Advantage Good Agricultural Practices Manual

2.4 Farm Building and Pest Management

Pests that inhabit farm buildings can cause contamination.

This Good Agricultural Practice applies to:

Farm buildings.

Examples of pests: Rodents, insects, flies and wildlife.

What needs to be done

Control pests within farm buildings.

How to do it

Pest management practices can be established for your operation, or services can be contracted out to a third party.

Pest assessment

• Check for signs of pests, including droppings, nesting and feeding opportunities, burrows, gnaw marks, sounds and odours.
• Assess buildings for potential routes of entry by pests.

Prevention and habitat management controls

• Minimize or prevent entry:
  • Seal cracks or openings around foundations, walls, door frames and under doors.
  • Install screens for vents, eaves and windows.
  • Repair broken windows, roofs, walls and sidings.
    
    
• Manage potential breeding and nesting sites:
  • Discourage roosting of birds with the use of porcupine spikes, fine netting or similar material.
  • Remove debris and control weeds and other vegetation in a 30-45 cm (12-18 in.) border surrounding the facility to eliminate sources of shelter that could be used for hiding, resting or nesting.
    
    
• Reduce sources of food and water:
  • Repair leaky taps and pipes and ensure a good drainage system is in place to avoid standing water in and around buildings.
  • Store potential food sources, such as grain, feed, fruit or vegetables, securely to prevent pest access. For more information, refer to 6.2 General Storage in this manual.
  • Remove or clean any spilled material, such as human food or livestock feed, that can be used as a food source by pests.
  • Keep garbage containers covered, closed or away from the facility to help limit pest access.
  • Remove garbage, organic waste and/or deadstock in a timely fashion to minimize potential food sources for pests. For more information, refer to 6.4 Storage and Disposal of Farm Wastes in this manual.

Physical controls

• Choose the appropriate physical control (e.g. traps, glue boards/strips or other devices) for the pest, and use according to label instructions.
• Avoid hanging sticky/glue traps directly above exposed food or packaging materials.
• Locate light traps away from exposed food or packaging materials.
• Monitor pest control devices to ensure that they are in good repair and working order. If using bait (chemical or other), ensure that fresh or sufficient amounts are applied.
  

Chemical controls

• To minimize potential cross-contamination, use chemical controls only when necessary.
• Use only registered products.
• Choose the appropriate chemical control (e.g. powder, liquid or pellet) for the pest.
• Mix and use the product according to label instructions for the pest specified on the label.
• Locate pest control products away from areas where they may cross-contaminate food or packaging materials.
• Label all chemical containers and stations clearly with appropriate warnings.
• Consider drawing a map to help identify and track locations where chemicals were applied.
  

Pest disposal

• Take appropriate precautions, such as wearing gloves, to avoid direct contact when handling live or dead pests as well as used pest control products. Dispose of dead pests in a manner that will prevent further contamination.
  

Monitoring of pest management practices

• Evaluate pest management practices at regular intervals by observing if there is a pest population reduction/elimination. Adjust practices if necessary.
  

Records to keep

Farm Building Pest Management Record. We have provided a record template for your use in the Training and Support Tools section. A printable version is also available. Or keep your own record that includes:

• Date
• Name of chemicals or type of devices used
• Observations (e.g. station, status) and action taken
• Initials of worker/company
  

Did you know?

In Ontario, to purchase schedule 1, 2 and 5 pesticides, a producer must be certified through the Grower Pesticide Safety Course. To determine if a certain pesticide falls into one of these schedules, visit the Ontario Pesticide Advisory Committee website.

To obtain a licence, you must have successfully completed the Ontario Pesticide Education Program. For more information about the program contact:
University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus
1-800-652-8573

If you need an audit

Be prepared for the auditor to review:

• Farm Building Pest Management Records
  

Laws and regulations that apply

There are few laws that impact on food safety requiring a pest control program for agricultural production. For example, laws about noxious weeds do not have a food safety implication. Generally, pest control requirements are laid out in laws regarding the processing of meat, fish and other food products, which have many provisions to prevent rodent and pest habitats and other measures to ensure pest control methods do not contaminate food.

Regulations under the Milk Act, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 761 requires that buildings or premises where animal are stabled or milked be kept as free as possible from flies and other insects, that screens be used in the milk house, that no animals other than those of the bovine or caprine genus be permitted in any building used for stabling or milking, and that no animals or fowl be permitted in the milkhouse, per s. 9 (1), (3), s. 10, s. 12. Manure storage must minimize run-off and breeding of flies. S. 11 (2) and s. 23 (6) provides that all openings into a farm bulk tank shall be adequately protected against drip, dust, oil, insects and other things likely to contaminate the milk in the tank. See also 5.1 Cleaning and Sanitizing in this manual for other regulations under the Milk Act.

All pest control products used on-farm should be authorized for agricultural production, approved under various federal and provincial laws and not prohibited under these laws or regulations, and sold in accordance with these laws, for example, the Pest Control Products Act (Canada), R.S. c. P-9 and requirements of the Pesticides Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P11.

Pest control products must not cause contamination of foods that are listed in the Food and Drugs Act (Canada), R.S. 1985, c. F-27, Food and Drug Regulations, Division 15. Under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001 Meat Regulations, food animals are contaminated by definition if they contain or have been treated or exposed to a substance not permitted by, or in an amount in excess of limits prescribed under, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (Canada), the Food and Drugs Act (Canada) or the Pest Control Products Act (Canada).

The pest control product label is a legal document that specifies restrictions on its use. The Pest Control Products Regulations, C.R.C., c. 1253, s. 45 (1) specifies that no person shall use a control product in a manner that is inconsistent with the directions or limitations respecting its use shown on the label; and (2) that no person shall use a control product imported for the importer's own use in a manner that is inconsistent with the conditions set forth on the importer's declaration respecting the control product. Similarly, the Pesticides Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.11, Regulation 914, R.R.O. 1990, s. 22 (2) specifies that no person shall use a pest control product except in accordance with the label for that product or this Regulation.

The Pest Control Products Act, R.S., c. P-9, s. 4 prohibits the manufacture, storage, display, distribution or use of pest control products under unsafe conditions or contrary to the regulations. Certain pesticides may be prohibited under any circumstances.

Did you know?

Cats may cause cross-contamination by spreading pathogens and introducing diseases such as toxoplasmosis to livestock. Therefore, if cats are present on the farm to control rodents, they should be kept out of feed, storage, food handling areas and confined livestock and poultry housing.

Proceed to 2.5 Access