Holiday Food & Festivities

With all the food and festivities during the holidays, make sure it isn’t an invitation to pesky pests! Pests will eat just about anything, but they might leave you alone if they don’t have easy access to food. As you prepare for the party, get rid of clutter around the home- A little clutter may not attract pests, but it does give them places to hide. Vacuuming is important both before and after a party as it can cleanup any crumbs (food!), bugs and eggs that you may not see. Consider limiting the areas where food is displayed and eaten. Don’t walk around the house while eating. Meals and snacks should ne eaten at a table. Be a gracious host and immediately clean up spilled liquids off the counter as soon as you first see it. Puddles are roach magnets.

Serving Food

After serving food, make sure to seal up boxes and bags. Roaches love cardboard boxes and can climb into these items with ease. (Plastic and glass storage containers would be GREAT gifts to give or receive!) Use sealable containers to store open food. Put open cereal, flour or sugar in resealable plastic bags or containers. Do you really want to share your sweet with ants?

You may be tired after entertaining friends and family, but it is important to clean dirty dishes right away. Don’t let dirty dishes sit in the sink. Pests want whatever is left of your meals. Always drain dish water from a sink. Because roaches can swim, a sink full of water might become the site of a roach pool party.

Other Considerations

One consideration you may not have thought about is picking up pet food and not leaving it sitting out overnight. Food can stir up pests’ appetites’. Also, keep a tight lid on trash and empty it often. It may be trash to you, but pests see it as dinner. Sometimes you are given a plant as a gift for hosting. Be ware that sometimes pests hitch a ride indoors on new plants. Healthy plants are resistant to pests and disease. Pay attention to the light, water, and fertilizer you give your plants. Different plants have different needs. Although it can save energy to dry sheets in the sun, use a use a dryer for clothing and bedding- High heat can kill eggs, larvae and bugs. By keeping ants, roaches and rodents out of your home by making it inhospitable, you can prevent them from ever becoming problem guests.

For more information on roaches click here.

For more information on rodents click here.

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