Tag
Guides for pests in the kitchen: protecting food, cleaning up safely and keeping them out of cabinets.
Mice & rats · Get Rid of Pests
Set snap traps behind the stove and fridge and under the sink, throw out food in bags or boxes mice could reach, and seal pipe gaps. Traps run about $14; a full kit $57–71.
Cockroaches · Traps & Baits
Yes, roach bait works: many pea-sized gel dots in cracks where roaches hide, no spray nearby, fresh bait every week or two. A $27 box of four tubes vs. about $300 for a single pro visit.
Cockroaches · Traps & Baits
Sticky roach traps rarely wipe out roaches; they show where to bait and whether it worked. A 12-pack runs about $10, and a bit of beer-soaked bread makes each trap catch far more.
Cockroaches · Identify
Pepper-like droppings, egg cases, shed skins, a strong odor and roaches out in daylight. One adult on a sticky trap usually means a newcomer; nymphs of several sizes mean an established infestation.
Mice · Prevention & Sealing
Food, warmth, nesting spots and a gap about ¼ inch wide. Sealing food, pet food and garbage, moving bird feeders and woodpiles, and closing gaps costs little or nothing.
Mice & rats · Identify
Mice sound like light scratching, scurrying and gnawing in walls and ceilings at night, with the odd high squeak. Rats are louder. Confirm with droppings, then trap nearby.
Cockroaches · Get Rid of Pests
Gel bait plus sticky traps, not sprays: clean up food and water, put pea-sized dabs of bait where roaches hide, and recheck every 2–4 weeks. Supplies start at about $24; shared quotes for a full pro treatment run $450–$1,500.
Cockroaches · Identify
Roaches smell musty and oily, from droppings and secretions, and you usually notice it only in a large infestation. Trace it with $10 of sticky traps, then bait and scrub.
Flies & gnats · Get Rid of Pests
Remove what they breed in (ripe produce, unrinsed recycling, a sour mop, a dirty drain), then catch the rest in a jar of $1.29 cider vinegar with a drop of dish soap. No spray or exterminator needed.
Flies & gnats · Get Rid of Pests
Identify the gnat, then remove what it breeds in: ripe fruit, wet potting soil or a slimy drain. A $1.29 vinegar trap and $4.97 sticky cards catch the rest; sprays rarely help.
Pantry moths · Get Rid of Pests
Moths in the pantry? Find the infested food, throw it out or freeze it, vacuum and wash the shelves, and move dry goods into sealed jars. About $26 in supplies, no sprays.
