Biosecurity – cleansing and disinfecting the farm and vehicles

First published07 May 2025

A biosecurity sign on a farm fence

High volume traffic areas around the farm should be identified and singled out for specific cleansing and disinfection facilities.

This page forms part of our biosecurity awareness content.

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Identify key areas

  • Consider locations where you get a lot of human or vehicle traffic. These may be building entrances or doorways, electric plug sockets or lights switches, around delivery points or loading/unloading bays.
  • Who, what and how do they get used?
  • Do they pose any specific risks of disease spread?
  • Are there any mitigations that you can provide in and around these high-volume areas to reduce risk of disease spread, especially via human hands? (You could help to identify these areas by putting something inert like crushed chalk on your hands or boots and seeing where the hand/foot prints are at the end of the day.)

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Vehicle cleansing 

Pathogens can be carried on vehicle tyres and on mud on vehicles. 

Consider setting up a washing system where vehicles entering your farm can be cleaned quickly, being mindful that the dirty run-off water should go either into ground drainage systems or run away from any areas populated by farmed animals, birds or storage sheds. 

Disinfectant sprayers should be available to use after cleaning with water. (The manufacturers’ dilution rates and instructions should be adhered to.)

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