Any professional chef will tell you to clean as you go when working in a kitchen. By following this advice, you can save time cleaning up after dinner - and you'll feel confident that you aren't creating a welcoming environment for pests. Here are other professional chef tips you can follow in a home kitchen to keep bugs and insects away:
Scrub wooden cutting boards with lemon
Wooden cutting boards offer a solid surface to slice veggies or meats for a barbecue. However, the crevices left by a knife can attract insects - and bacteria! - if not properly cleaned. Sanitizing these cutting boards brings an additional challenge: They can dry out if you let them sit in a soapy solution or if you toss them in your dishwasher. To keep your wooden cutting board in top condition, wash it with soap and water immediately after using it - and then wipe it down with fresh lemon juice, SF Gate noted. Many pests, including ants, can't stand lemon scent. In addition, lemon functions as a disinfectant that can also remove the chemical trail that pests leave behind to alert members of their group where to find food.
Pour fat in the trash, not in the sink
When whipping up tacos or sizzling up bacon on a Sunday morning, you are inevitably left with a pan full of fat. Pour it down the drain, right? Every chef will tell you not to! Business Insider noted that animal fats may be liquid at warmer temperatures, but as they cool, they harden. Bacon fat can linger in your pipes, potentially causing a backup or water leakage, creating the perfect environment for pests like cockroaches and rats. Make sure to pour all fats in the trash. Some chefs swear by old laundry detergent bottles to hold used oils and fats, in part because of the sealed top that can keep pests from smelling it.
Keep food off the ground
Many professional kitchens - in order to obtain a positive mark from the Health Department - have to keep their perishable foods several centimetres off the floor in tightly sealed containers. This minimizes the risk of mice scurrying across the floor and chewing through boxes to get access to perishable foods. Now you can cook and bake with peace of mind.
To learn more about how to keep pests out of your kitchen, reach out to Abell Pest Control today.
You probably already know that most people are repulsed by the simple sight of cockroaches. If you are personally dealing with a cockroach infestation, the feelings of disgust are probably even more intense. Unfortunately, the cold winter weather tends to be one of the reasons this pest ends up in your home in the first place, according to Any Pest. While you may know that you don't want to share your home with cockroaches this winter, there are a number of interesting facts about this pest that you've probably never heard.
Because of the high amount of traffic and the versatility of the facilities, pests are naturally attracted to long-term care institutions. Many nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and other care facilities include on-site kitchens and cafeterias as well as private rooms and common spaces. All of these places are susceptible to attracting pests because of the presence of food, water and viable habitats.
During the summer months, some people love to go camping with family and friends. Yet this fun trip can be ruined with a few unwanted visitors, most notably different types of bugs. Crawling spiders, hungry mosquitoes and buzzing flies can become annoying quickly. How can you avoid these pests when you're outdoors? Consider these tips to keep bugs out of your campsite.
Carpenter ants can chew through the strongest studs and stringers in a house as they hollow the wooden beams out for nesting. The resulting damage can weaken the home's structural support and require expensive repairs. Professional pest control workers can remove a colony of ants, but the best practice for homeowners is to learn the best ways to keep out an ant colony and prevent the problem before it begins.
As the weather cools, you'll probably see fewer pests than you did during the warmer months, but that doesn't mean they're all gone just yet. Some insects can actually come out in full force during the autumn, while others might seek refuge in your warm home. Here are some key tips to keep in mind as fall gets underway:
