Summertime brings with it a host of pests that can make this otherwise wonderful season a nightmare. The mosquitoes, bees, and ants are enough to make you want to lock yourself inside. Sadly, there are indoor pests that thrive in the summer as well: pantry pests!
Now you may be wondering, what exactly is a pantry pest? There are a variety of pests that survive solely on the nourishment that the dry goods in your pantry provide them. There are many different species of pantry pests. However, the most common pantry pests found in our area are Indian meal moths, flour beetles, rice weevils, drugstore beetles, and saw-toothed grain beetles.
How Do Pantry Pests get In?
The most common way that these pantry pests get into our houses is by hitching a ride into your home on food items you bring in from the grocery store. These pests are particularly drawn to paper products such as the bags that flour comes in, pet food bags, and cardboard boxes. They often cocoon themselves in the little corners and under the seams of products these packaged products. By bringing infested food products inside, you’ll unknowingly transport these pantry pests into your home where they’ll mature, reproduce, and become extremely problematic for you.
What Problems Do Pantry Pests Cause?
Like most pests that get inside your Bettendorf home, you run the risk of food contamination if you get a pantry pest infestation. Pantry pests will lay their eggs in your dry goods, their larvae will squirm around in your food, their saliva and feces will mix in with whatever they are inhabiting. Not only do you run the risk of your family getting sick if you consume these contaminated products, but you can experience a great monetary loss from the food waste as you must dispose of the contaminated products.
What Kind of Food Do Pantry Pests Like?
Pantry pests particularly enjoy feeding on dry goods. This can include but is not limited to flour, oats, grains, cereals, nuts, seeds, and sometimes even dried fruits and pet foods.
How Do You Prevent Pantry Pests?
Frequently cleaning your pantry, cupboards, and kitchen areas are one of the best ways to prevent pantry pests problems. Sweeping up any spilled flour, cereal, or pet food from your cabinets and pantry and vacuuming the corners can help. Examining the food that you bring home from the store such as the products mentioned above or putting them in the freezer to kill off any pests can help prevent the spread of pantry pests. Storing all the food products in your home in airtight plastic containers can be a huge help when dealing with these pests.
Why is Professional Pest Control the Best Option?
Many pests thrive in the summer and it’s almost impossible to combat them all on your own. There are only so many DIY methods and traps that you can use in your home, and even then they typically aren’t effective at eliminating the entire problem. At Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators, we won’t just control your pest problem, we’ll eliminate it! We guarantee it! We will come to evaluate your situation and recommend the best course of action to keep your pantry pest-free this summer! Contact us at Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators to learn more about our residential pest control options in Bettendorf, IL.