Who Else is Eating Your Cereal?
We all love a stocked pantry, but what happens if someone (or something) else makes your pantry its home? A well-stocked pantry is a favorite of both the housewife AND little pests known as stored product pests.
What are stored products pests? Many pests fall into this category, but the most common are beetles, ants, earwigs, pillbugs, Indiana Meal moths, and merchant grain beetles. Fortunately, none of these pests are serious health issues, but they are a major nuisance and can quickly destroy our pantry’s food supply.
These stored product pests love the typical items that are found in pantries. They love to dig into boxes of cereal, bags of flour, containers of nuts, baking chocolate, and boxes of cookies. They can quickly reproduce and multiply, so be aware of who else is living in your cereal!
Prevention is the best medicine for dealing with pests, so try these strategies to help avoid an infestation:
1. Invest in Tupperware-like containers. Not only will your pantry look organized and neat, it will also keep these stored product pests from burrowing into your pantry supply.
2. Inspect your current pantry items for any larva or other signs of pests. If you do see any, dispose of the food product immediately.
3. Inspect your groceries as soon as you get home. Groceries often sit in storage areas for some time before they are shipped to the store. Often the infestation comes from the storage area or grocery store BEFORE they even make it into your home!
4. Keep tabs on what is in your pantry and check expiration dates. Often food items get shoved to the back of the pantry and are soon forgotten, leaving them victim to unwanted pests. Make sure you do a thorough cleaning on occasion, and pay attention to expiration dates.
If you DO find that your food has been infested, immediately dispose of it. Then give us a call for a proper removal of the pest from your home!
Top 5 Ways to Keep Ants Out of Your Kitchen
We all love spring, but with spring comes ants. There’s nothing pleasant about a trail of ants in your kitchen, so follow these top 5 tips to keep ants from marching into your home:
1. Inspect your home to see where ants could possibly be entering. Ants are tiny little insects, so look closely! If you do find a small opening, fill it with caulk to prevent their invasion.
2. Keep food debris off your floors. This sounds like common sense, but if you have children in your home this is easier said than done. Make it a habit to watch for small crumbs, especially near an entrance to your home. Ants can find it before you see it!
3. Clean your surfaces with vinegar. Not only is this an environmentally friendly cleaner, ants hate the smell of vinegar so it’s a natural deterrent.
4. Clean your house with lemon juice. Just like vinegar, this is another environmentally friendly cleaner that will leave your house smelling fresh!
5. Sprinkle cinnamon at your entrances. This will keep ants from entering your home’s doorways!
Still have problems? Call us to book an appointment!