How to Keep Bugs and Critters Out of Your Long Term Food Storage

Concerned about bugs and other critters getting into your food storage? Or even worse, how to keep them from hatching and growing inside of your food!

Sometimes bugs can already be inside our dried goods because of the manufacturing or farming process. There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, most of the time its eggs that are just waiting to be hatched under the right circumstances.

Other times, maybe you’ve already packaged everything up and you’re just looking for a way to keep the bugs and other animals out of your food stash.

You worked hard and have spent a lot of money on that food, so let’s keep it away from unwanted guests!

Here are a few ways to keep food storage safe from bugs and animals:

Freeze

I usually don’t freeze any of my food. This is a very old-fashioned method, long before mylar bags or vacuum-sealed bags were invented. However, some people still like this method or think it’s their only option. Freezing your food can kill off any eggs that could be inside of your food, preventing them from hatching.

If you choose to freeze food, it will only need to be in the freezer for a few days. Some choose to keep it in there longer, it’s completely up to you and your comfort level.

Once you’re done freezing the food, it can be placed inside of mylar bag or vacuum-sealed bag. If you plan to use it for everyday purposes, it can then be placed in a Tupperware-type container with a lid.

Do not freeze sugar or salt. They will be hard as bricks.

Remove Oxygen

One of the reasons I don’t freeze any of my dried goods is because I will almost immediately place them into a vacuum-sealed bag or a mylar bag with oxygen absorber. Oxygen will prevent anything from living, breeding or otherwise.

For everyday use, you can place inside of a bucket with a gamma lid. Or inside of a tupperwear with a closed lid. Even though the lid is occasionally opened, it’s usually not enough to allow any type of appropriate breeding ground.

Do not use oxygen absorbers with sugar or salt. Check out my FREE shelf life guide.

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Buckets & Bins

When you’ve packed food away in a vacuum-sealed bag or mylar bag, at this point they are still vulnerable to larger animals like raccoons, rats, etc. They will need to be placed inside of a bucket or bin with closing/locking bins. I like these bins from Home Depot, they’ve never been accessed by any animal. And any 5 gallon bucket with a tight lid or gamma lid, will work great.

Prevention

Keep food, bins, and buckets in a secure area. I understand that animals can get into tight spaces, so there may never be a super-secure area, but make it as secure as possible. Keep the area fairly clean, as well, as not to attract animals to the general area, to begin with.

Dust diatomaceous earth around the bins to keep bugs away.

Some people like to place bay leaves around the bins which can keep many bugs and even rodents away.

You may also place rat traps around the area.

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In general, keeping the foods vacuum-sealed or inside mylar bags and inside buckets or bins, are great ways to keep the smells down and keep unwanted guests from getting into your food. Never hurts to take extra precautions, especially when we’re talking about all of the money and time we put into our food storage.

What are some other ways you keep bugs and animals out of your food?