Pantry Pest Prevention: A Step by Step Guide

Periodically Deep Clean

One of the most effective things you can do to make sure you never get bugs in the first place is to deep clean your pantry from time to time. Begin by mixing up a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water in a spray bottle and grabbing a clean towel or two.

First, remove absolutely everything from your space. Next, spray your vinegar and water solution all over your pantry shelves, and wipe them down. Housebeautiful.com recommends cutting shelf liners for your pantry, to keep the contents from sliding around. After you have put all of your food into proper containers, it is time to neatly organize it. Stacking items vertically whenever possible will allow you to see the contents of your pantry more clearly.

Bring on the Airtight Containers

There is a reason that bugs are often found munching on sugar, flour, cereal, and pasta. It’s because it is so easy for the little critters to bite their way through the paper or cardboard packaging. The way that these items are packaged in the factory isn’t conducive for them to be stored long-term.

The best thing you can do to keep bugs out of your staple items is to transfer them into airtight containers as soon as you bring them home from the grocery store. Cereals can be poured into tall, airtight plastic containers, and flour, sugar, and other bulk goods can be kept in clear, glass airtight containers. Each item should be labeled with its contents and an expiration date.

Remove Snacks from Cardboard

As mentioned before, bugs love to chew on cardboard. This means that they can even find a home inside of the boxes that your snacks come in. Individually wrapped chips and cookies can instead, be neatly stacked inside of an open bin or basket and their cardboard containers thrown away. This will help you to keep a better eye on your snack inventory and also make sure no bugs get into them.

Purchase Staple Items in Smaller Quantities

It can be really tempting to try and save money by buying food items in bulk quantities. However, when you decide to go this route, you often sacrifice freshness. When you have a lot of something, it tends to sit around for a long time and you may not even remember when you bought it.

The longer that food sits in your pantry, the greater the chance that bugs may find it. A wiser approach is to only purchase a food item when you have almost run completely out of it. Then when you buy it, only buy enough to refill your canisters.

Monitor Expiration Dates

When food goes past its expiration date, there is more of a chance that bugs are going to become attracted to it. This even applies to foods that are considered to be non-perishable. When it is time to clean out your pantry, have a look at the expiration dates on every item and get rid of anything that is out of date.

Spray Essential Oils

Essential oils are the purest, most concentrated part of a plant. They are useful in so many different ways. In fact, My Recipes.com, notes that they actually have natural bug-repelling properties! 



To make the repellent, take a spray bottle and add one cup of water to it. Next, add “25-30” drops to be exact, of one of the following essential oils of your choice: tea tree, citronella, catnip, lemongrass, citrus, eucalyptus, or peppermint. If you like, you can even customize the spray by mixing more than one of the above essential oils. Simply spray the mixture around your pantry to discourage bugs from coming in.

Use Cinnamon

As it turns out, bugs detest the smell of cinnamon. Because of this, eHow.com recommends placing a container of cinnamon within your pantry area to keep bugs away. If you don’t like the idea of having messy, loose spices lying about, all you need to do is use cinnamon sticks instead.

Place Bay Leaves

Even though your staple items have been placed in airtight containers, it doesn’t hurt to give them an extra bit of defense against potential pests. Take the lid off of each of your canisters and place a single bay leaf on top of them. Put the airtight lid back on and rest assured that no bug will want anything to do with your staple items. Next, place several loose bay leaves in random places around your pantry. Bugs dislike the smell, so it is an effective, natural way to ward them off.

Conclusion

Having a bug-free kitchen pantry is definitely doable, with a bit of cleanliness and planning ahead. Keeping your pantry’s contents fresh and labeled in airtight containers is sure to discourage their efforts of moving in. Utilizing natural bug repellents, such as essential oils and bay leaves, will stop bugs from ever having a chance in your pantry.

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