Food & Pantry Pests

Bugs and other pests are attracted to food and food waste. The best way to keep them out of your kitchen and pantry is to reduce the amount of food they can access. If the problem is too bad to handle on your own, call the experts at A-Landlords Pest Management. The most common pantry pests are:

• Moths
• Cockroaches
• Beetles
• Fruit flies
• Ants
• Mice

How to keep bugs out of your pantry

The best place to start is with a thorough cleaning of your pantry. Take all the food out of your pantry and inspect floors and shelves for crumbs. Food laying around, no matter how small, is what attracts pantry pests. Moths and beetles feed on dried plant foods and grains like cereal, flour and pasta. Ants and fruit flies are particularly attracted to sweeter foods including fruits and chocolate. 

Consider keeping your dry goods in airtight containers to prevent attracting insects. Any insects that do make their way into your pantry won’t be able to get into the containers. If you opt to keep food in its original container, make sure boxes and bags are not damaged. Even the tiniest holes in packaged food can invite pests into your pantry. 

Now that you’ve gotten rid of the bugs in your pantry, it’s time to keep them from coming back. Common kitchen herbs like bay leaves and cinnamon can repel bugs like ants, moths, fleas and cockroaches.

How to keep rodents away from your food

Rodents like mice and rats are attracted to your kitchen for the same reason as smaller pests: your food. If you’re seeing mice in the kitchen, start by looking for their entrance to your home. Inspect holes and gaps around plumbing and electrical sources as well as the back of your cabinets. Mice can fit into a hole about the size of a dime, so look closely!

Next up is to eliminate the food source. Following the same procedure you would for bugs, clean out your pantry and consider keeping food in airtight containers. When the pests are gone, keep them away with repellants such as peppermint and vinegar.