The kitchen is the perfect place for pests to party. Ants, flies, bugs, cockroaches, or rodents – you name them, and you will find them roaming around in your kitchen looking for an opportunity to sneak inside your refrigerator or your cookie jar. These pests are attracted to food and water sources for their survival which they find in plenty inside the kitchen. It is no surprise that to control any pest infestation, you first have to start eliminating them from your kitchen. Once you restrict their entry into the kitchen, the rest of the task becomes easy – you only need to fix all the entry points.
How to Prevent Pests in the Kitchen?
There are some simple steps that you can follow to prevent a pest infestation in your kitchen, and applying toxic chemicals is not one of them. Let’s take a look at them.
- Tightly Seal All Food Containers – Pests like roaches and ants are patiently waiting in the dark, looking for an opportunity to get into your food containers. Keeping food wrapped in aluminum foils or cardboard boxes won’t do any good. They will just find their way through the layers of paper. Instead, use properly sealed airtight containers like Tupperware or Mason jars or even an airtight plastic bag when storing your leftover food. Many of us love chips, cookies, and other snacks but do not finish them in one go. Instead, we keep them for enjoying later. Keep the packets locked in these airtight containers for good to stop bugs from entering your kitchen.
- Clean Your Kitchen Sink – Many people have the habit of leaving behind their plates and glasses in the sink without washing them. It is a bad practice and should be avoided at all costs. They might not know, but the food marks and the leftovers on the dishes are a welcome sign for the pests. Letting your utensils and dishes lie in the sink unwashed fills the air with a powerful stench that signals the pests to attack. Always encourage the practice of washing the dishes after having a meal to prevent the accumulation of unwanted stench and leftover food.
- Eat at the Table – Pests have a strong sense of smell and can sniff out bits and pieces of food from large distances. If you’re eating in the living room or your bedroom, you’re most likely enjoying your meal while watching a movie. However, these are the times when you become a bit careless and drop off tiny crumbs of food on the floor and allow pests to make nests all over the house. Eating at a table helps keep your rooms and other places food-free and facilitates easy cleaning, making it harder for the pests to gain access to the food.
- Use Trash Cans with Lids – In the kitchen, we also have a trash can to store all the waste besides having food and water. However, you must not use an open trash can that welcomes pests, fills the air with a foul stench, and makes the place unhygienic. Instead, buy a trash can with a strong lid that closes tightly and leaves no room for cockroaches or ants to sneak in. Emptying the trash regularly and cleaning the can properly are also important. It may look like a small thing but can go a long way to ensure your kitchen remains pest-free.
- Clean Up the Food Immediately – We all have busy schedules. And often, in our hurry, we skip meals or try to take them while doing something else. At times, we forget to clean up the spilled food, which stays on the floor or on the table for many hours. It may also happen when you have children or a party in your house. Accidental spills can occur anytime but cleaning them right away is crucial, especially if you don’t want to invite the pests over to your party as well.
Hopefully, these small tips will help you keep the pests away from your kitchen and the refrigerator. Cleaning up the tables to remove any milk spills or food particles and washing the dishes without leaving them in the sink helps in keeping the kitchen neat and clean and your head free of pest-related worries. Do check our blogs for more useful information and smart tips. Contact us to speak to our experts on first-hand pest control experiences.
