Inside a Successful Pest Control–FSQA Partnership

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the January/February 2026 print edition of QA magazine under the headline “Better Together.”

The behind-the-scenes work of a commercial pest control technician at a food facility can help provide the confidence food safety and quality assurance (FSQA) professionals need when ensuring the safety of a facility’s products.

QA sat down with Gabe Chavez, account manager at Sprague Pest Solutions’ Bakersfield, Calif., branch, after riding along while he serviced a tomato facility to learn more about best practices pest management professionals (PMPs) can implement alongside FSQA professionals to successfully solve pest problems at food facilities.

Start with communication.

For Chavez, it all begins with effective communication and building relationships to ensure that PMPs and FSQA pros are on the same page.

“It starts with communication with the [facility]; keeping them in the know,” he said. “It starts with your personnel relations and constant communication with our quality assurance [professionals] to know what they’re seeing, let them know what we’re seeing and making sure that we’re in unison.”

The work commercial pest control technicians perform to prevent and resolve pest problems at food facilities begins before the professional ever steps foot on the premise, Chavez said. He communicates with a food facility’s professionals ahead of time to understand their problems before he gets to the location. He wants to arrive at his accounts with a solution to be proactive rather than reactive, he said.

Be attentive.

Beyond communication, there’s the actual job of preventing and eliminating pests, which requires intentionality and attentiveness, Chavez said. Being a commercial account technician, especially for food facilities, requires more than simply setting a trap, he explained.

The job requires keeping an eye out for all the little ways pests can enter facilities. As Chavez walks around a facility, he’s always aware of his surroundings, because he doesn’t want to miss a potential problem area.

Chavez services facilities that produce tomatoes, fruits, vegetables and dairy products, but Sprague partners with all types of food facilities, including meat producers. In fact, 100% of Sprague’s clients are commercial, according to PCT magazine’s 2025 Top 100 list, which ranks Sprague as No. 23 in an annual listing of the largest 100 companies in the pest control industry based on revenue.

Understand your responsibility.

Before Chavez became a commercial technician, he worked on residential accounts, giving him a unique perspective into best practices required for both types of accounts.

As he began the transition from residential to commercial pest control technician, he entered the job open-minded and humbled to learn, he said. He asked the professionals who trained him many questions to transform into the problem-solver he is today.

“I wanted to learn everything, from the way [the account is] treated all the way to the big stuff — the way it’s inspected, the way we exclude, the way we do this, the way we do that,” he said.

Despite already being equipped with the knowledge of a general pest control technician, Chavez knew the commercial category would vary from his previous residential work. The challenges were different. For example, he had to learn how to de-web a facility’s ceiling 60 feet in the air.

“My advice to somebody who is thinking about jumping over and doing commercial work is [to] be aware of the responsibility,” said Chavez. “It’s not just showing up and checking some traps. It’s not just showing up and spraying or showing up and baiting or doing Integrated Pest Management. It’s showing up and doing all of it, doing it correctly and being attentive to the customer.”

Understanding that responsibility is key for commercial pest technicians working with FSQA professionals and food facilities, Chavez said. Part of that responsibility, he said, includes developing relationships with every professional involved at a facility, “from the janitor to the person at the top.” This in turn can create a healthy work environment, he said.

Create a culture.

Chavez put that philosophy into practice when QA accompanied him on a ride-along to the tomato facility he was servicing.

Regardless of an employee’s position at the facility, he made a point to give a friendly wave, say hello, communicate with them and inform them of his duties and reasons for being on site, creating a friendly, open environment where relationships can be developed long-term.

The relationships between pest control technicians and their clients matter for many reasons, but especially because their work can make the difference between a food facility passing or failing an audit due to pest issues. To ensure facilities won’t be docked for anything related to pest control, Chavez double-checks that any devices he leaves behind are empty and clean. It’s important for commercial pest control technicians to keep the facilities they service prepared and ready for their audits, he said.

There’s a culture Sprague aims to cultivate at food facilities. Part of that includes holding team members and others accountable for doing the work to prevent and solve pest issues.

“I want to bring this great culture into every facility that I walk into with a little twist of me,” Chavez said. “Everyone in the building, they’re my people.”

Implement digital tools.

Sprague team members use the company’s online program to keep work organized and accurate across audited facilities. The Sprague Online Logbook was built for audit compliance, protecting facilities by ensuring that every audit documentation requirement is located in one location and showing the auditor everything they need to see and nothing more.

“This is what the auditors come in and they want to see,” said Chavez. “They want a full report.”

While FSQA professionals show up to their jobs each day understanding the vital role food safety practices play in keeping consumers safe, it’s something that Chavez grew to realize over time as he solidified his partnerships with his clients — that, and the necessary role he plays in keeping food products safe. Today, his understanding of the gravity of this responsibility is what keeps Chavez doing what he does best: protecting food facilities from pests and the dangers they can bring to companies and consumers, all with a can-do, problem-solving attitude and a smile on his face for each partner in prevention he greets along the way.

When commercial pest control technicians approach their jobs at food facilities with the same goals as FSQA professionals — to keep products and people safe — they can work together to enact best practices and create an aligned, productive food safety culture.

“It feels like you’re a part of something that’s bigger than you,” said Chavez. “We’re protecting that [product]. We’re protecting the investment. We’re protecting the company. We’re protecting the brand and then the people who are taking in the food. And I pride myself in doing the best job that I can.”