Thanksgiving is upon us. While it can be a wonderful time for giving thanks with friends and family, it can also be a stressful time. We know you want everything to be just perfect. There is so much to do to prepare your home for the arrival of guests. You start with the general cleaning, putting fresh hand towels in the bathrooms, adding the extension leaf to the dining table, and that’s all before you start the food prep! The one area that you might not consider checking when getting started with your Thanksgiving prep is the pantry. We don’t mean just checking to see what ingredients you already have on hand and what you need to add to the grocery list. We recommend doing a thorough check of the pantry for signs of pantry pests so that unexpected guests don’t ruin your Thanksgiving holiday.
What Are Pantry Pests?
Pantry pests are any number of bugs that thrive on dry goods in your pantry. These can include Indian meal moths, saw-toothed grain beetles, flour beetles, rice weevils, larger beetles, and drug store beetles. Pests like cockroaches and mice will certainly make frequent visits to a pantry, but can live anywhere in your home. Pantry pests, on the other hand, rely on stable sources of food as ideal places to lay their eggs and grow, and will rarely be found anywhere apart from where you store food.
How Do I Spot Pantry Pests?
While all the various pantry pests are a little bit different, there are some tell-tale signs that you have a pantry pest infestation. You might see the live bugs in the corners of your cabinets or in the folds of cereal boxes. Often you will find the larvae or what looks like worms crawling around in your flour or nuts or grains. Even if you don’t see the actual eggs, larvae or adult bugs, you might find their silk webbing inside your bags and boxes of dry goods, fruits, and nuts. Double check bird seed and pet food as well as pantry pests like those too.
How Do I Get Rid Of Pantry Pests?
The best way to get rid of pantry pests is to take away their food source. Clean up any spills – that bit of flour that falls out of the bag, those stray cereal pieces. Consider transferring all your dry goods into sealed plastic or glass containers. Toss out any contaminated foods or anything that is already open. Double check baking mixes and such that appear to be unopened as some pantry pests can chew through packaging. If you have tried all of that and still find yourself dealing with pantry pests you can call in the professionals. Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators can review your situation and can come up with a plan to help rid your home and pantry of those pesky pests so they don’t invade your Thanksgiving celebration.