How to Clean Your Kitchen Cabinet After Pest Control

Disease-carrying pests such as cockroaches, rats, and others wreak havoc in our kitchen, especially the kitchen cabinets. Looking for their habitat in the nooks and crannies of our homes seems like a lost cause. That is why pest control services become everyone’s saving grace against these uninvited crawling critters; however, are we prepared for the state our kitchen cabinets will be in after this procedure?

So how should you tidy up your kitchen cabinet after pest control? When it’s safe to enter the kitchen, start by decluttering your cabinet and looking out for dirt and dead pests. Avoid deep cleaning immediately for about a week, repair holes and leaky pipes, and resurface your kitchen cabinets if needed.

How to Clean Your Kitchen Cabinet After Pest Control Treatment

If there’s any place in the kitchen where pests love to stay, it might be in your kitchen cabinet. The reason for that is because it contains your food resources. It’s also a place that you might overlook when cleaning. Here are steps on how to clean your kitchen after pest control:

1. Throw Out Leftover Food

It’s a must to clean your kitchen enough before the pest control session. If there’s food left accidentally, don’t think twice about throwing it out. Even if your pest control technician used organic chemicals during pest control, the food contaminated can still be toxic to eat. The same goes for any fruit, vegetables, and even packed snacks or bread in the pantry and the fridge.

2. Don’t Deep Clean Immediately

Do light cleaning only. There’s no need to deep clean right after your pest control treatment, especially if you have left them squeaky clean. Wiping your kitchen cabinets immediately after pest control will also wipe off the solutions needed to further exterminate the pests.

If you need to clean the kitchen cabinets, you can wipe the center of the cabinet walls and doors. The bugs only crawl at the perimeter.

3. Sort Consumables Together

One of the perks of having pest control services is the convenience of organizing your kitchen cabinet. Now that all your consumables are out, you can revamp your storage and keep the consumables together.

Storing your consumables in proper storage will not only look aesthetically pleasing but will also keep pests away. Put your consumables in uniformed jars and get rid of their paper and plastic packs. Keep paper away from your kitchen because it becomes food for a lot of pests. Some examples of these include storing types of pasta, peas, oats, cereals, and such in jars.

4. Look Out for Pests

You can still expect to find pests weakly crawling around. You’ll also notice dead pests. Make sure to check your kitchen and kitchen cabinets and clean up dead pests immediately. These may attract other pests, which may trigger another infestation.

5. Cover Up Holes

You might find holes in the corners of your kitchen cabinets now that all your stuff is out. You can take a better look at the state your cabinet is in. Cover up these holes immediately by covering them with wood, epoxy, or any other sealant fit for your cabinet.

Don’t hesitate to change your cabinets, too, if you think those need replacement.

What to Expect After the Pest Control

Going back to the treated area after pest control must be done with caution. Anticipate heightened pest activity after the pest extermination. You must also wait before returning to your kitchen and look out for smells or objects that might trigger allergies, especially if you have kids and pets. Use protective gear like gloves when touching surfaces too. 

1. Heightened Pest Activity

You may see a few dead pests around your kitchen, but your pest control will not exterminate all pests immediately. You will still catch a few roaches hanging around your pantry, kitchen, and any other food sources. Pest control treatment usually takes about a couple of weeks to fully nip pest infestation at the bud.

The pest treatment offers a slow-but-sure action. The pesticide residue sticks with the pests and exterminates their entire colony as they return to their hideout. Expect that pests will also have an increase in activity because the pest control treatment lures them out.

2. Waiting Before Returning Your Kitchen After Pest Extermination

Before cleaning up your kitchen and cabinets, talk to your pest control service provider first. Ask them if your home is already safe to be in after the treatment. Experts advise you to stay out of your house usually for about 2 to 4 hours and even maybe 24 hours if you had an extensive pest control treatment.

While the chemicals in the pest control spray are fit for households and aren’t as potent as other types, you still need to be careful to minimize its risks. You should also limit the exposure of children, people with respiratory concerns, and pets.

3. Pest Control Session Might Trigger Allergies

You still need to be informed about the health risks or cautions before cleaning up your kitchen cabinet after pest control. If you enter after the recommended time, it should be safe enough to enter. You just need to be concerned about members of your family who have allergies. Toxic chemicals from the pest control treatment may have already settled, but you should still pack up medicines.

Talk to your pest control experts about the health considerations in your family.

4. Usage of Gloves

You may assume that most of the chemicals have already dried off, however, you should still wear gloves when cleaning your kitchen and kitchen cabinets. Wear gloves to prevent your hands from touching treated surfaces. This will prevent contact especially when there are still surfaces wet from the treatment. Avoid touching the surfaces of your kitchen even when unwrapping your stuff if you’re not wearing gloves.

5. Checking Your Pets

Our pets, especially cats and dogs, have a heightened sense of smell. If entering the house after pest control may seem okay for us, maybe it can be toxic for them. Talk to the pest control professional if the treatment is pet-friendly.

Dropping off your pets with adequate pet food, toys, and accessories to a trusted neighbor is still the best idea during the pest control session. Cover your aquarium and make sure that your fishes have enough food.

Keep Your Kitchen Cabinet Pest-Free

A reliable pest control service helps us address the problems of pest infestation in our homes, especially in our kitchen. However, making sure that the pests don’t return will be up to us and how we eradicate conditions for pest infestation.

Now that all the stuff in our kitchen is out, we get to see the real state of our cabinets. Shabby kitchen cabinets with lots of holes can be a breeding ground for pests. Zothex Flooring offers sturdy kitchen cabinets that no pests can chew on. To know more about our products, contact us today or visit our website to explore your options for kitchen cabinets.

Learn More: How to Make Spice Racks for Your Kitchen Cabinets