As many people you know have turned to baking during quarantine, it is likely that ingredients such as flour will continue to be in high demand. While you may be tempted to stock up when you find these ingredients, you should also consider how to properly store your ingredients to prevent pests.
General housekeeping practices can also help prevent or reduce pest problems. Tasks such as wiping down counter tops, cleaning off pantry shelves, and cleaning up spilled food or dirty dishes will remove potential food sources that can be attractive to kitchen and pantry pests. Combine prevention and sanitation IPM approaches to keep the cookies and bread coming and the pests away.
- Author: Elaine Lander
Spring has arrived and with many Californians at home due to local coronavirus directives, now could be an opportune time for some spring cleaning. This annual ritual also has the benefit of preventing and reducing indoor pests.
Cleaning and decluttering removes access to food, water, and shelter for pests such as ants, cockroaches, pantry pests, mice, and spiders. Here are a few tips to help you prevent pests and reduce potential pest infestations.
Kitchens and Pantries
- Wipe down countertops, clean off pantry shelves, and keep dry goods in tightly sealed containers to prevent pantry pests, cockroaches, and ants.
- Clean up spilled food or dirty dishes to remove potential food sources.
- Mop and vacuum floors to remove food and debris.
- Use sticky traps or pheromone traps to monitor and detect cockroaches and pantry pests.
Living Spaces and Closets
- Vacuum floors, especially along baseboards, and beneath furniture to reduce or prevent infestations of clothes moths, fleas, carpet beetles, and other pests.
- Launder bedding, blankets, cushion covers and other washable articles to kill clothes moths and carpet beetles. Clean fabrics are also less attractive to pests.
- Reduce clutter to remove hiding places and make pest infestations easier to spot.
Storage Areas Indoors and Out
- Store pet food in closed airtight containers, rinse empty beverage containers, and secure lids on garbage containers to reduce ants, rats, and opossums.
- Seal cracks and openings in foundations and around pipes, wires, and vents to reduce access to garages, basements, or attics by rats, mice, or raccoons.
- Organize belongings in airtight containers such as plastic bins. Store off the floor and away from walls to reduce clutter in storage areas and deny access to pests like carpet beetles, mice, and spiders.
- Use snap traps to control rats and mice indoors.
For more information on indoor and outdoor pests, visit the UC IPM website.
/h2>/h2>/h2>/h2>/h2>- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
The New Year is a time when many people make resolutions to exercise more, eat better, and be more organized. My resolutions include all of these, but especially getting rid of some stuff around the house my family doesn't need anymore.
Most of us have clutter we've hidden away in closets, drawers, garages, or in other storage space. Although you may not have the time or energy to go through these excess “stuff” and cluttered areas, I have an incentive for you: pest reduction and prevention.
If one of your resolutions is being more organized and get rid of unneeded items in your house, consider how it could help you also reduce the possibility of encountering the following pests while you are cleaning.
Cockroaches may come into contact with human and pet excrement and can transmit bacteria to food. Some species prefer to hide in warm, moist, indoor environments. The German cockroach female is capable of laying over 30,000 eggs per year, and this kind of population can go unnoticed in cluttered areas. There are several species of cockroaches, so identification is the first step in management. Consult the Pest Notes: Cockroaches for help.
Clothes moths may attack fur, feathered items and fabric. They can also attack wool carpets, rugs, and clothes in both storage or active living areas. These moths may be difficult to eradicate but cleaning and other nonchemical control measures can help. Read the Pest Notes: Clothes Moths for more information.
Rodents such as mice and rats can squeeze through the tiniest openings in buildings. They are looking for food and shelter and adequate hiding space to raise their young. The presence of rodents can be hard to detect in cluttered areas that don't get a lot of use or attention. Read about how to exclude these pests or control them if already present in the Pest Notes on House Mouse and Rats.
Bed bugs can hide in more than just the bed. Cluttered areas, furniture, and other household belongs can harbor bed bugs as they wait for a host. If you think you may have bed bugs or to learn ways to prevent bed bug introductions, consult Pest Notes: Bed Bugs, where you can also watch videos about inspecting for bed bugs.
Pantry Pests are mostly moths and small beetles that can infest and taint a wide variety of foods with their bodies and by-products. To learn how to avoid introducing them or eliminating an existing infestation, visit Pest Notes: Pantry Pests.
