Are You Attracting Pests Without Realizing?
Even if you think you’re being careful how you store things, you may actually be accidentally inviting pests to an all-you-can-eat buffet. Here are some of the most common mistakes.
Storing Food in Cardboard Boxes
Cardboard is a magnet for moisture - it soon turns damp and humid, which makes it a dinner bell for bugs. As if that wasn’t enough, the material is also very nestable: mice, rats and other pests love to chew it to pieces, and if they find food inside? It’s like Christmas.
Leaving Pet Food in the Garage in the Original Bag
If you keep your pet food in a storage place that naturally has a lot of pests, change the packaging! The OG stuff stinks to high heaven, and it’s not just dogs that love it - the roach brigade do too, and they’re bringing friends.
Keeping Sugary Drinks in Old Coolers or Crates
When it’s not making kids and adults alike bounce off the walls, the sugar high in drinks appeals to pests with a sweet tooth, too. We’re talking ants among others, and they’ll track down sugar in coolers or crates and break in like it’s mission probable.
Using Paper Bags for Dry Goods Storage
Opting for a paper bag storage is as bad as leaving the food out on the counter in little platters, labelled nicely for hungry gribblies. They can chew through the “container” as if it’s not there - it offers literally no barrier to rats or rodents. In fact, it attracts them!
Cluttered Corners Full of Soft Junk
Whether it’s rags, old material or insulation, leaving soft junk piled in corners is asking for a visit from nesting pests. They’ll see it as an invitation to get some real estate in a prime-quality location and they’ll be living rent-free in your property, eating your food like moochers.
Storing Firewood Indoors or Next to the Wall
Keeping Indoor firewood piles or logs stacked against walls might look nice and cozy, but your rustic interior design choice comes with a cost: you’re just made a hotel for insects and bugs. They love the stuff, so don’t make it easier for them to settle down.
Not Sealing Trash Bins Tightly
Trash bins can attract all kinds of critters (and even big ones like bears in some regions) so you’ll want to batten down the hatches on those suckers like there’s a storm coming. Because there is, and it’s made of bugs.
Leaving Spilled Birdseed or Plant Food
You might not realize it, but you’ve got thousands if not millions of little gardening “pals” working industriously around you for you to drop something. We’re talking ants, and leaving birdseed or plant food around will fill up their stomachs like a Thanksgiving dinner.
Stashing Old Boxes of Clothes or Fabric
Those enterprising little roaches are particularly thrifty, and they can find lots of uses for old materials you store away in cardboard boxes. Material fibers don’t just make a great snack for them - they make a decent bed too. It’s like a gingerbread house for insects.
Keeping Storage Boxes Directly on the Floor
The floor is where bugs and insects live, so the closer you leave boxes on their level, the more attractive those items will be. It’s dark, hidden and if they’re close to walls pests can zip in and out with hit-and-run tactics like tiny guerilla soldiers.
Keeping Recycling Bins Unwashed and Inside
Some people have inside food waste recycling bins, and if they’re not washed and emptied frequently they’ll be a siren to hungry creepy crawlies. Even regular recycling bins may contain sticky soda bottles that draw roaches and ants like magnets.
Storing Fruit or Root Vegetables in Cardboard Crates
As if the non-obstructive cardboard wasn’t bad enough, when you throw in root vegetables and fruit, it’s a recipe for disaster. As they age and rot, the smell will reach every creature in a wide radius, and kick off an all-out turf war for the spoils.
Stacking Unwashed Dishes or Trays for “later”
Yeah, we get it - sometimes you just don’t feel like standing at the sink and doing the dishes after a hard day’s work. However, leaving scraps of food in the open like that? You may as well be handing over invitations to the roaches to come take a look.
Ignoring Leaks or Condensation
Storage areas can get leaky and humid, especially if you don’t pay them attention. And if you’re not doing much with them, what’s the harm, right? You might not be interested in them, but bugs and pests need water too, and they’ll love their new spa.
Using Cloth Totes or Grocery Bags for Long-Term Storage
Those containers were designed for quick visits to the store, not a long-term solution, so they aren’t meant to detract pests. In fact, they’re nice and warm and if they’re full of food? That’s even better. It’s like a hotel with free room service.
Keeping Snacks in Your Car in the Garage
Humans can’t get into a locked car, but you know what can? Mice, rats and other small pests. They can pass through those mechanics like ghosts. Ghosts that eat the snacks you left on the dashboard, then poop all over the place.
Letting Crumbs Fall Into Hard-To-Reach Spots
You won’t be the first person to have a snack when you’re slaving over a workbench - just make sure you clean up afterwards. Even a small amount of crumbs falling into nooks and crevices are waving the mice over to dinner.
Holding Onto Used Scented Goods
You don’t think of roaches as having a sense of smell, but if it can be used to woo a human, chances are the roaches might think it’s aimed at them. Soaps, partially used scented candles and similar things can draw their attention!
Hoarding Stacks of Old Newspapers or Magazines
It can be nice to have reminders of what went on in the past, but there’s a good reason people are digitizing - you can have backups, it saves space and you won’t leave towering skyscrapers of material that make excellent pest condos.
Never Cleaning the Garage or Storage Space
The concept of cleaning the garage, shed or whatever your preferred storage space is can be daunting, especially if it’s been a while. But the longer you leave it, the more unwanted guests you have to evict when you get around to it!
