It’s nearly the holiday season, meaning it’s time to pull out your baking supplies! Before digging into your pantry staples, it’s important to check that you haven’t been infested by pantry pests. There are numerous insects that are known for raiding pantries. Evidence of an infestation can often be found in flour, dried fruit, cake mixes, grains, and more. To keep these stored product pests from making you buy all new ingredients, learn more about preventing pantry pests in your Midwestern home!
Indianmeal moth (top) & confused flour beetle (bottom)
What are Pantry Pests?
There are a lot of types of pests that can be considered pantry pests, including beetles, ants, earwigs, and pillbugs. The two most common types of pantry pests, however, are Indianmeal moths and confused flour beetles. Even though neither of these pests pose a serious health risk, they can become a major nuisance to homeowners. Flour, grains, cake mixes, candy, chocolate, and other pantry staples are just a few of the things they will infest. Most of the damage to your stored goods is done in the larval stage of development, but people most often will only notice the adult insects.
5 Tips for Preventing Pantry Pests
To prevent pantry pests each year, it’s important to properly store your goods and to always keep a clean environment. Five ways you can prevent pantry pests include:
- Securely store your goods: Always store dry goods and opened packages in sealed, airtight containers to not only keep them fresh, but to keep pests out!
- Inspect your groceries: At the grocery store and before bringing them indoors, check your purchased goods for any signs of damage or use.
- Check for expiration dates: Routinely inspect your pantry for old items. It’s important to toss out anything that has expired!
- Clean out your pantry on a regular basis: Clear the food out of your pantry on a regular basis and look for signs of an infestation.
- Use bay leaves: Stick a bay leaf inside canisters of dry goods like flour, rice, and other grains. The smell of bay leaves may help to repel pests.
How to Get Rid of Stored Product Pests
If you’ve noticed pantry pests, it’s important to thoroughly clean out your pantry to get rid of the infestation. If you’re still dealing with pests, it’s time to call the experts at Anderson Pest Solutions. We can help remove the infestation from your Illinois or Indiana home and help you learn more about preventing pantry pests.
