What You Can Do to Ensure a Peaceful, Pest-Free Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of the most beloved times of year—and for good reason! There’s great food, beautiful weather, and quality time with friends and family. But do you know who else enjoys Thanksgiving? Pests! This is the perfect time of year for them to seek shelter inside your warm, cozy home. Keep reading for some tips to help ensure a pest-free Thanksgiving. 

Keep Things Clean

There are a lot of small things you can do to keep pests away, and most of them have to do with not giving them a nice meal to go with their room and board. 

For starters, if you or a member of your family spills something—whether it’s food or a sticky beverage—make sure it’s cleaned up ASAP. Even a few crumbs can attract unwanted pests. Speaking of crumbs, make sure you’re vacuuming rugs and carpet regularly to get those hidden messes. 

If you can’t do your dishes right away, try to at least rinse them or submerge them in water to soak. The food residue left on your dishes will definitely attract insects. 

Also, make sure you’re cleaning around and under your larger kitchen appliances, like your stove and refrigerator. These hard-to-reach areas are perfect for accumulated crumbs and messes! 

Smart Storage

The way you store your food is just as important as keeping it off of your dishes and floors. If you have pets, try not to leave your pet food out in the open all the time. Instead, feed them at mealtimes and keep the food in a sealed container otherwise. 

When it comes to food in your cabinets, opt for hard plastic or glass containers that seal tightly! This will prevent bugs and rodents from being able to smell your food, and it’ll keep them out of it. 

Instead of keeping your fruit on the kitchen counter, store it in the fridge instead. If you really have a problem with fruit flies and gnats, put apple cores, banana peels, etc. into plastic bags before you toss them in the trash. 

And speaking of trash, keep your trash cans sealed at all times! Don’t toss food or drink bottles into trash cans without lids and, if you toss something particularly smelly, go ahead and take it outside. 

Need Some Extra Help Achieving a Pest-Free Thanksgiving?

If you have persistent bug problems that better cleaning habits don’t seem to fix, call the professionals at Vulcan Termite & Pest Control. We’ve been serving the Birmingham area since 1965. We’ll make sure the only guests at your Thanksgiving are the ones you’ve invited!