Pest-control expert Mel Sheridan has been on the job for 20 years. He knows that to solve pest-control problems, you have to understand the pests. With their abundance of food and moisture, kitchens are prone to spiders, crickets and roaches (figure A). A kitchen with bugs is not necessarily a dirty kitchen: it's a reflection of how we live our lives and store our food.
- Bowls of fruit draw bugs due to the fruit's sugar content. Store fruit in the refrigerator (figure B).
- Keep paper products to a minimum in the kitchen: they have glue lamination that bugs eat for the protein.
- Keep bread or sugared foods in the refrigerator or tightly sealed in plastic containers (figure C).
In the pantry, use containers with tight-fitting lids to store loose foods (e.g., potatoes) or foods that come in paper containers. Remove spilled foods from shelves immediately (figure D).Keep flour in tightly sealed see-through containers. Add a bay leaf or two to the container (figure E): bugs hate the smell of bay leaves.
The kitchen sink or any damp area attracts bugs, Hang damp cloths, sponges and brushes up to dry.
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