Widow Spiders such as the infamous black widow prefer to hide in dark spaces and may be found in storage areas or among clutter. Learn management techniques by reading the Pest Notes: Widow Spiders and their Relatives.
Spiders such as cellar spiders, sac spiders, and wolf spiders may also hide in cluttered areas. Spiders are beneficial by eating flies, other spiders, and other pests around the home, but their presence may be a nuisance.
Practice integrated pest management around the home by using good sanitation and limiting hiding places. Don't stress if you have large amounts of clutter-- work on going through one pile or area at a time.
![Clutter can harbor pests. [Credit: K Windbiel-Rojas] Clutter can harbor pests. [Credit: K Windbiel-Rojas]](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/49768.jpg)
Consider the following pests when thinking whether you should reduce clutter and get rid of unneeded items in your house:
Cockroaches may come into contact with human and pet excrement and can transmit bacteria to food. They prefer to hide in warm, moist environments. The German cockroach female is capable of laying over 30,000 eggs per year, and this kind of population can go unnoticed in cluttered areas. There are several species of cockroaches, so identification is the first step in management. Consult the Pest Notes: Cockroaches for help.
Clothes moths may attack fur, feathered items and fabric. They can also attack wool carpets, rugs, and clothes in both storage or active living areas. These moths may be difficult to eradicate. Read the Pest Notes: Clothes Moths for more information.
Rodents such as mice and rats can squeeze through the tiniest openings in buildings. They are looking for food and shelter and adequate hiding space to raise their young. The presence of rodents can be hard to detect in cluttered areas that don't get a lot of use or attention. Read about how to exclude these pests or control them if already present, in the Pest Notes on House Mouse and Rats.
Bed bugs can hide in more than just the bed. Cluttered areas, furniture, and other household belongs can harbor bed bugs as they wait for a host. If you think you may have bed bugs or to learn ways to prevent bed bug introductions, consult Pest Notes: Bed Bugs, where you can also watch videos about inspecting for bed bugs.
Pantry Pests are mostly moths and small beetles that can infest and taint a wide variety of foods with their bodies and by-products. To learn how to avoid introducing them or eliminating an existing infestation, visit Pest Notes: Pantry Pests.
Widow Spiders such as the infamous black widow prefer to hide in dark spaces and may be found in cluttered areas. Learn management techniques by reading the Pest Notes: Widow Spiders and their Relatives.
Spiders like cellar spiders, sac spiders and wolf spidersmay also hide in cluttered areas. The jaws of most spiders are too small to bite humans, but their presence may be a nuisance.
Practice integrated pest management around the home by using good sanitation and limiting hiding places. Don't stress if you have large amounts of clutter-- work on going through one pile or area at a time.
![Cluttered garage has many hiding spaces for pests. [A. Schellman] Cluttered garage has many hiding spaces for pests. [A. Schellman]](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/43939.jpg)
- Author: Anne Schellman
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Cockroaches prefer warm, moist environments with places to hide. There are several species of cockroaches, so identification is the first step in management. Consult the Pest Note: Cockroaches for help.
Clothes moths may attack fur, feathered items and fabric. They can also attack wool carpets, rugs, and clothes. These moths may be difficult to eradicate. Read the Clothes Moths Pest Note for more information.
Speaking of "rats", rodents such as mice and rats can squeeze through the tiniest openings in buildings. They are looking for food and shelter and adequate space to raise their young. Read about how to exclude these pests or control them if already present in the Pest Notes House Mouse and Rats.
Bed bugs can hide in more than just the bed. Cluttered areas, furniture, and other household belongs can harbor bed bugs as they wait for their host to return. If you fear you may have bed bugs, consult the Bed Bugs Pest Note, where you can also watch videos about inspecting for bed bugs.
Pantry Pests are moths and beetles that infest and taint a wide variety of foods with their bodies and by-products. To learn how to avoid introducing them or eliminating an existing infestation, visit the Pantry Pests Pest Note.
Good sanitation and limiting hiding places are great ways of practicing integrated pest management around the home. We at UC IPM will be celebrating World Packrat Day by sharing this information on how to limit clutter and by doing some extra cleaning of our own storage areas to reduce hiding spots for pests.
![house mouse house mouse](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/36285.jpg)
![bed bugs bed bugs](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/36290.jpg)