Let me tell you a story. Last spring, a nice woman named Brenda rented one of our 10×10 units. She stored her daughter’s wedding dress, some family photo albums, you know, the important stuff. She used cardboard boxes. Big mistake. When she came back six months later, silverfish had gotten in. They’d eaten little holes right through the lace on that dress and nibbled on the photo corners. She cried right there in the hallway. I felt terrible.
I never want that to happen to anyone else. So listen up, because I’m gonna give you the straight talk on keeping your storage unit pest-free. This isn’t from a manual; it’s from ten years of mopping up after disasters.
Your Biggest Enemy? The Cardboard Box
I know, they’re cheap. You can get them for free from the grocery store. But hear me out. Cardboard is like a five-star hotel for bugs. They eat the glue, they nest in the corrugated layers, and it holds moisture which they love. A mouse can chew through one in about thirty seconds.
What should you use? Those plastic totes with the yellow lids you see at the hardware store. Yeah, they cost fifteen bucks each, but are your kid’s baby clothes worth it? Your Christmas ornaments? It’s a no-brainer. They’re hard, they seal tight, and bugs can’t stand them.
You Gotta Stop Feeding Them
This seems obvious, but you’d be amazed. I found a unit once with a bag of potatoes in the back. It was just a liquid mess surrounded by fruit flies. Another guy stored his hunting gear and left a bag of beef jerky in the pocket. Big draw for mice.
The rule is simple: if it smells like food, don’t store it. At all. That means:
- No pet food. Even the sealed bags.
- No Christmas cookies in the tin. (Yes, really.)
- Wipe down your kitchen chairs before you store them. Crumbs are a feast.
If you absolutely must store canned goods, put the entire box inside a plastic tote. Seal it up tight.
Get Your Crap Off the Floor
I can’t shout this loud enough. You just can’t put your boxes right on the concrete floor. Why? Two reasons. First, concrete can “sweat” when the temperature changes, creating a little dampness that bugs adore. Second, pests are shy; they like to scurry around in the dark, right along the wall. If your box is touching the floor and the wall, you’ve given them a perfect hidden highway.
Go behind any strip mall and grab a couple of wooden pallets. They’re almost always free for the taking. Throw those down first, then put your stuff on top. Instant elevation. It messes up the pest highway and lets air circulate. This one trick solves so many problems.
What We Do On Our End
You can’t do this all alone. You need a storage facility that has your back. Let me tell you what we do, because you should expect this from whoever you rent from.
We don’t just wait for a problem. We’re proactive. I walk the property every single morning with my coffee. I’m looking for spider webs in the corners, wasp nests under the eaves, and ant hills near the foundation. The second I see something, I’m on the phone with our pest control guy, Mike.
Mike comes out every month, without fail. He sprays a barrier around the entire building. He checks the bait stations. He makes sure the weather stripping on the unit doors is intact so nothing can sneak in through the cracks. We keep the grass cut and the bushes trimmed back so there’s no place for critters to hide and plot their next move.
We’re basically the bouncers, and the pests aren’t on the list.
Your Part-Time Job: Be a Little Nosey
Once you’re moved in, your job isn’t over. When you come by to grab your ski jacket or drop off your summer clothes, take two minutes. Open the door, flip on the light, and just look.
Peek behind your stuff. See any little black droppings that look like pepper? That’s mouse poop. See any weird, tiny, hollow bug skeletons? That’s a bad sign. See a cobweb? Knock it down. Your nose is a good tool, too. If something smells funky or musty in there, that’s a red flag.
If you see anything, and I mean anything, you come tell me or one of my staff immediately. Don’t be shy. Don’t think, “Oh, I’ll just deal with it.” By the time you see one bug, there are usually fifty you don’t see. We need to know so we can get Mike out here to stop it before it spreads to your neighbor’s unit. We’re not gonna get mad; we’re gonna be grateful you told us.
The Bottom Line
Look, storing your stuff shouldn’t keep you up at night. It’s supposed to make your life easier. If you just do these few things—use plastic tubs, don’t store food, put it on pallets, and keep an eye out—you’ll be way ahead of 99% of people.
We take this stuff seriously at Bristol VA Self Storage because that dress, those photos, your stuff… it’s your life. It matters. Let’s work together to keep it safe.
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