Could Your Pet’s Food Be Attracting Pests?

Owning a dog or cat is an unmatched experience. But keeping your furry companion well fed can also be the source of a pest problem. Pet food is an ideal food option for home pests like rodents, raccoons, ants, and cockroaches. When these pests have access to your dog or cat food, it can increase your risk of a pest problem.

With a little planning and a few changes, you can make your pets’ food less of an issue, making your pet food harder for pests to access while still getting your dog or cat everything they need.

How to Avoid Pests in Your Pets’ Food

Without precautions, your pet’s food can make an easy target for pests. The best way to avoid this is by:

• Storing Food Properly – Pet food can be a problem before it even gets your dog’s bowl. Most pet food bags do not have a resealable closure once you open them and the paper bags can be easy for rodents to chew through. Instead of leaving your pet food in the bag, transfer it to a secure storage solution like a plastic tub with a tight fitting lid or buy food in smaller portions.
• Change Your Cleaning Schedule – It is not just the food itself, but also the crumbs that your pet can leave behind. Make it part of your weekly routine to sweep and mop your dog’s feeding area and rinse off the food bowl regularly since even an empty bowl still contains a strong smell that will attract pests.
• Bring Bowls in at Night – If you feed your pets outside, bring in the food bowls at night to avoid attracting unwanted animals to your yard where they also have close proximity to your home, garden, and other areas.
• Reconsider Feeding Times – If your dog or cat eats small amounts throughout the day, the extra time the food spends out has a high likelihood of attracting pests. Consider switching your dog to a meal schedule with a few meals of a few minutes each. If your dog or cat does need small amounts of food throughout the day, limit the amount of food in the bowl so that you have less sitting out for long periods of time.
• Change the Feeding Location – Many pets have their bowls directly on the floor within easy reach of pests. For larger dogs, elevating the food and water bowl on a stand makes it just that more challenging for pests to get at it. If you have a cat that likes climbing, you could move the food off the floor altogether and up onto a cat tree or other ledge around your home.

If you are having trouble keeping pests out of your pets’ food in Gainesville, ExtermPRO can help with effective and pet safe extermination solutions that will get rid of bugs and rodents. Contact us today to learn more about our solutions and schedule a visit from one of our expert pest technicians.