Pantry Pests at the Holidays

Uncovered cookies may lead to bugs or rodents!

Suburban Exterminating has some advice to avoid any major pest problems when baking and cooking for your holidays this year.  Of course, should you find yourself facing any pest control problems, Suburban is open every day this holiday season, except Christmas Day and December 26th, New Year’s Day and January 2nd, to help you make the most of the 2011 holiday season.

Holiday Baking and Cooking
Abundant food supplies in pantries, sweet cookies left out for Santa, and food-based decorations are a rodent’s or insect’s Christmas wishes come true.  “Pantry pests”, like ants, weevils and beetles, love to eat rich, carbohydrate-heavy holiday foods. Rodents are attracted to these foods, as well. 
The best defense against these nuisances is cleanliness, as well as:

• Store loose food items (flour, rice, cereals) in tightly-sealed plastic or glass containers.

• Do not mix old and new food items and clean containers regularly.

• Keep cabinets and pantries dry. 

• Keep counter tops clean and free of crumbs and spills.

• Throw out expired food, or ones showing signs of mold.

• Cover cookies in plastic wrap or store in plastic containers.

Decorations
Many people use food as decorations for their homes at the holidays.  Gingerbread houses, popcorn garland, candy canes and other sweets will only attract pests.  If you do notice any insects or rodents after putting out these decorations, throw them out right away!  Suburban Exterminating recommends using plastic decorations and saving the sweets for eating.

Suburban wishes your family a happy, healthy holiday season, free of pest control concerns, but reminds its customers that we are on call!  Let us take care of your exterminations, just leave us a few cookies

Protect Against Unwanted Holiday Pests

Despite the fact that Christmas commercials have been running and holiday decorations have been up in stores since Halloween, it is now officially time to start turning your home into a winter wonderland.  Suburban Exterminating has some advice to avoid any major pest problems when decorating for your holidays this year.  


There is still plenty of time to schedule a home inspection and winterize your house.  This is the best pest prevention method.  Capping chimneys, filling in entry holes, replacing old weather stripping and screens will give you peace of mind that you’ve made the best effort to control a potential infestation.  Call Suburban Exterminating at (516) or (631) 864-6900 to schedule an appointment before the holiday rush.


Holiday Decorations
Because the last time you may have looked in your attic, basement or crawl space storage area was last year, you may not have noticed the signs of a pest problem.  To avoid future issues, follow these practices in storing holiday decorations:

• Rodents and insects can chew through cardboard boxes and this may result in throwing out family heirlooms and treasures.  Try plastic containers with tight-sealing lids.
• Linens, stockings, tree skirts and seasonal clothing should be stored in plastic bags.  Make sure you have fully washed, dried and inspected the items before storing them.
• Inspect decorations each year for mold or damage. Since mold and moisture attract pests, it's best to throw out those items.
• Look over wreaths, Christmas trees and garland to make sure you’re not bringing insects into your home.

Roaring fires are a beautiful addition to any holiday and instantly add warmth and light.  However, they can also add bugs or termites in your house.  To prevent insects in your fire place:

• Store wood outdoors, off the ground and away from the house.  
• Dry wood quickly after cutting.
• Cut firewood when insects are least active, like the winter months.
• Don’t spray: you run the risk of creating fumes as you burn pesticide-soaked wood. Chemicals can also force insects to burrow deeper into wood. 

Suburban Exterminating wishes all of our customers a happy, healthy holiday season.  During this joyous time of year, we want to thank all those who have trusted Suburban to provide expert pest control solutions during the year.  We look forward to working with you in again 2012, but remind you that we are still on call this holiday season, should the need for pest control arise.