How to Safeguard Your Closets From Pests

Chad Maag • Aug 09, 2022

What’s the last thing you want to run into in your custom closet? Probably any kind of bug or pest, right? Closets are an attractive space for pests to set up shop for a lot of reasons. Take a look at what you need to know about how to keep them out of your closet space.

Cut Off Their Food Supply
Use The Right Off-Season Storage
Keep Clutter to a Minimum
Use Natural Pest Repellents

With the right strategies, your closet can be a pest-free space.

Cut Off Their Food Supply

Are you giving the insects food to eat? If you are, that’s going to make it hard to keep them out. Bugs are survivors. They go where they know food is because they know they need to eat.

You’re probably thinking that you’re not leaving food in your closet. But are you sure? The bugs don’t need to be able to make a sandwich. They’ll be happy with food stains on your clothes or even dead skin cells left behind on your clothes. If your closet has moist areas, or if you leave a wet towel or item of clothing in there, that will help too – they need water as well.

If you store dirty clothes in your closet, make sure they’re in a hamper. Don’t just throw them on the floor. They’ll be much less likely to attract pests inside a hamper, preferably with a lid, than they will be scattered around the closet floor.

If an item is saturated or very heavily stained, don’t put it in the closet, even in a hamper. Bring it straight to the laundry room. Keep an eye out for any other kinds of moisture in the closet as well – a leak from the ceiling or a pipe in the wall is bad for multiple reasons; one of them is that the moisture might draw bugs.

Use The Right Off-Season Storage

You may need to store clothes you’re not wearing this season – getting your heavy winter sweaters out of the way makes room for your summer sundresses. That’s fine, but stored clothes can attract clothes-eating insects, like moths. You can ward them off by ensuring the clothes are stored properly.

Look for airtight storage containers. You want vacuum-sealed bags or bins with an airtight lid. Make sure the clothes you’re storing are dry cleaned or at least washed and thoroughly dried before you put them away. This can help ward off critters – there will be nothing to attract them. If you’re worried about the clothes smelling stale after being stored in an airtight space for months, add some dryer sheets or a sachet to the container to keep the clothes smelling good.

Keep Clutter to a Minimum

The more clutter, the more likely pests are to hide inside of it. This is partly because clutter often means food of some kind for bugs. But even if there is none, a closet full of clutter is a closet full of great places to hide if you’re the size of a cockroach. With a comfy closet to hide in, the insects can venture out when you’re sleeping to look for food and stay safely tucked away during the day.

Clean and declutter your closet often. Keep items off the floor and use storage containers, shelves, and organizers. Additionally, make sure that you’re vacuuming regularly. It can make a big difference, even if it’s once a week or once every two weeks. Don’t vacuum your room and skip the closet floor.

Use Natural Pest Repellents

Commercial pest control is the best solution when you already have an infestation. When you’re trying to keep insects from entering in the first place, or you only have a few, natura l pest repellents can be helpful to keep them away.

For example, did you know that spiders don’t like citrus? According to Bob Vila, they don’t. Spray some lemon juice on doors or baseboards. A vinegar and water solution is helpful if you have ants, and as a bonus, it also makes a good natural cleaner for your closet walls. Cockroaches can be controlled with borax. Mix the borax powder with some sugar and leave it in places where you’ve seen bugs. They’ll bring it home and share it with other roaches, and it will dehydrate them.

Some pest repellents double as good closet scents. Essential oils like lavender and eucalyptus work well against clothes moths. Cinnamon oil gets rid of dust mites. Cedar chips help repel a variety of bugs, including termites, some ants, moths, mosquitoes, and roaches.

Conclusion

You shouldn’t have to live with pests in your closet. If you keep food out of your closet, store your clothes correctly, clean and declutter often, and use repellents, you should be able to avoid sharing closet space with bugs.