6 Types of Food that Attract Pests

No one wants to share a home with unwanted pests. A big draw for these critters and insects is the food in your home. As they nibble on your food, they can also contaminate it, leaving behind unwanted bacteria, pathogens, chemicals, and their own body parts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 48 million Americans get sick each year from food poisoning caused by pests. Following are six types of food that attract pests.

Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is a common food that attracts pests such as cockroaches, rats, and mice. These insects and rodents are particularly interested in the fats and proteins in the peanut butter. While toast slathered with peanut butter makes for a quick and easy breakfast, you want to make sure you clean up any messes and tightly secure the peanut butter lid.

Bread

Rats are attracted to most foods that we humans enjoy, but they especially love processed wheat and grains such as bread. Rats also have the ability to jump and climb, which makes it important to keep bread in a safe place.

Fruits and Vegetables

Fruit flies are attracted to both fruits and vegetables. While these flies are quite small, they have a strong sense of smell and can detect your fresh fruits and veggies from far away. This places any uncovered produce at risk for a fruit fly infestation. Fruit flies prefer to lay their eggs at the surface of moist, organic materials such as fermenting foods. One single fruit fly can lay up to 500 eggs in its short lifespan. Once eggs are laid, it only takes about a week to go from egg to adult. The best way to keep your produce safe from fruit flies is to store it in the refrigerator.

Crumbs

Crumbs can be difficult to avoid, especially if you have young kids. Unfortunately, crumbs are also very enticing to pests such as ants and cockroaches. Even the smallest of crumbs can be enough food to satisfy a cockroach or an entire colony of ants.

Flour and Cereal

A bowl of cereal with milk is a very popular breakfast item in many homes. When stored in its box, a box of cereal can last for quite a while, giving pests such as grain beetles plenty of time to discover and contaminate your cereals. If flour is a common pantry item in your home, it’s best to keep it stored in a sealed container. This helps conceal it from attracted insects such as flour beetles.

Pet Food

In addition to human food, rodents such as mice and rats are also fans of pet food. Whether you have a cat, bird, dog, or fish, it’s important to keep your pet’s food sealed in a tight container where unwanted critters can’t gain access to a tasty meal.

If you notice that you have some unwelcome pests in your home, consider hiring one of the professionals in pest control Austin provides, such as Bulwark Exterminating.

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