I’m really not sure if this is true but the roaches I saw crawling out of the half crushed can in a huge recycling bin today had no complaints. To be fair there were some Coke cans too but the gnats were so bad I didn’t have time to take a survey.
A lot of people recycle cans and unfortunately this can be the source of many pest infestations. Roaches, ants, earwigs, gnats and even mice can be attracted to stored cans and from there they are able to easily move into the house. Many people store the cans in their garages in bags or garbage containers but seldom think to look at this source when they have sudden invasions. It almost always
amazes homeowners when their pest control professional lifts the lid to one of these containers and a hoard of gnats fly out. The same gnats that have been plaguing them for weeks but they could never find just where they were coming from.
Although I see this problem in residential homes all the time I rarely get the call for large community facilities. Obviously you can imagine that if problems develop in these huge dumpsters they can grow way out of control. Today was one of those days and I did just exactly what I would do for a small garbage can filled with aluminum cans only on a larger scale.
If you should experience a pest problem in your recycling container here are some quick steps you can take to eliminate the problem;
- Double bag the cans and just throw them away.
This gets rid of the source quickly and depending on the bug you may not have any further sightings.
- Treat the container with a non residual pyrethrum aerosol
I use this type of aerosol because it creates a fog when sprayed rather than a jet type spray. If that’s not handy you can use Raid or something similar but it will be quite messy and you won’t want to handle the cans afterwards. Place the lid back on the container to seal the bugs in and leave it for several hours.
Of course to prevent this from happening it’s always a good idea to rinse your soon to be crushed cans but just as important is to let them dry before storing. Simply place them upside down in the sink after rinsing and allow enough time for the water to drain. Keeping the storage bin clean is also a must as huge populations of gnats can emerge from tiny spills and build up of scum that accumulates at the bottom.
The job I was called out for today was just a build up of the same kind of food source that you get in your recycling bins or cans. Although the dumpster was well away from any homes the gnats were so bad that the people in the community were complaining they couldn’t even get close enough to drop
in their bags of cans. The infestation had also spread to the newspaper bin and was really getting out of hand. Roaches were also getting in on the free lunch and had all the comforts of home until I showed up. Hopefully the results will be the same as if I were treating a home but I have a feeling they couldn’t find bags big enough to double and judging by the smell of cans I’m sure I’ll be back.
