Industrial Pest Control in Delhi NCR: A Guide for Factories, Warehouses and Food Plants

How industrial pest control differs from home pest control

A home treatment is judged by one question: are the pests gone? A factory or warehouse is judged by an auditor, a buyer or a food safety officer, who will ask different questions:

• Where are your monitoring devices?
• What was found on each visit?
• Which chemicals were used, where and in what concentration?
• What did you do about the activity you found?

That changes the job in four ways:

• Prevention and monitoring come first. Spraying comes last.
• Every device is numbered and mapped. Each one is checked on a fixed schedule.
• Chemicals are chosen per area. A chemical allowed in the scrap yard may be banned near an open production line.
• The paperwork matters. It is as important as the treatment, because it is what the auditor sees.

The rules that apply in India

Insecticides Act, 1968: the operator needs a licence

Section 13 of the Insecticides Act, 1968, as amended in 1977, covers anyone who wants to "undertake commercial pest control operations with the use of any insecticide". That person must apply for a licence. Fumigation is regulated more tightly under rule 10(3A) of the Insecticides Rules, 1971:

• Operators using aluminium phosphide or methyl bromide need a separate licence in Form VI-A.
• The applicant must be a graduate in agriculture or in science with chemistry.
• The applicant needs at least 15 days of approved training.
• The operator also needs special permission from the Plant Protection Adviser to the Government of India.

Before you sign a contract, ask to see the licence.

The government has published a draft Pesticides Management Bill to replace this Act, so check the current position when you renew contracts.

FSSAI Schedule 4: food factories and food warehouses

Part II of Schedule 4 to the FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011 applies to every licensed food business. Clause 9.2 sets out the pest control system:

• Keep premises in good repair to prevent pest access, with holes and drains sealed or fitted with mesh or grills.
• Store food in pest-proof containers, stacked above the ground and away from walls.
• Deal with infestations immediately, and record the pesticides used with dates and frequency.

Other clauses in Part II add more:

• Openings must be screened with wire mesh or insect-proof screens.
• Doors must have automatic closing springs.
• Under clause 8.2, pest control records must be kept for one year or the shelf life of the product, whichever is longer.

ISO 22000, FSSC 22000 and buyer audits

Plants certified to FSSC 22000 follow the prerequisite programme in ISO/TS 22002-1. Its pest control clause (clause 12 in the 2009 edition) asks for:

• A nominated person or contractor in charge of pest control.
• A documented programme listing target pests, methods and schedules.
• A list of chemicals approved for each area.
• Tamper-resistant monitoring devices shown on a maintained map.
• Inspection results analysed for trends.
• Records of every pesticide application.

ISO has since published ISO 22002-1:2025 as the replacement, so check which edition your certification body audits against.

Pests by type of facility

Stored product pests to know

• Rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae): the larvae grow inside whole grains. Despite the name, it attacks wheat, maize and other grain as well as rice. In hot weather the life cycle can take as little as 26 days.
• Red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum): a serious pest of flour mills and stored cereal products. It can leave a bad odour in infested goods.
• Lesser grain borer (Rhyzopertha dominica): most destructive in warm climates. Adults bore into kernels and leave them covered in powder.
• Khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium): the Canadian Food Inspection Agency calls it "native to India" and one of the most destructive pests of stored grain. It resists most insecticides, and its larvae can survive years in cracks. Many importing countries treat it as a quarantine pest, so it matters for exporters.
• Cigarette beetle (Lasioderma serricorne): the main pest of stored tobacco. It also attacks spices, ginger, rice, dried fruit and medicines.

What a good industrial pest control programme includes

1. Site survey and device map

The technician walks the whole site and marks every risk on a site plan:

• Perimeter, scrap yard and drains.
• Dock doors, raw material stores and production halls.
• Canteen and waste area.

Every bait station, trap and light trap gets a number on that map. Auditors check the map against the walls.

2. Pest proofing

Proofing stops pests at the building line. It costs less over a year than treating the same pests every month. Typical work:

• Strip curtains or air curtains on dock doors.
• Door closers and brush seals on gaps.
• Mesh on vents and windows.
• Covered drains and sealed cable and pipe entries.
• Bird netting under roof trusses (see our bird control service).

3. Rodent stations placed by activity

A widely used audit guideline places outdoor bait stations every 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 m) along the perimeter. Indoor traps go 20 to 40 feet (6 to 12 m) apart.

Fixed spacing has a weakness. A 2019 study of 12 food distribution centres by the New York State IPM Program found that 36.8% of exterior bait station checks showed no feeding at all. The authors recommend placing stations where inspection shows rodent activity, not by tape measure alone.

Indoors, use traps rather than poison bait near product, so a poisoned rodent cannot die inside a stack of goods. More on our approach is on the rodent control page.

