How to Keep Pests Out of Your Storage Unit

Protect your Detroit storage unit from the damage rodents and pests can cause.

Your Detroit storage unit has a lot to offer — it’s spacious, convenient, and safe, safeguarding the items you need to store away, whether it’s for personal use or business purposes. Unfortunately, rodents and pests can still infiltrate your unit, causing major damage to the items that are stored there.

EZ Storage in Detroit understands the ultimate protection your storage unit needs, even from rodents and pests. Before you set traps and sprinkle poison, there are a variety of preventative things you can do to keep them at bay.

A Rodent- and Pest-Proof Detroit Storage Unit

The perks of our self-storage facility are that it’s clean and orderly — we take pride in the grounds here at EZ Storage in Motor City, so our tenants don’t have to worry too much about an infestation.

By storing your items correctly and taking a few other precautions, it’s rare that you’ll have any issues.

Remove Any Food

This first tip may seem like a no-brainer but at the end of the day, sometimes it just happens, so we urge you as you’re packing to ensure that each box is food-free. Mark an X on the outside of the box to remind yourself that it has been checked.

Food items can sneak in as freeze-dried camping food with your recreation equipment, a hodge-podge of stuff — the “junk” box — you just wanted to clear out a space so everything was thrown into that box, even a package of coffee and some leftover candy from Halloween.

Even scented lip glosses and body products such as lotions and shampoos can draw critters with their sweet scents, so we’d even advise not packing those.

Empty your vacuum — vacuums pick up food and crumbs that pests can get into and make sure all pots and pans are clean, with no residual food stuck to them.

When all is said and done, avoid packing and storing anything that is food or may smell like food!

Use Plastic Bins

While cardboard boxes have been the packing material of choice, they just don’t hold up in the long haul, so investing in plastic bins is a more solid choice. Cardboard boxes, even when new, can succumb to punctures, gaps, and sagging from being stacked and moved around, compromising their integrity and leaving them vulnerable to critters.

Plastic bins are well-sealed and can keep rodents and pests out of your actual belongings, which is great for any electronics, linens, clothing, and fabrics you may be storing.

If you’re not storing for an extended time, some cardboard boxes may be fine, but it’s vital that you buy them new and avoid boxes from restaurants and grocery stores because this is a sure-fire way to attract unwanted pests from the city.

Keep Your Belongings Raised

Incorporate clean pallets into your self-storage unit. This raises your belongings off the ground where many rodents and pests first have access and is also a great preventative measure for protecting your items from moisture and humidity — which Detroit sees a lot of.

Implement Natural Pest Repellents

While traps and poison are to control an infestation that is ongoing, you can stay on the pest and rodent offense by using natural pest repellants.

Consider adding cedar around your storage unit. This could be cedar blocks on a couple of shelves or even storing a bowl of cedar chips in the corners. Both lavender, peppermint, and tea tree oil keep pests away, and a good trick is to leave saturated cotton balls around the unit — perhaps underneath the pallets.

Beyond natural pest repellents, it’s important to keep your unit clean by sweeping it out regularly.

Secure Your Furniture

Furniture such as mattresses, sofas, and chairs can harbor bugs. The first thing to confirm before packing and moving any furniture is that it does not have bed bugs. There is a misconception that bed bugs result from extremely dirty and unsanitary living conditions, but this is not true. Bed bugs are extremely crafty and adaptive creatures that can attach themselves on to clothing and then into your home.

If there is any hesitation that you do have bed bugs, do not store these items.

To store your mattress, pack it in a plastic mattress cover that keeps bugs and rodents from getting in, and anything upholstered, use breathable materials to prevent moisture damage.

Update Your Insurance Coverage

While stored property insurance is typically a requirement when you sign with a self-storage facility, not every policy covers damage from rodents and pests. It’s important to not only get coverage for water and other types of damage, but to ask about and confirm that the policy covers damage incurred by pests.

Routinely Check On Your Storage Unit

It’s integral that you’re always in the know, which means stopping by and checking in on your self-storage unit. The more frequent you check on your unit, the sooner you can catch and address any infestations.

Look around the unit for holes, droppings, or any other rodent and pest activity. If you do notice a potential infestation, alert the management at your local storage facility immediately.

Choose EZ Storage in Detroit

EZ Storage in Detroit is the leading self-storage facility in the area. We check pest and rodent red flags such as gaps and degrading seals, so you don’t have to. We have well-kept landscaping, routine pest control services, a clean facility free from trash, and weekly garbage removal services.

In addition, we have many self-storage amenities that others don’t, including extended hours and access to your storage unit seven days a week, extra-wide driveways to accommodate moving trucks, private access codes to our computerized gate, video surveillance, 24-hour lighting, and dehumidified and climate-controlled units.

Renting a storage unit from EZ Storage in Detroit is effortless — we can help you find one that can accommodate your needs, and there are no long-term contracts to worry about!

Connect with our Detroit location today for more information about available units.