One of the most important places that must be treated with the utmost care in the house is the kitchen. Since it is where food items are prepared and/or stored, they must be taken care of. You must always ensure that your kitchen is free of dirt, contaminants, and pests. However, there are instances where it will be so hard to fully get rid of this dirt and pests. One of the commonest pests that are dangerous to your health and found in the kitchen are bugs. You may encounter these bugs while sweeping the base of the kitchen cabinet, floors and under dishwashers. Possibly, you may also encounter them in your pastries. Sometimes, these bugs cluster to dry places where you have kept your food items, such as flour where they lay their eggs and hatch them. You may be wondering how they found their ways to those crannies of your home, and out of anger, you pick a spray to get rid of them. By doing this, you’re endangering yourself the more. Sometimes, sprays/pesticides may not be an option if it is not handled by a professional.
Identify the bugs:
Generally, these tiny bugs are sometimes found in colonies, so it may be somewhat tedious to get rid of them in large quantities. Meanwhile, they are hard to identify and distinguish from one another, as there are different types of kitchen bugs in existence. The process of identification of these pests makes it easier to know the control measure to adopt.
To identify the bug, take the following steps:
- Trap the bugs alive in a plastic bag. Make sure they are alive and are up to 4-6 in number for proper examination.
- Take the plastic bag to the pest control company nearest to you.
- Show them the bugs and ask them to identify the type of bug they are.
- Verify if there is an easy method you can adapt to spray your home by yourself in order to get rid of tiny black bugs in the kitchen totally. Sometimes, you may need a professional to help you with fumigation.
- If you find out you can not spray the bugs yourself, make an appointment with the company to spray your home for you.
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Clean Up:
Clean up to stop the bugs from eating. The next line of action is to eliminate the source of food of the bugs. So, in order to achieve this, make use of the fridge and bins as much as you can. When you just get your food items and about to stick them in your pantry, rinse the fruits and vegetables as soon as you’re back from the store. This is to enable that you get rid of very, very tiny larvae that may have stuck to your vegetables and fruits. You can as well deal the produce up, and by doing this, the source of food for the pests have been blocked.
There are some kitchen bugs that may be in colonies and love in large groups. They can enter your home though doors, windows and food products from the market. You may need to get an exterminator because infestations happen very fast and are sometimes hard to control. In order to keep them away from your home, make sure all holes in your home are properly blocked. You can also add non-toxic deterrents like talcum powder, bay leaves and pepper and salt to any suspected entry point.
Also, there’s a pest known as Indian meal moths (IMMs) that has been reported to be the commonest pests of stored grains in the United States. This is as a result of the fact that their favorite food they feed on are virtually any food item you store in your kitchen/pantry. These items include nuts, cereals, dried fruits, grain products, grain and a variety of processed food products. To get rid of these pests, you can borrow them through the mesh and slide them through tiny gaps in bags.
Some other bugs are controlled by applying bags of pepper on their area of predominance. This I’d expected to repel them. To keep the unwanted bugs away from your latch, ensure that you regularly wash your produce properly before consumption.
Flour beetles reproduce in flour and other dry products. Although they are tiny, they can cause the flour to discolor and develop an offensive odor. To keep flour beetles off your kitchen, ensure your flour is kept in a metal or sturdy plastic container.
In addition to these control measures, bugs can be exterminated by using some old-existing traditional approach. This approach has been used and tested for decades to be very potent and effective. You can add one bay leaf to canisters and package of dry goods. The pungent aroma is quick and sharp enough to repel these bugs.
Another control measure is to empty your food containers immediately because it makes extermination of the bugs easier and relatively puts stress on the bugs.
By applying some non-toxic fruit fly kryptonite to spot where you may have sensed the presence of bugs, these kitchen pests can be reduced drastically.
If you eventually run into an infested material that still has further value or if the infestation is a questionable one, add some heat to the materials. Put such material in a shallow pan in an oven at 130°F for about 30 minutes or put the material in a deep freezer at 0°F for 4 complete days.
After you have emptied and vacuumed your cabinets, puck up the soap and hot water to wash the interiors of the cabinet. Also, if you’re applying pesticides, ensure that you cover the shelves with clean papers or foil before replacing your cooking utensils.
Types of Kitchen Bugs
Pantry bugs are pests commonly found in the kitchen, food cabinets and kitchens. They are basically found where food items are being kept. Practically, almost every dry food item in your home is susceptible to being infested. These pantry pests feed on and contaminate stored food items, thus making them unhealthy for human health. They can sometimes be found crawling and flying about the home after they might have infested food. In order to get rid of these bugs in your kitchen, you must be able to identify them so as to know the best approach you need to apply. Some of these bugs include:
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Spider beetles
These pests are of different species; some are characterized by longs legs while others are spider-like in appearance. They are found feeding on virtually all types of stored food products.
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Dermestid beetles
These beetles are scavengers and are commonly found in the kitchen. The fees on both plant and animal products. Their mouths are such that they can easily penetrate leathers, furs, skins, dried meat, and even woolen and sick materials. Basically, these kitchen pests are of three sub-types based on the type of food they prefer to feed on. Larder beetles feed on foods of animal origin such as cheese and dried meats.
Carpet beetles are found underneath carpets, feeding on upholsteries and clothing materials. Cabinet beetles, however, prefer feeding on cereal grain foods. These cabinet beetles are the commonest pantry pests of this group. At their larva stages, they are more dangerous.
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Bran bugs
These flour and grain beetles are usually about 1/8 inch long. You may encounter them either crawling or flying about in your home. At their growing stages, they are usually found in infested food items.
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Grain weevils
These food pests are usually between 2.1mm – 3.5mm long. They are characterized by long snouts and primarily feed on stored grains. However, they can sometimes be found on other plant matters.
To identify them quickly in your kitchen and pastries, their larvae are small and legless. They develop inside individual kernels and feed on whole grains, beans, corns, bird seeds, rice and caked meals.
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Cigarette beetles
Cigarette beetles are about 2-3mm long, fest on ginger, rice, pepper, dates, raisins, seeds, spices and other dried botanicals.
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Drugstore beetles
These kitchen pests see commonly found in cereals and dry pet foods. Sometimes, they are found in flour bags.
How to Prevent Kitchen Bugs
- Before you purchase your food products, check the packaging seals to ensure that there are no pre-infestations.
- Avoid buying large quantities of food items in your pantries.
- Store your food products in air-tight containers that can also resist the infestation of pests.
- Consume all old products you have in your pantry before purchasing new ones.
- Food items that are not frequently consumed should be kept in refrigerators and freezers.
- Crumbs and spills in the kitchen can attract pests. Clean all dirt in your kitchen regularly.
- Vacuum crevices and cracks that can serve as hide-outs for bugs, and where grains can probably accumulate.
- Dispose of and keep all infected food materials in trash outdoors.
- Dried flours, museum specimens, spices and dig biscuits are non-food items that are fested on by red flour beetles. Keep them safe as well.
- Indian meal moths can feed on your candy bars and baked goods in vending machines.
