Model Pest Control Policy for Jails, Prisons, and Detention Facilities

How to use this document

This is model language for an agency's written pest control policy or procedure. Text in [BRACKETS] is for the agency to complete or choose. Delete provisions that do not fit the facility. Each provision is keyed to the authorities that ask for it; the Pest Compliance Map shows which authorities reach a given facility. If the agency's policy manual already has a pest control policy (Lexipol's custody manual has one, Policy 805), use this model to review it, and keep one policy, not two. Keep the service agreement consistent with the policy the agency adopts; the Model Scope of Work is contract language for that. Adapt it with your counsel. It is not legal advice.

1. Purpose

1.1 This policy sets out how [AGENCY] prevents, finds, and corrects insect, rodent, and other pest activity at [FACILITY NAME] (the Facility), how pest reports are received and closed, and the records that show it was done.

2. Policy

2.1 It is the policy of [AGENCY] that the Facility be kept free of conditions that attract or shelter pests, that pest activity be found and corrected promptly, and that each step be documented.

2.2 This policy is written to meet the pest control requirements of the authorities that apply to the Facility, which are: [SELECT FROM THE PEST COMPLIANCE MAP, for example: the pest provision of the state's jail standards or accreditation standards; FDA Food Code §6-501.111 as the state adopts it; 29 CFR 1910.141(a)(5) where OSHA reaches the Facility; ICE PBNDS 2011 Standards 1.2 and 4.1; USMS FPBDS Version 12 Standard F.2.4].

3. Responsibility

3.1 The [JAIL ADMINISTRATOR / FACILITY COMMANDER] or designee is responsible for this policy, for the pest control service agreement, and for the records this policy requires.

3.2 The [HEALTH AUTHORITY / RESPONSIBLE PHYSICIAN / MEDICAL DIRECTOR] sets the protocol for persons, clothing, bedding, and property found infested (Section 7).

3.3 The [FOOD SERVICE MANAGER] carries out Section 6 in food service areas.

4. Pest control service

4.1 Pest control at the Facility is performed by [A LICENSED COMMERCIAL PEST CONTROL BUSINESS UNDER A WRITTEN SERVICE AGREEMENT / FACILITY STAFF WHO HOLD EVERY PESTICIDE APPLICATOR LICENSE THE WORK REQUIRES].

4.2 The provider inspects all areas of the Facility, and treats as required, at least [MONTHLY], and responds to a pest report within [TIME]. (Benchmarks: ICE PBNDS 2011 Standard 1.2 §V.A.4, USMS FPBDS F.2.4, and BOP Program Statement 1614.01 §47.a each set monthly inspections; Virginia 6VAC15-40-1150 sets service at least quarterly.)

4.3 The service agreement matches this policy: the same frequency, the same provider qualifications, and the records Section 9 requires. A current copy of the agreement is kept with this policy.

4.4 Only pesticides registered for the intended use are applied, and only according to their labels.

5. Pest reports and conducive conditions

5.1 Staff record pest activity, and conditions that attract or shelter pests (food kept in cells, standing water, gaps around pipes and doors, damaged screens and door sweeps), on the Facility's [WEEKLY] sanitation inspection.

5.2 Every pest report, whether from an incarcerated person's grievance, request, or sick call, a staff observation, a health or jail inspection, or the provider's service report, is logged the day it is received with the date, location, and pest, and is opened as a work order.

5.3 A logged report is closed only after the response is recorded, a follow-up check is made, and the person who reported it receives an answer that matches the work record.

5.4 Conducive conditions are entered as maintenance work orders and tracked to completion.

6. Food service areas

6.1 Incoming food and supplies are checked for pests on receipt, and food service areas are inspected for evidence of pests [DAILY / WEEKLY]. Pest activity found is reported under Section 5. (FDA Food Code §6-501.111(A) and (B).)

6.2 No insect control device is installed over a food preparation area, and devices that electrocute or stun flying insects retain them. (FDA Food Code §6-202.13.)

7. Infested persons, clothing, and property

7.1 A person found infested with lice, mites, bed bugs, or other pests is treated under the health authority's protocol as soon as the infestation is identified, in an area separate from general housing.

7.2 Clothing, bedding, and property of an infested person are handled under the health authority's protocol and the provider's direction (for example, hot laundering and high-heat drying, sealed bagging, or treatment), so that pests are not carried to clean supplies or other housing areas.

7.3 Each treatment is documented: the date, the person or area treated, the pest, and the treatment used.

8. Pesticide storage and use by staff

8.1 Pesticides kept at the Facility are stored in labeled original containers, in a locked area separate from food, food service supplies, and kitchenware, and out of the reach of incarcerated people.

8.2 Facility staff apply pesticides only as [STATE] law allows, holding any applicator license it requires.

9. Records

9.1 The Facility keeps, for at least [RETENTION PERIOD]: this policy and the current service agreement; the provider's service reports (date, areas inspected, findings, products and amounts applied, and recommendations); the pest report log and work orders; treatment records under Section 7; and sanitation inspection records.

9.2 Records are kept so that, for any pest report, the Facility can show when it learned of the report, what it did, who did it, whether it worked, and what it told the person who reported it.

10. Review

10.1 This policy is reviewed at least [ANNUALLY], when the service agreement is awarded or renewed, and after any finding by an inspecting or accrediting agency.