Posted By: Fox Den Store-It on Monday, September 24, 2018
Pest protection and your storage unit
At Fox Den Store-It, we take pride in maintaining clean, safe facilities. Our staff works relentlessly to maintain the finest facilities possible. If you are in need of a storage unit– long term or short term, small or large, we are here to help with your storage needs.
Pest Control
We are vigilant in our efforts to keep your items safe and pest free. Fox Den Store-It takes care of baiting and trapping rodents, along with spraying for bugs, around the facility, multiple times a year. As you drive in, you notice the front office area is nicely landscaped, but there are no shrubs or decorative foliage near the units. That is to make sure there are no areas that rodents, or larger pests, can nest and eventually make their way into a storage unit.
Standing water attracts all kinds of pests so we have 100% concrete driveways to prevent puddles and standing water. The concrete driveways are also sloped inward to avoid water buildup. The concrete floors of the storage units are slightly elevated with two, 1 inch lips to prevent any water leakage from under the unit door. The gutters and other areas are maintained to prevent standing water and the trash is picked up frequently.
Unfortunately, since Fox Den Store-It is an outdoor facility, there is no guarantee pests will not get in; just like there is no guarantee they won't get into your home or garage. We have no control over items people bring into their units. Boxes stored in garages, basements or attics and then brought to Fox Den Store-It may have unwelcome travelers inside and the customers don’t even know it.
Help protect your unit
It may seem like a simple recommendation but, check your unit regularly. If a rodent should happen to get inside, they can multiply quickly and will gnaw and eat anything including cardboard, furniture, bedding, wiring – and nest in almost anything else.
You can take some simple and inexpensive steps to help keep pests out of your unit. Soak cotton balls in lavender or peppermint oil and put them in items inside your unit. Put cotton balls in dresser drawers, inside cars that are being stored, in trunks and in cabinets. Cedar blocks, scented dryer sheets and mothballs are also helpful deterrents. In addition to putting some materials in your stored items to keep rodents out, also place some around the perimeter of your storage unit, especially near the door. If you notice small holes in your unit, you can stuff them with steel wool or copper mesh to keep rodents out.
It’s all in the packaging…
Although our floors are sealed and raised, you may want to consider storing some of your items on wood pallets. This prevents insects from hiding underneath and also prevents moisture buildup.
Wrap upholstered furniture and soft bedding items in plastic to prevent moths and rodents from destroying them.
Hard, plastic, stackable containers are great for stacking, organizing and keeping rodents and other pests out of your belongings.
Avoid storing items in boxes you’ve gotten from the grocery store – they may contain minute food particles that you can’t see, but will make a great dinner from some pests – and about 100 of their friends.
Check your items before you bring them in. You may be 100% sure everything was clean when you packed it, but did you leave the boxes in the garage? Did you open and shut your garage door? Well, some insects could have gotten in without you knowing.
Don’t store food in a storage unit
We can’t emphasis this enough, even if you think you are going to get your kitchen items out in a week, even a day is too long.
You may not think of an item as food – but these are some “food” items you shouldn’t store – flour, sugar, grains, dry drink mixes, any kind of animal food including bird, fish, dog, rabbit, cat foods, grass seed, plant bulbs, plants, flower seeds, suet blocks, scented candles, deodorant, scented soaps, scented holiday decorations.
If you are unsure – just ask
At Fox Den Store-It, we pride ourselves on the cleanliness of our facility as well as the security – and we’re happy to answer questions about what you should and shouldn’t store and about our security as well. With the changing of the seasons, it’s time to start thinking about what should go into storage, we have a variety of unit sizes available. Give us a call today.