Now that the weather is starting to cool off, all of those pests that were outside all summer long will begin to come inside looking for shelter and, more importantly, food and water. Just like you and your family go to the kitchen for sustenance, the pests that come inside of your home will soon make their way to your kitchen, especially if they’ve been able to find food and water there in past years.
Here are some ways that you can keep your kitchen free from fall weather pests:
- Keep as much of your food as possible in the refrigerator and freezer, rather than the countertops or pantry. Most anything that you keep in the pantry can be kept in the refrigerator without any consequence. Also, any fruit baskets that you normally leave on the countertop should be set in the refrigerator, even if only during the night hours while you’re sleeping and when most pests are highly active.
- Any pantry food that is opened, should be kept inside of a plastic or glass container that is sealed tight. Rodents and bugs cannot open or access these containers, nor will they be able to smell the food that is inside. Food that is kept in a cardboard box does not have the same protection.
- Keep your kitchen and dining room floors swept clean at all times. Any food crumbs that are found on the floor by “scouts” will be a green light for more members of the colony to come back and look all over the countertops and inside of drawers and cupboards.
- Load your dirty dishes into the dishwasher before you go to bed at night rather than leaving them in the kitchen sink. The food particles on the dishes will be an invitation to pests to come into your kitchen and dig in.
The cold weather naturally forces pests from the outside … to the inside. If you don’t want your inside to be their inside – follow these simple tips to keep your home from seeming like a welcoming and sustaining environment for pests to come and nest.
