Homeowners love to bake and prepare meals for their families, but this can become a nightmare if unwanted kitchen pests decide to invade. Insects, and pests like ants, cockroaches, and mice will smell those food items and want their share, so it’s important to prevent them from entering your home.
Sometimes, rodents and cockroaches sneak in without you knowing, so it’s important to recognize the signs of pests. For example, you may see droppings, hear strange sounds, experience property damage, or see gnawing marks.
Regardless, it’s crucial to understand which pests you may deal with and how to avoid having them in your house. Here are a few things to note:
Types of Pests
The place where you store, prepare, and serve food products is where you spend most of your time. However, this can attract common kitchen pests. These are the ones to be aware of:
Cockroaches
One of the most common pests is the cockroach. It’s attracted to heat, clutter, grease, and food waste, which are all found in the kitchen. Plus, it’s small enough to get through crevices and cracks.
Occasionally, you might bring outside items into your home that are already infested with roaches. If this happens, they can multiply quickly.
Ants
Ants are typically drawn to the kitchen because of the grease, moisture, and food waste. They might create nests in the wall voids or find small openings from outside.
While professional ant control services is a great solution to protect your home from these invaders, it’s often wise to eliminate their access to food scraps altogether. Prevention is much easier than killing them later.
Flies
Drain (moth) flies and fungus gnats are a few of the usual flying insects you’ll see in your kitchen. They’re attracted primarily to food, grease, moisture, and organic matter and can enter through holes and cracks in the wall or floor. Likewise, sewage and water pipes could be entrance points.
Rodents
Clutter and food crumbs are the two main reasons why mice and rats enter your home. Ultimately, they’ll go straight to the kitchen and can come through gaps in the floors, windows, walls, and foundations.
Pantry Pests
Some pests prefer processed or dried foods, such as pet products, uncooked pasta, flour, nuts, cereal, and more. You may notice saw-toothed grain beetles, Indian meal moths, traditional moths, and rice weevils in your kitchen pantry.
Sometimes, they come in with your food packages, but they can also fly through open doors and windows.
Tips for Keeping Pests out of the Kitchen
Knowing which common pests you might deal with in your kitchen is the first step. If you currently have an infestation, you may need to hire a pest control company. Do so as soon as you can, allowing the professionals to deal with the issue.
Once the pest infestation has been eliminated, you must keep the bugs and mice from returning. Here are a few tips to help you:
1. Regularly Take out Trash
You could attract pests and bugs if you typically have full trash bins all the time. It’s wise to empty the plastic container as often as you can, especially when you’re dealing with food scraps.
In some cases, it’s impossible to take the garbage out every day; you don’t want to waste the bags. Luckily, you could try storing the trash in a sealed container so that the pests can’t access a food supply.
After you’ve taken out the trash, either daily or weekly, it’s crucial to check the bin itself. Does it smell or have food bits in the bottom? Regularly clean it with soapy water to keep the bugs and pests away.
2. Routinely Clean Surfaces
The easiest way to keep pests out of your kitchen is to clean surfaces regularly. Sweep up the crumbs you can see, vacuum for anything you may miss, and wipe down the counters and tables frequently.
Pests can thrive on tiny bits of food debris in the pantry, on the floors, or anywhere in your home. It’s wise to ask everyone to eat only in the kitchen to avoid issues. Likewise, each household member should clean up after themselves.
Any type of spill can attract pests; even water can bring them into the house because they’re usually thirsty. Therefore, clean up messes as soon as they happen. You should also regularly clean the insides of the drawers and cabinets.
3. Keep Pet Food Sealed
Did you know that cardboard boxes are no match for most pests? They can chew right through the plastic bags, too. Ultimately, it’s wise to store all your food items in an airtight container, including pet meals.
Pay attention to expiration dates, too. If you throw something away after it expires, pests might still consume it. Follow the tip for taking out the trash to avoid an issue.
4. Seal Any Openings in the Home
Look around your home to see if you notice any openings. Small cracks and crevices can still let critters in, but you can seal them with pest-proof materials like caulk.
When you seal up the openings of your house, bugs can’t get into the kitchen and pantry to destroy your stored food. You may also want to check pipes for leaks to ensure that pests don’t have water sources nearby on your property.
5. Use Essential Oils
Pests dislike certain natural scents. For example, you can deter ants with lemon and avoid mice by using peppermint.
It’s important to research what fragrances pests hate and use those all over the house. One way to do that is by creating a DIY spray with essential oils and water. Shake the mixture up, spray it around the kitchen a few times a day, and you’re golden.
Similarly, you can add essential oil droplets to a cotton ball, leaving it in a place where pests might normally go, such as the kitchen cabinets.
6. Utilize Your Pantry Ingredients
You probably have an arsenal of tools to prevent pests from entering your home in the pantry. For example, bay leaves are pungent and will keep them away.
Consider leaving bay leaves in your cabinets, on pantry shelves, and on the counter to ward off pests naturally.
7. Grow Basil in the House
Most insects dislike the smell of basil, so consider growing it in your kitchen. It’s great for pasta and salad dishes, and it will keep pests away. Therefore, it’s a win-win situation for you and your family.
Final Thoughts on Eliminating Unwanted Pests in Your Kitchen
While it’s often easier to use food containers and clean your kitchen regularly, you may still deal with unwanted pests. When this happens, it’s crucial to call Pro Trap for professional pest control services in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
We are your pest control experts and can handle any infestation you may have. Once we’ve eliminated the critters, it will be easier to clean up food particles and prevent them from returning.
