It may still be winter just now, but with the onset of spring just weeks away, warmer weather is on the way.

Of course that means lots of lovely flowers, the chance to swap jumpers for T-shirts and, if your establishment has tables outdoors, some al fresco drinking and dining.

However, that also means that the insects will be hatching or emerging from hibernation. The butterflies may flutter by and the bees be appreciated for the pollination they do and the honey they make. But other flying things are just pests.

Whether they are making a nuisance around outdoor guests, buzzing around tables indoors or attempting to steal a meal and share some diseases in your otherwise clean kitchen, the spring and summer will bring many of these airborne enemies. That’s why you should start making plans now to get an electric fly killer.

Attracted by its iridescent light, they will soon be frazzled and obliterated, making sure nobody will be telling the waiter there’s a fly in their soup, or a wasp in their Waldorf salad for that matter. Better still, such devices come with trays into which the dead insect falls, avoiding any chance of fragments contaminating anything.

Killing off these insects will help keep our kitchen free of germs and can also save both staff and visitors from the stings and bites of nasty flying beasties, especially if you are in Scotland or parts of northern England where there are plenty of midges around. 

Electric killers are more effective than natural remedies like insectivorous plants (though admittedly nothing is as entertaining as a Venus fly trap), and avoid the potential contamination of a fly spray, which can get on food and harm pets. 

There may not be any nasty bugs flying around now while it’s cold, but the creepy crawlies will be back soon enough. Will your establishment be ready for them?