You ever feel hungry at night and decide, why not fix myself a midnight snack? You turn on the kitchen light and there goes a cockroach running to safety.
Gross huh! Kitchens are a hot spot for pests and it may be not only unsightly but also, they pose a health hazard to you and your family or your customers if it is a kitchen restaurant.
In the restaurant sector, pests may affect the restaurant’s reputation, unnecessary costs, and litigation from public authorities. Pests are just a pain and have to be dealt with immediately.
When it comes to banishing rodents, which also qualify as pests, the best defense is a good offense. Let us look at the different kitchen pests and how to get rid of them for good!
Mice/Rats
The prime time for rodents finding their way into our cozy homes are mostly in fall and winter when it’s cold outside.
You may think that’s too far to start on ways of keeping the little monsters away but Cindy Mannes, a spokesperson for the National Pest Management Association would differ.
These rodents access the kitchens through cracks on the walls, open windows, and your drains or vents. Any open way for them is an entry! Their teeth are so strong they could literally gnaw on wires which may cause house fires.
These rodents carry illnesses and bacteria especially from their droppings which can also worsen your allergies or asthma reactions. Their droppings are a quarter-inch long and resemble a grain of rice.
Major signs that you have a rodent infestation is:
- Chewed clothes or boxes
- A trail of mice droppings
- Scratching noises especially at night
- Rub marks which you may notice on your objects since they leave smudges on anything they come across.
- Foul odor
A common notion that people have is that if you see one rat then there’s probably more is not a misconception. They do move around in groups so if there is one lurking around your house, there are probably more somewhere.
How To Get Rid Of Mice In Kitchen Cabinets
- Forget home remedies. This may be the era of DIYs but that won’t work with these guys. Scratch out all those YouTube videos o how to do it yourself because there is no scientific evidence to support those methods. Trust us, it will save you time.
- Find where their entry point is: Determine where their nest is before setting any traps then put them around there. Seek exterminators because they will be able to counsel you better.
- Use store-bought traps: The tried and true mousetrap is effective but you need to put peanut butter on each spring-loaded trap You could choose the d-Con Discreet No View, No Touch mousetrap, which conceals the rodent and you get to throw it all away.
- Rodenticides: This is mostly if you have a large infestation. Most professionals use this method. They set the poison on the bait station and the rodent is killed by consuming it. The downside is that it does not just kill rodents. Anything or anyone that consumes it will also perish so it is advisable to do this with no pets around or even small children.
- Store food in airtight containers: This will make the rodents less likely to come into contact with the food. Make sure to also put away any pet food leftovers which tend to attract them too.
- Call the professionals. Sometimes the damage may probably be too much. Do not shy away from getting professionals to help you with that. It may be costly but definitely worth it.
Sugar Ants
When you think of sugar ants, you probably relate to the pharaoh ants or the pavement ants which are also household ants. Sugar ants are attracted to sweets and all sugary foods and scraps just as the name states.
They also feed on proteins that they obtain from other insects and plant pollen. There are two types of sugar ants; the ones that live and feed in your house and the ones that carry food from your house to their nest once they make your kitchen their food source lol!
Something you should know about these insects is that they have more odor receptors than other insects and can quickly sniff out a meal. They can trace food leftover on counters on floors when you forget to clean up.
How To Get Rid Of Sugar Ants In The Kitchen
Start on a clean slate. Give your kitchen a thorough cleaning and throw out any old food, clean the oven tops, and throw out the garbage. Do check the dustbin also and if it needs to be cleaned and lined afresh.
The harder you make it for them to find food in the kitchen, the easier it will be to deal with them. Achieving a spotless kitchen can be quite tricky because they could come back because of a few granules of sugar on the countertop and you do realize that that is enough for them to be back.
Also, proper food storage is a plus. Make sure to purchase airtight containers in order to store your food. The ants are able to crawl up an open cereal box despite it being rolled tightly inside.
If the problem persists, the only true solution is to call the pest management guys followed by strict following of the above. They will always be around; you will just have to make it hard for them and be prepared for them.
Flies and Gnats
Contrary to popular opinion, gnats are not baby flies. Gnats are smaller compared to flies. When they invade your kitchen, they both have the same interests.
Gnats feed and also reproduce in locations with high moisture where the decaying process is present while fruit flies are found near fruits that have ripened and might be on their way to decomposing.
Where Do Gnats Come From In The Kitchen
Gnats are attracted to the soil of houseplants while others are drawn to garbage disposals. Any unsanitary ways in the kitchen are a breeding place for them.
They are quite harmless but are very annoying. The mere sight of them gives many people a twitchy feeling of uneasiness. If you’ve been keeping dirty dishes, garbage bags with spoiled food then you have been creating a place for them to congregate.
Compared to other pests, these are the easiest to deal with because you require nothing more than the ingredients that you have in your kitchen.
