Recommended Safety Procedure’s

Omaha Pest Control’s primary function is helping Midwest customers in maintaining their home and business of critter intervention. In order to achieve maximum success with that task, we as a company must strive to do so by maintaining our own basic safety protocol. Following are important guidelines.

Driving Safely

1. Turn the vehicle off before fueling.
2. Do not smoke while fueling a vehicle.
3. Wash hands with soap and water if you spill gasoline on your hands.
4. Shut all doors and fasten your seat belt before moving the vehicle.
5. Obey all traffic patterns and signs at all times.
6. Maintain a three point contact using both hands and one foot or both feet and one hand when climbing into and out of vehicles.

Chemical/Pesticide Safety

1. Follow the instructions on the label and in the corresponding Material Safety Data Sheet for each pesticide (dusts, granules, liquids, aerosols, concentrates, and fumigant  gases) used in your workplace.
2. Use personal protective clothing or equipment such as neoprene gloves, rubber boots,   shoe covers, rubber aprons, and protective eyewear when using chemicals labeled “Flammable,” “Corrosive,” “Caustic” or “Poison.”
3. Do not use  protective clothing or equipment that has split seams, pin holes, cuts, tears, or other signs of visible damage.
4. Each time you use your gloves, wash your gloves before removing them using cold tap water and normal hand washing motion.  Always wash your hands after removing the gloves.

 Pesticide Application/Spraying and Handling

1. Do not handle or spray pesticides if you have open cuts or scratches on exposed skin surfaces of your arms or hands.
2. Keep containers labeled “pesticides” tightly closed when you have finished using them.
3. Do not transfer pesticides into an unmarked or unlabeled container.
4. Always spray downwind; do not stand downwind when others are spraying.
5. Do not smoke or carry smoking materials while handling or spraying from containers labeled “pesticide.”
6. Wash pesticide contaminated clothes separately from other clothing.
7. Carry fresh water and soap in the service vehicle when you are going to a pesticide spraying job.
8. Remove work clothes immediately whenever clothing becomes soaked or wet with liquids from containers labeled “pesticide.”
9. Walk through areas to be sprayed before spraying, and remove or “flag” low branches and clothes lines before spraying.  Stand clear of these trip hazards as you spray.
10. Do not use empty or washed containers labeled “Pesticide” as an eating or drinking container.
11. Refill the containers labeled “Handwash,” “Soap cleanser” and “Drinking Water” that are on the service vehicles before going to a pesticide spraying job.  Do not drink from the “Handwash” container; do not wash hands from the “Drinking Water” container.

Equipment Safety

1. Visually inspect hoses or fittings on pressurized spraying equipment for wear and tear prior to use.  Do not use if the hose or fitting is cracked or otherwise damaged.
2. Tighten all connections prior to using the spraying equipment.
3. Do not force hose connecters which do not fit easily on compressed air sprayers.
4. Do not point the sprayer tip toward any part of your body or at anyone else while you are operating the sprayer.
5. Do not use a compressed air sprayer to clean the work area, equipment or yourself.
6. Do not use dented, cracked or other visually damaged compressed air sprayers.

 Storeroom

1. Do not let items overhang from shelves into walkways.
2. Place heavier loads on the lower or middle shelves.
3. Remove one object at a time from shelves.
4. Place items on shelves so that they lie flat and do not lean against each other.
5. Follow the safe handling instructions listed on the label of the container or listed on the corresponding Material Safety Data Sheet when handling each chemical stored in the storeroom.
6. Do not smoke while handling chemicals labeled “Flammable.”
7. Do not store chemicals labeled “Flammable” near sources of ignition such as space heaters and sparking tools.
8. Do not handle or load any containers of chemicals if their containers are cracked or leaking.
9. Obey all safety and danger signs posted in the workplace.
10. Store case cutters, knives  or other tools that have cutting edges in sheaths when they are not in use.