4. Insect light traps placed correctly

University of Florida guidance for fly light traps:

• Roughly one trap per 9 m of wall.
• Mounted within 1.5 m of the floor.
• Placed 4 to 8 m inside entrances.
• Never above a food preparation area, and never within 1.5 m of one.
• Left running all the time.

Sticky board units are preferred in food areas, because electric grids can scatter insect fragments. The catch on each board also shows you which insects are getting in, and when.

5. Targeted treatment with an approved chemical list

• Chemicals are chosen per zone and recorded on an approved list.
• Gel baits and crack-and-crevice treatment are used inside production areas.
• Residual sprays are used on the perimeter and in non-food areas.
• Fumigation of stored stock is used only when monitoring shows an infestation the other methods cannot reach. It must be done by a fumigator holding the Form VI-A licence.
• Export consignments treated with methyl bromide need an agency accredited by the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage under its NSPM-12 standard.

6. Termites in sheds and new buildings

Termites are a quiet risk in factories, because wooden pallets, door frames, false ceilings and stored cartons all sit on or near the floor.

For an existing building, the treatment is drill and inject along the wall and floor junctions, following IS 6313 (Part 3).

For a new shed or warehouse, the cheapest time to protect the floor is before it is cast. An anti-termite reticulation system laid under the floor can be refilled every 2 to 3 years without breaking the finished floor. See how this works for factories and warehouses.

7. Records and trend reports

Each visit should leave a service report with:

• The devices checked and what was found in each.
• The chemicals used, with quantity, concentration and location.
• Proofing issues found, and corrective actions.

A monthly or quarterly trend summary shows whether activity is falling, and which zone needs attention. This is the file an FSSAI officer or a buyer's auditor will ask for.

Checklist for choosing a contractor

• Licence: a valid licence under the Insecticides Act, 1968. For fumigation, also the Form VI-A licence.
• Chemicals: named, CIB&RC-registered products, with safety data sheets you can file.
• Devices: a device map and numbered devices before the first treatment, not after.
• Reports: a service report after every visit, and trend reports you can show an auditor.
• Emergencies: a clear response time for a sighting in production.
• Food businesses: experience with FSSAI or third-party audits.

Industrial pest control with SKUAS

SKUAS Pest Control is a licensed pest control operator, working since 2012 with more than 8,000 clients. We serve industrial areas across Delhi NCR from our Okhla Road head office, including:

• Okhla Industrial Area
• Noida and Greater Noida
• Gurugram and Manesar
• Faridabad
• Ghaziabad

We serve the Chandigarh tricity from our office in Industrial Area Phase 8B, Mohali. A visit starts with a free site survey and a written scope of work. Request a site survey.

Frequently asked questions

How often should a factory get pest control service?

No law sets one frequency. Food plants and food warehouses usually need device checks at least monthly, and more often in raw material stores and waste yards. Non-food factories often manage with a monthly or quarterly service plus rodent monitoring. Write the chosen frequency into your programme, because auditors check it against your records.

Is pest control mandatory for food businesses in India?

Yes. FSSAI Schedule 4 requires licensed food businesses to keep premises pest-proof, deal with infestations immediately and keep pest control records. The records must be held for one year or the product's shelf life, whichever is longer.

Can pest control be done while production is running?

Monitoring, trapping, proofing and gel baiting can usually be done during production. Spraying and fumigation are scheduled for shutdowns, weekends or areas that can be isolated, so that product and staff are not exposed.

Who can fumigate our warehouse stock?

Only an operator holding the Form VI-A licence under the Insecticides Rules, with permission from the Plant Protection Adviser. Methyl bromide treatment of export consignments also needs an agency accredited under NSPM-12.

Sources

• Insecticides Act, 1968, section 13, and Insecticides Rules, 1971, rule 10(3A). Tamil Nadu Agriculture Department copies: Act (PDF), Rules (PDF)
• FSSAI. Licensing and Registration Regulations compendium, Schedule 4: fssai.gov.in (PDF)
• ISO/TS 22002-1:2009, Prerequisite programmes on food safety, Part 1: Food manufacturing: iso.org/standard/44001
• Frye MJ, Gangloff-Kaufmann J. 2019. Rodent management at food distribution centers. New York State IPM Program, Cornell: ecommons.cornell.edu
• Sanchez-Arroyo H, Capinera JL. House fly. University of Florida IFAS, EENY-048: journals.flvc.org
• US FDA. Investigations Operations Manual, Appendix A (stored product insects): fda.gov (PDF)
• UMaine Extension. Rice weevil: extension.umaine.edu
• Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Khapra beetle fact sheet: inspection.canada.ca
• Penn State Extension. Cigarette beetle: extension.psu.edu/cigarette-beetle
• IPPC. India NSPM-12, accreditation of fumigation agencies: ippc.int