semiochemicals that mimic species-specific attraction signals. For facilities storing dry materials or packaging for extended periods, it is important to identify the stored-product pest species, signs of activity and potential introduction routes before designing the monitoring system.

Where sex-pheromone lures are used, attracted male insects are captured on the adhesive surface. This method can help technicians detect pest activity at an early stage without applying conventional insecticides to the storage environment.

3.5. Termite management using the Exterra system

Where a facility is at risk of subterranean termite activity, conventional soil-applied termiticide treatments require careful management to minimise potential impacts on soil and groundwater. An alternative approach is the Exterra termite management system

Exterra in-ground stations are installed around the external perimeter of the facility and use monitoring components designed to encourage foraging termites to enter the stations.

Once termite activity is confirmed in a station, Requiem termite bait can be introduced in accordance with the system protocol. Foraging termites interact with the bait and distribute it within the colony, supporting colony-level termite control while avoiding invasive treatment of internal building structures.

4. Hygiene and environmental management using 5S principles

Industrial hygiene and sanitation are core components of an effective non-chemical pest management programme. Reducing access to food, water and suitable harbourage makes the environment less favourable for pest survival and reproduction. Sanitation is only one layer of the overall control system. Facilities still need an insect control process that integrates prevention, monitoring, data and corrective actions to maintain control over the long term.

Packaging areas should maintain an organised storage layout that supports inspection, cleaning and pest monitoring. Packaging materials, cartons and pallets should be stored with sufficient clearance from walls and floors to allow inspection and cleaning, in accordance with the facility's hygiene and storage requirements. Adequate clearance creates accessible inspection zones and reduces concealed areas where rodents and cockroaches may remain undetected.

Product dust, spilled materials and packaging waste should be removed according to a defined sanitation schedule, including after production shifts where required. Waste containers should be appropriately covered, easy to operate without unnecessary hand contact and removed from production areas according to the site's waste-management procedure.

Floor drains and drainage channels should be cleaned regularly to remove organic residues and reduce conditions that may support drain flies, cockroaches and other pests.

Where ISPM 15 applies, businesses should work with wooden-packaging suppliers to ensure pallets meet the required phytosanitary treatment and marking requirements before use. Deteriorated or damp wooden pallets should not be retained in sensitive packaging storage areas because they can provide favourable conditions for wood-associated pests.

5. Digital data management and audit support

A non-chemical pest management programme is most effective when decisions are supported by consistent, reliable monitoring data.

VFC supports pest management data administration through the PestMan Dashboard system. Monitoring devices such as glue-board insect light traps, mechanical stations and pheromone traps can be assigned unique identifiers and mapped on a digital pest map. After each inspection, technicians can record information such as pest species, capture counts, device status and relevant site observations in the system.

The system can generate trend reports that help users review changes in pest activity over different reporting periods. If monitoring data show an unusual increase in fly activity at a location, the information can be used to identify a potential hotspot requiring investigation.

This data helps facility management investigate possible causes, such as air-curtain performance, prolonged door opening or nearby sanitation and moisture issues, and determine appropriate corrective actions.

Clear pest monitoring and trend-analysis records can provide important evidence during audits against systems or standards such as GMP, HACCP and BRCGS. Digital records can reduce manual documentation errors, missing pest maps and gaps in monitoring logs while improving traceability.

6. How VFC PestMan implements a non-chemical pest management programme

VFC PestMan provides professional pest management solutions for pharmaceutical and food manufacturing facilities as well as medical and food packaging operations. The technical team follows a structured service process designed to support safe and controlled operations:

• Detailed site assessment: Inspect the building envelope, transition doors, airflow patterns, utility penetrations and potential pest sources or entry routes from the surrounding environment.

• Control map development: Classify risk zones and determine appropriate locations for glue-board insect light traps, mechanical monitoring stations and physical exclusion measures.

• Regular inspection and maintenance: Technicians replace glue boards, clean and inspect monitoring devices and review the condition of physical exclusion measures according to the agreed service schedule. However, “regular inspection” does not mean that every facility should follow the same fixed schedule. Control frequency should be adjusted according to the type of operation, facility area and actual risk and monitoring data.

• Data updates and improvement recommendations: Digitise monitoring records, analyse pest activity trends and provide recommendations for improvements to facility structure, sanitation and 5S practices.

Pest management in pharmaceutical and food packaging facilities should be treated as an integral part of the overall quality management system. Rather than waiting for pest activity to become visible before taking action, businesses should develop a proactive preventive programme that combines monitoring technology, sanitation, structural controls and appropriate non-chemical methods to support product safety and stable long-term operations.