Hey, all! I’m Customer Service Becky, your friendly Inland Empire self-storage professional here to guide you through the ins and outs of self-storage pest control. I’ve got experience behind the desk and in front of it. Together, we can make your storage needs a little less stressful. In today’s installment, we’ll be covering pest control (it’s essential).
Ask the Questions
If you never ask, you’ll never know. While the vast majority of facility managers are not stupid enough to outright tell you if there’s a pest problem, you should ask what pest control measures they take. Quality facilities should have a pest control company servicing the property once a month with a pesticide spray and have items like bait boxes for killing rodents. They may also have rodenticide packs that they place in empty units and switch out once people have vacated. The point is that asking what measures they take, lets you know what measures you’re going to need to take to prevent vermin in your stuff.
The Golden Rule: NO FOOD
I absolutely cannot stress this enough. DO. NOT. STORE. FOOD. What about some cat or dog food? NOPE. What about spices? NOPE. But what about—? NOPE!
Seriously, I mean it. If it has “food” in the name (pet food, dried food, military ration food) or is something that goes in your mouth (spices and herbs) just freaking DO NOT DO THE THING. If it is food, you are exponentially increasing the likelihood your unit will attract vermin, and that increases the chances there will be damage to your items.
Golden Rule 2: NO RADIATOR FLUID
This bit gets a little gross! If you trust me by now and believe me, hop to the next section. If you insist on knowing… well, you’ve been warned.
The golden rule for food applies to radiator fluid as well. Rats and mice love it, and they will eat through the container to get to it. However, unlike humans, they don’t have a gag reflex. While humans have the natural protection vomiting up a poisonous substance can provide, rodents don’t. This means radiator fluid kills them, and quickly… so you wind up with dead rodents rotting away on your stuff, or in a puddle of radiator fluid that gets all over your unit. It is disgusting, and I am absolutely not kidding around about this. Radiator fluid is the poison candy of the rodent world. YOU DO NOT WANT THIS SMELL OR THE ASSOCIATED MESS, GOT IT? Great, moving on.
No Food or Radiator Fluid, Got It. What Now?
While you can’t control what other people store and some of them may be storing things they shouldn’t, you can make your unit less attractive to vermin! A day or so before you move in, it’s wise to put down a pesticide spray barrier. The minimum time between spray and move-in is about an hour, but you’ll want to read the pesticide carefully before application. Lay down the spray across the doorway opening, all around the unit’s interior perimeter (along the bottom of the walls), and around the entire door frame. If you can see any openings to the outside, like along the top of the walls, spray there as well.
If your facility doesn’t offer rodenticide packets/bars, you can purchase some at your local home improvement store or online when you get your pesticide spray, there are several excellent brands available. I’ve had good personal results with Tomcat, FINAL, and Neogen (no affiliation, and no sponsorship); there are other brands out there, so there’s sure to be one in your budget range. Put a packet or bar in each corner of your unit, and one on either side of your doorway. If you can add a couple of hooks in your unit walls without there being an issue, you’ll also want to hang cedar chip sachets or some other form of clothes moth/carpet beetle repellant. These will especially assist if you’re storing clothing, soft furnishings like sofas, or décor items like carpets and rugs.
Check Your Stuff
Activity is great for self-storage pest control. Small animals and insects don’t really like nesting or making their homes in places that are visited often. They’re shy, and they want it quiet! This means that one of the best ways to keep your unit pest-free is to visit it once every week or two and jiggle stuff. This also lets you check if your rodent bait has been nibbled at, and if you have a need to reapply a pesticide spray. If your bait has been nibbled, you’ll want to tell the facility manager immediately so that they can try to discover if anyone around you has been storing things they shouldn’t and deal with it, and also ask if there are any glue traps you can have to place near the bait areas with activity. If the facility doesn’t have glue traps, or if you would prefer a different form of trap, you can likely also find these in your local home improvement store.
As with many things, self-storage pest control is an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure. By choosing a facility that performs its own pest management activities and is generally clean and well maintained, then instituting your own pest control before moving in, you can avoid most issues. If you do experience issues, following these steps can help you minimize any damage you might find. Bonus? You’ll be one of your facility manager’s favorite tenants… which can often come in handy when there’s a dispute to resolve or a request to be made!