Free Interactive Tool · ASC-TOOL-02
What pest do you actually have?
Tell us what you saw, where you saw it and roughly how big it was. You get the species, what it means for your food safety programme, and what to do next — immediately, without waiting for a callback.
Species matters. "Cockroach" tells you nothing; German cockroach tells you it came in on a delivery and is breeding in warm harbourage, while American cockroach usually points at drains and external ingress. Same pest type, two completely different fixes.
Choose whatever you are sure about and leave the rest on Any. Fewer filters means more results — which is usually more useful than a confident wrong answer.
Nothing matches that combination.
This identifier covers the species most commonly found in South African commercial and food facilities, not every insect in the country. Try clearing a filter, browse the full species library, or send a photo to a specialist on WhatsApp and we will identify it for you.
Why this matters
"Insects" is not an identification.
Under BRCGS clause 4.14.9 and ISO 22002-1 §12.5 you are expected to analyse pest trends. You cannot trend what you have not identified. A catch tray logged as "flies" for three years is three years of data with nothing in it — and auditors know it.
Species tells you where the pest came from. Fruit flies point at residue and drains; a Mediterranean fruit fly in a packhouse is a market-access problem. Stored product beetles in flour point at incoming raw material and stock rotation, not at your kill points. Once you know the species, the corrective action almost writes itself — and the root cause box on your corrective action log stops being a guess.
If your records currently say "insects", that is a finding waiting to happen. Score the rest of your pest file with the free compliance self-assessment.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to send a photo or wait for a callback?
No. The identifier answers immediately, in your browser. If the result is uncertain or the find is significant, send a photo to us on WhatsApp afterwards for confirmation by a specialist.
Can I use this identification in my pest records?
Use it as a working identification to direct your response. For audit records, significant finds should be confirmed by a competent person, and unusual or high-consequence species verified by a registered pest control operator or an entomologist. More on this in what species identification reveals about a facility.
Is there a printable version?
Yes — five free branded field guides cover the same species: rodents, flies, crawling insects, fruit-loving insects and disease-carrying pests. All free, no sign-up.