Most pests enjoy the solace of your home, but a particular category enjoys setting up camp in your pantry. Pantry pests are known for their love of pantry products such as cereal, dried pasta, dry pet food, crackers, corn starch, bread, spices, dried nuts, etc.
We can’t speak for everyone, but we prefer to enjoy our favorite snacks and meals without worrying about finding a bug in the next bite. So here’s what you can do to evict any pantry pests you may be dealing with:
Identify Pantry Pests
There is an endless variety of pantry pests, but some of the most common are Indian meal moths, saw-toothed grain beetles, and cigarette beetles. These pests eat the food in your pantry, live in the food, and breed in the food. Unfortunately, it only takes a few pests to turn into a full-blown infestation due to the easy access to food and how quickly they reproduce.
Most of the time, pantry pest infestation begins as a result of packaging food with bugs inside, which means pantry pests are not necessarily a result of poor housekeeping. It is nearly impossible to know which packaged product is contaminated!
Luckily, there are several signs of infestation that are easy to spot. Though it might seem obvious, you will likely find bugs in your food products before or after cooking them. You also might spot them crawling around the pantry or flying around your home. They gather in pots, pans, and along windowsills when they are not living in/off a food source. On the unlikely chance that your pantry pests are discrete enough to stay out of your view, you might notice holes in your packaged foods, but rest assured that they are almost always eye-catching.
Deal with Pantry Pests
Once you have identified your pantry pests, the next step is identifying all the food sources they have contaminated. Pantry pests usually migrate from one food source to another due to how quickly they can reproduce. The best way to examine potentially contaminated food sources is to open them up and look for bugs with the help of a flashlight.
Pantry pests usually opt for already opened packages since they are easier to access. If unsure whether it’s contaminated, you can dump the contents onto a flat surface like a cookie sheet to examine it more carefully. Remember that the actual risk of having pantry pests in your home is their potential to contaminate the food you consume.
After you have examined all your dried food products, throw away any contents that showed signs of pantry pests and clean the areas where the products were stored. Once the contaminated food products are removed, and your shelves are cleaned, it is a good idea to contact a pest management service to remove any remaining pests you might have missed.
How Pest Management Services Can Help
At Pest Management Services, we’ve been locally owned and operated in the greater Lubbock area for more than 50 years. Our team of pest specialists has the experience you need to get rid of pantry pests and any other pests that make their way into your home. Contact us today @ 806-794-4567!