How to Keep Your Kitchen Free from Insects

Kitchens take the brunt of a lot of the household wear and tear. Since the kitchen sees so much action in a day, it can be tough to keep everyone in the household on the same page when it comes to cleanliness. Cooking is a fun activity that everyone can be involved in, and it’s important to feel like you can get the most out of your kitchen in your home. However, when insects invade your space, you might feel like you’ve lost the kitchen to nature.

Insects in a kitchen are concerning for several reasons, which we’ll get to in a moment; although it’s not always completely unavoidable. The reasons for bugs being drawn to a kitchen of all places usually have to do with food, although it might have more to do with the weather outside. Bugs typically like to retreat indoors when conditions are particularly cold and wet. Knowing this, there are things you can do to prepare your kitchen for the bug standoff each year.

Why it’s important to keep your kitchen bug-free

Bugs should be kept out of the kitchen for a number of reasons, but mainly because your kitchen should remain a clean, sanitary place for food to be prepared and stored in. Insects can carry viruses, diseases, and are generally off-putting. Furthermore, a lot of food including dried goods and fresh fruits can become wasted because of insect contamination, causing you to have to throw away food and money. Here are some ways to prevent this from occurring:

Don’t leave food out

Insects are drawn to food and liquid that is available for them to access easily. Many people leave fruits and certain food items out in their kitchen and don’t face the insect invasion; this is because the food left out is sealed properly and is stored in containers that bugs cannot sniff out easily. Spilled foods should be cleaned up quickly with warm water and soap, and grainy foods should be kept in sealed storage containers. Refrigerate anything that can be kept in the fridge—this will keep food off of countertops.

Seal any avenues that lead from the outside in

Insects often make their way indoors through tiny cracks that lead from the outdoors in. These cracks can be behind dishwashers, cabinets, through doorframes, window frames, door and window screens, or even behind the fridge. Since many of these places are difficult to get to, you might want to examine the outside walls surrounding your kitchen to detect any cracks that can be sealed and use a proper sealant for the job.

Keep surfaces clean and take out trash frequently

Even tiny crumbs of food and food remnants including sugary juices and other liquids are like big welcome signs for insects and kitchen pests, so it’s important to keep every surface clean throughout the day—especially after a big cooking project. Cutting boards, stovetops, and even inside the sink should be left clean daily. You don’t have to be a hyper focused on cleanliness, but at least making a solid effort to keep your countertops clean will certainly lessen the chance of bug infestations. Since the trash is another common breeding ground for bugs, it’s important to take the trash out daily, especially if it’s approaching being full; the longer trash sits, the more welcoming it is to pests. Furthermore, if your trash is located near one of the “wall cracks,” then it might be the first pit stop for a trail of insects.

The pros here at Kitchen Emporium have designed and built countless kitchens in the main Southern California areas, including: the San Fernando Valley, San Diego, and San Marcos, CA. Part of our job as contractors is to create designs that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but are highly functional. Kitchens that aren’t properly sealed or assessed for insect activity can be problematic down the line; discovering that there’s a crack behind your dishwasher that insects travel through is the last thing you expect or want to deal with after you’ve just remodeled your entire kitchen. We meticulously plan and execute every project because we believe our work is a direct reflection of our capability and integrity. To learn more about how we safeguard our kitchens against insects, please contact our office directly.