A Wellington pest management company has spoken out about the increase of pest infestations at eateries around the capital, describing the situation as “particularly bad.”
Darren Labrum, managing director of Wellington Pest Management, said that while he cannot name the restaurants for legal reasons, his experiences have left him reluctant to dine out following six separate cockroach infestations.
“Wellington this year has been particularly bad.”
The long, warm summer has given cockroaches more time to breed. Labrum recounted one incident where he saw a kitchen worker take a spatula out of a dish “and used it to rummage underneath the fryers where all the rubbish goes.”
“Cockroaches scattered everywhere then he went and put the spatula back in the curry and stirred it.”
While Wellington Pest Management would normally get one or two jobs at a restaurant, Labrum said he has seen six separate infestations over the last month.
“In theory there should be less because food safety is more rigorous, but possibly warmer climates have something to do with it, that's the only thing I can think of that's changed.”
Insects are an issue during summer, but rodents tend to show up in time for winter, seeking somewhere warm to live.
