How to Get Rid of Pantry Beetles

Serving Illinois and Indiana

In many cases, the kitchen is the heart of the home; it’s where you make your daily meals, and also serves as a space for hosting and cooking for your family, friends, and loved ones during special occasions. Nothing can ruin one of these special occasions faster than finding pests in your stored foods. Stored food pests like pantry beetles can become an expensive nuisance for any homeowner. Below are some steps that homeowners can take to remove pantry beetles, and to prevent these pests from moving back into your home and stored foods.

What Attracts Pantry Beetles?

Stored food pests like pantry beetles thrive in your pantry – it’s full of “free” food, and there are very few natural predators that they have to worry about. Pantry beetles and other pests find themselves attracted to stored foods like cereals, dried fruits and nuts, flour, pre-made mixes like pancake and biscuit mixes, cake mixes, and others. Unfortunately, most homeowners don’t realize that they have a pantry beetle infestation until they open their baking ingredients, bringing your plans for a holiday baking day or Saturday morning pancakes to a grinding halt. Thankfully, there are simple preventative measures that you can take to protect your stored food items from pantry beetles and other stored food pests.

Sealing Food to Prevent Pantry Beetles

It’s important to note that pantry beetles and other stored food pests are attracted to your pantry and kitchen because it allows them easy access to food.

• The first step of action in defending your stored food against pantry beetles is removing the easy access to the food that they want, and to stop them from coming back.
• Take inventory of the items in your pantry. Take special note of items that are stored in bags, plastic packaging, and boxes, as these are easy targets for pantry beetles and other pests to chew their way into.
• In order to prevent another infestation, you should make sure to dispose of any contaminated food in an outside garbage can away from your home.

Staying Clean to Avoid Pantry Pests

A thorough cleaning of your food storage space, and removal of any food particles and other debris with a good cleaning solution will also help discourage pests like pantry beetles.

• Be sure to also keep your food storage area tidy, cleaning up any spills or dropped crumbs, and check expiration dates regularly.
• Unnoticed spills, crumb trails, and expired foods can attract unwanted foraging insects.
• Additionally, you can invest in food storage containers that have tightly sealed lids. These containers will help keep your food fresher and help keep unwanted pests like pantry beetles out of your food.

Professional Beetle Control Services

With a change of habit and a little hard work, pantry beetles and other pests can become a thing of the past. If you are still experiencing trouble with pantry beetles or other stored product pests, contact one of our licensed extermination professionals at Anderson Pest Solutions to get expert advice and treatment options for your home.

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