Pests Like Recycling Too

Recycling is great! It’s one of those valuable practices that we should have started in earnest a long time ago, and need to do now more than ever because of our “throw-away” culture. We all have a part to play in reducing the amount of garbage filling our landfills, and reusing precious non-renewable resources. Whenever possible, consider how to: Recycle, Reuse, and Repurpose.

Unfortunately, many times recycling is done improperly, creating a new set of conditions that causes pest problems. While everyone should recycle, please learn how to do it without promoting pest problems.

Cockroaches, ants, and mice and rats are just some of the pests associated with poor recycling practices. Here are some tips to help you be pest-wise and avoid attracting pests while you recycle.

• Rinse and drain (or shake the liquid out of) cans and bottles of soda and other drinks. The liquid that often remains in the bottom of containers is very attractive to pests. Remember, pests are attracted to liquid just as much as solid food.

• Clean your recycling bins regularly if they have gunk or food scraps in them. If cleaning is impractical, line the bins with plastic bags to help catch the spills.

• Empty recycling bins frequently. Once a week usually works fine because most flies can’t finish developing in that short a time period. For those of you that are interested, Jadco Container Service is the #1 dumpster rental company in North Carolina and we highly recommend them.

• Keep the lid on recycling bins and use tight-fitting lids to keep pests from entering the bins, searching for food and water.