Pests often infest our homes because they’re looking for three things. Shelter, water, and food. So having food stored incorrectly in your home can cause a whole lot of trouble when it comes to pest infestations. Now that it’s spring, you may be looking your cupboards ready to clean them out. And you may discover some unwanted and unsavory pests waiting there. If you’ve ever experienced a pest infestation, you know what we’re talking about.
Stored product pests, otherwise known as pantry pests, are insects such as beetles, moths, ants, and earwigs. They are horrendous to have in your home, but if you have a food business or restaurant in London, they can cause a lot of damage. Rodent control may also be necessary because they can get into your stored foods too. All of these pests can be stowed away in pantries and cabinets. They will mainly stick to certain products that are often stored in homes – sugar, dried fruit, nuts, and grains. These pests can be a serious nuisance, and they can cause a major infestation in a short amount of time.
We want to give you our top 5 list not only on how to keep your food stored properly, but also other tips you can implement to keep pests far away from your kitchen.
First things first –
Take a few minutes before you start doing any cleaning to do a quick inspection of your pantry and food cupboards. If you have items at the back of the cupboard you don’t use often, such as flour or rice, it’s best to check them first because there’s a great chance they’ve been infested.
Proper storage –
Invest in all the great products out there invented to keep pests out of our food. Tupperware, glass Mason jars and metal canisters are all relatively cheap, and pests can’t get in there. You should also store food in the fridge properly as well – pests will stop at nothing to get at a great food source (and your food will be super fresh too).
Check the dates –
While you’re having a sift through the pantry; check the expiration dates on all of your food. If it’s old, get rid of it. Even though a lot of pantry items are considered non-perishable, they can still go bad and will taste awful if they go beyond the expiration date. Also, if something is slowly going bad, it’s a lot more likely to attract stored product pests.
Clean out the cupboards –
After you’ve got rid of the expired and unwanted foods in your pantry, you still aren’t finished. You need to clean the cupboards too. Even if it looks clean, a quick wipe of the shelves with some soap and water can remove lurking bugs. Going forward, remove any food spills immediately so you’re not offering a pest food up on a plate.
Inspect your shopping –
Believe it or not, a lot of pests enter your home through already food that comes in your shopping. Check all the packaging your food comes in to see if there’s any damage before you buy it. Damaged packaging is the perfect entry point for pests.
If you are having a problem with stored food pests in London, it’s time to call in a local pest exterminator like Catch-it to handle the problem.