How To Get Rid of Gnats In Kitchen Cabinets
- Put a mixture of apple cider vinegar water, sugar and dish soap to lure them to it. You could also use red wine and dish soap that is if you want to waste some good ol’ wine but alternatively if you have stale wine lying around, you could use that.
- If you find them hovering near plumbing fixtures then pour diluted bleach down the sink.
- Another way you could lure them in is by mashing rotten banana in a bowl, covering it with a plastic wrap with small holes on it. They will find their way in there and it will be easy to dispose of them.
- You cold also kill them by using a spray bottle filled with water, vinegar, and the infamous dish soap.
- A sticky fly trap could also work really well. Place several of these traps around your kitchen and there is no way they’ll escape that.
Flies
These are easily the most common pests everyone deals with in the kitchen because the place tends to create ideal fly infestation conditions. You may have realized there are different kinds of flies and they all want something different.
The key to managing them is to find that specific ‘something’ and get rid of it. First of all, start by figuring out what kind of fly is bothering you. Below we will look at four types of flies and how to get rid of them
Blowfly
These are those small round flies that are green, blue, or copper-colored. They are quite easy to spot and noticeable mostly during the summer. They congregate on decaying or rotting food in large numbers.
If you find them in the kitchen they are probably scouting around our garbage or some other source of rotting material. Blowflies transmit diseases because of the pathogens they go spreading around.
If blowflies are your problem do check your garbage and rinse out your cans and dumpsters. For any rotting material, do the necessary.
Fruit fly
They are also known as vinegar flies and have a light tan on their bodies. As their name suggests they are attracted to any ripe, fermenting, or moist organic material. Not just fruits.
They lay a large number of eggs in short periods of time so It’s best you get rid of them as soon as you see them. They are not only annoying but also spread pathogens.
A characteristic of almost all pests. As you’ve noted with almost all flies, poor garbage disposal is like you calling them to evade your kitchen. Make sure you dispose off your garbage as soon as possible especially the organic matter. Rinse them out frequently too. Wipe any spilled water or juice.
Cluster fly
Now, this is a different kind of fly in that it does not transmit diseases but they are a nuisance. They almost look similar to house flies but have patches of bright yellow hair under their wings. Their waste attracts other pests to those areas they inhabit. The best way to avoid them is to block their common entry points like the kitchen window. Repair any damaged screens and patch up cracks in chimneys.
Housefly
These types of flies are dark grey and have four black stripes on their hairy thoraxes. They are round and oval-shaped. They have red eyes which makes them distinct from other flies.
You will know you have a house fly infestation when you see them near your garbage or food. They transmit bacteria through their saliva and waste. They soil food by laying eggs on them.
How To Get Rid Of Flies In Your Kitchen
- Seal your food in airtight containers
- Keep garbage sealed and always disposed before it begins to decompose
- Store your grains and pasta in well-sealed containers
If you do all that and you still have a fly problem do not worry. Get help! The little monsters are pretty dodgy insects.
Maggots
On to the most disgusting pests of them all. Don’t know if you agree but maggots are outright yuck! These things do not just show up in your kitchen like the rats do or flies.
They are filthy and need to be gotten rid of before they decide to spread to other areas of your house. Maggots are the larvae of the house fly which thrive in unsanitary and dirty conditions.
They are the worst and can cause havoc to anyone who ingests them through contaminated food. The fly lays eggs and they hatch and the maggots emerge eating anything they find. They can even stick on your wound and feed at it.
Horrible pests! If you do not act on a fly infestation the flies hatch eggs and cause this chaos. They use rotting food as a place to la their eggs. You will commonly find them in your pantry in spoiled food or garbage that has not been disposed. You will see little worm-like creatures wiggling about in the food.
How To Get Rid Of Maggots On Kitchen Floor
- Clean kitchen surfaces before you sleep: You probably always feel so tired after taking dinner and you do not want to do anything but cleaning up after dinner is the best way you are going to keep those creatures away. You are probably thinking a day won’t hurt but those guys take a day to hatch. It takes a day to have a maggot infestation so do your best and clean up. Also, make sure to dry the surfaces with a clean cloth to discourage the flies.
- Use hot boiled water: If you already have them in the kitchen pour steaming hot water on them to end their existence hehe! Then clean your kitchen out. You could even add hydrogen peroxide to the cleaning water to help kill them. It also acts as a bleach to disinfect your place.
- Use Natural fly repellent: This is to keep the flies from laying eggs at all. You could use apple cider vinegar, bay leaves, basil or lavender. Dish soap also works because it contains borax that is lethal to insects.
- Cover all foodstuffs and garbage bins: This can’t be stressed enough! You need to keep these two things covered at all times.
- Use chemicals to kill both maggots and flies: If you have a carpet in your kitchen you could use boric acid then vacuum that up. You could also use insecticides like permethrin to treat the maggot-infested floors. They can also kill other insects and bugs while at it.
