Sanitation and Storage Quiz

Source: Sanitation & Storage Quiz (PDF)

Proper sanitation and storage practices are critical to effective pest management. Take this quiz to test your knowledge of both and find out if you're doing all you can to deter pests.

1) Lighting can help with proper sanitation by keeping disease-carrying pests away from entrances. Which kind of lighting is most attractive to flying pests?

  1. Sodium vapor lighting
  2. Fluorescent lighting
  3. Ultraviolet lighting
  4. Incandescent lighting

2) Sealing potential pest entry points (e.g., installing door sweeps to seal cracks above thresholds or caulking around pipe openings in walls) is the best way to keep pests where they belong—outside. What is the smallest exterior opening that you can safely leave unsealed?

  1. 1/2 inch
  2. 1/4 inch
  3. 1/8 inch
  4. 1/16 inch

3) Which of the following materials, if installed around the exterior of the building, help deter pests?

  1. Gravel
  2. Woodchips
  3. Pine straw
  4. Cement

4) Supplies should be stored in their cardboard shipping containers to help keep pests away from contents.

  1. True
  2. False

5) If a spillage accident occurs, how quickly must you clean it up to avoid attracting pests?

  1. Within 15 minutes
  2. Within one hour
  3. Within four hours
  4. Within 12 hours

6) When installing equipment, how much space should be left between each piece of equipment to ensure that the area can be cleaned without difficulty?

  1. 12 inches
  2. 18 inches
  3. 24 inches
  4. 30 inches

7) When installing equipment, how much space should be left between the equipment and the wall to ensure that the area can be cleaned without difficulty?

  1. 10 inches
  2. 20 inches
  3. 30 inches
  4. 40 inches

8) No pests can enter through a properly installed and intact #16-mesh screen.

  1. True
  2. False

9) Employees involved in food handling should wash their hands regularly and often. What is the minimum length of time an employee should scrub his/her hands with soap and water to eliminate most microbes?

  1. 10 seconds
  2. 20 seconds
  3. 60 seconds
  4. 90 seconds

10) When keeping inventory of stored products, which system is better for preventing pest infestations?

  1. LIFO (Last In, First Out)
  2. FIFO (First In, First Out)

11) Which of the following describes the best way to store items to prevent pest infestations?

  1. On the floor, at least 12 inches from the wall
  2. On the floor, within 12 inches from the wall
  3. On the floor, within 6 inches from the wall
  4. On the floor, at least 18 inches from the wall

12) Ants are a constant threat to the sanitation and safety of almost any commercial building. They travel long distances in search of food and usually travel in masses. Which season are ants most active?

  1. Winter
  2. Spring
  3. Summer
  4. Fall

13) Three of the four following areas are common pest activity zones and should be cleaned more thoroughly than other areas. Which one is typically less of a "hot spot" than the others?

  1. Dumpsters
  2. Offices
  3. Break areas
  4. Shipping/Receiving areas

14) When inspecting supply shipments, what signs should employees look for to identify potential pest infestations?

  1. Chew marks
  2. Droppings
  3. Exoskeletons
  4. b) & c)
  5. All of the above

15) Since rodents cannot regulate their body temperature like most other mammals, they become very active in their search for food and shelter when the temperature cools. This often leads them to infiltrate man-made structures. At what temperature do rodents typically start looking for warmth and shelter?

  1. 60 degrees
  2. 50 degrees
  3. 40 degrees
  4. 30 degrees

Sanitation Quiz Answers

1) C. Ultraviolet lighting. If you mount ultraviolet lighting at least 100 feet away from the entrance of your building, pests will gravitate toward the lighting vs. heading to your entrances/exits. If ultraviolet lighting is not ideal, fluorescent lighting can also be used to attract flying insects.

2) D. 1/16 inch. Adult mice can squeeze through an opening only one centimeter wide, while cockroaches need just 1/8 inch to enter.

3) A. Gravel. By installing a 30-inch gravel strip around the exterior of your building, you can help keep pests away from your structure. Rodents don't like to be out in the open, and crawling insects find gravel difficult to traverse.

4) B. False. Cockroaches often feed on the glue that holds cardboard containers together and often hide in the tunnels of corrugated cardboard. It's better to remove all supplies from shipping containers before storing them.

5) A. Within 15 minutes. If anything is spilled in your facility, clean it up immediately. Pests are attracted to all types of odors/food sources, so if you leave something for more than a few minutes, they'll be able to detect it

6) B. 18 inches allows for sufficient cleaning in between pieces of equipment.

7) C. 30 inches allows for sufficient cleaning in between pieces of equipment and the wall.

8) A. True. A #16 mesh screen presents a sufficient barrier to even the smallest flying insects.

9) B. 20 seconds. Employees should scrub their hands for at least 20 seconds at every hand washing to help ensure food safety.

10) B. FIFO (First In, First Out). The longer stored products sit in inventory, the more likely they are to develop an infestation.

11) D. Off the floor, at least 18 inches from the wall.

12) B. Spring. As the weather becomes warmer, ants become more active in their search for food. And, they never travel alone—an ant colony can have up to one million members.

13) B. Offices. Dumpsters, employee break areas and shipping/receiving docks are all "hot spots" for pest activity. Flies are attracted to the odors in dumpsters; break areas provide pest sources of food and overflowing garbage bins give them an added incentive to infest; with constant deliveries, shipping/receiving areas give pests ample opportunity to enter. By maintaining a proper waste management program—especially making sure lids close tightly on all garbage bins, cleaning the dumpster/compactor and removing garbage frequently (twice in a week in warmer months), your facility will be less attractive to pests.

14) E. All of the above. Chew marks, droppings and exoskeletons are all signs of a potential infestation and should be taken seriously. Some infestations are even harder to spot, so be sure to inspect all shipments thoroughly and monitor storage areas for infestations even after a shipment is deemed "clean."

15) B. 50 degrees. Even seemingly mild temperatures in the 50s can spur rats/rodents to seek warmth. Maintaining a neat and clean facility—including monitoring the loss of heat—is an excellent way to keep rodents out. Heat leaks coming from buildings are an invitation to rodents and other pests.

Sanitation Quiz Scoring

Each correct answer is worth one point.

Excellent (13–15 points): You are well versed in proper sanitation and storage practices.

Good (10–12 points): Your best-practices knowledge is extensive, but you still have room for improvement.

Fair (7–9 points): You have working knowledge of some sanitation and storage practices, but still need additional training.

Poor (1–6 points): Visit or call 1-800-ORKIN-NOW to request a free consultation from an Orkin expert, who can help you identify your weak spots and recommend changes that will keep your facility safer from pests.