The Storage Mistake That's Inviting More Bugs Into Your Kitchen Pantry

Bugs in the pantry! There is nothing worse than getting ready to prepare one of your favorite dishes only to encounter an army of insects crawling on your ingredients. Most of the time, these infestations have little to do with how clean you are keeping your pantry. The hidden culprit is usually the pet food you have stored away.

As much as you want to care for your pets and feed them just like family, storing their food in the pantry, particularly if it is kept unsealed or exposed, does more harm than good. Pet food is known to be an excellent source of protein, fat, and other nutrients. Its presence in the pantry is like a buffet call to a variety of bugs and insects, such as ants, moths, warehouse beetles, and even cockroaches. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, more than a thousand adverse events were reported in 2023 pertaining to pet food contamination, so keeping these bugs far away from your primary food prep location is crucial.

Without proper storage, a number of bugs can find their way to your pet's food. For instance, cockroaches are not only attracted to the leftovers in your dog's bowl, but they can creep their way into your storage area and infect a whole array of foods. Kitchen pantries can provide a warm and humid environment and even emit smells from opened pet food packages that can attract more roaches and bugs. 

Simply being prudent with sealing pet food often does not cut it either, since some of these bugs will chew and enter packaged products, especially those wrapped with thin paper, cardboard, or foil. In some cases, the pests will have already found their way into the bag before you even open it. As an example, the Indian meal moth can lay their eggs in bags of pet food. This moth can be identified by its two-toned wings and the silk webbings they leave behind in food items. Their eggs are nearly impossible to detect by the naked eye.

Other prominent habitual offenders include flies and ants, which although seem commonplace, are no less dangerous for your health or your furry friends. Although you can use hacks like petroleum jelly to keep ants from invading your pet's food bowl, flies are more difficult to keep away from either canned food or kibble. Flies can also use pet food as a breeding ground during the summer.

An excellent solution to control these pest-related issues is to keep your pet food in a separate cupboard or closet, away from the pantry. You could also use a separate side table or a trash station as other storage options to keep your pet supplies in perfect order and ensure safety. Ideally, storage should be in a cool and dry place with a temperature between 50 to 70 degrees. Placing pet food near windows or stoves would be a mistake because of its direct exposure to sunlight or heat. When it comes to storing bird seed, it is often best to keep it in an outdoor shed.

Another step you can take is to inspect the unopened food package for rips and punctures. After opening the package of pet food, transfer it to a tightly sealed, pest-resistant, hard plastic container and keep it in a separate location such as the laundry room. You can also repurpose the pet food bags for your home or garden. If you have leftover dry or wet food, it is best to keep it sealed or refrigerated. Don't forget to vacuum or clean the site of pet food storage regularly to get rid of scattered kibble and food particles.