Storage units are typically outside structures. However, there is one problem that plagues both indoor and outdoor storage units—bugs. Spiders are the most common, followed by earwigs, moths, and silverfish. Here is what you can do to prevent them from entering your storage unit and to cope if you already have them.
Preventing Bugs
To prevent bugs from entering your storage unit, you may need a few things. Moth balls, as smelly as they are, will keep moths from going near your clothing. Keeping the unit closed when you are inside it as well as when you are out of it is also important for preventing bug problems. Moths cannot fly in if the door is shut. Spiders cannot crawl in via the "front door." Controlling other pests is as simple as keeping your unit as dry as possible, as free of food or organic goods as you can, and as spraying a contact pesticide on the floors and walls of your unit before you move anything into it. (Make sure you get the landlord's permission first.)
Spiders will accumulate on the door of your unit, especially if it is outside. Either knock them off and kill them or carry a bug spray with you when you visit your unit. Additionally, it helps to visit the unit at least once a month in warmer months to clear off webs and spiders. Then these nuisances cannot drop down off of the open storage unit door and build webs and nests inside your unit. This occurs more often if the storage units are located remotely with open fields nearby and basic property lights that light up at night and draw in flying insects.
Coping If Your Storage Unit Already Has Bug Issues
If you notice that your storage unit already has bug issues, there are ways to deal with this problem. You could move, but the problem may have arrived with your stuff, in which case the problem moves with your stuff. You could take all of your things out, shake them out, wash them, repack them in clean, sealed totes, and then put them back in storage after cleaning the unit. You can look for places in the unit where the bugs may be getting in and notify your landlord of the problem, since he/she should be addressing this anyway.
For more information, contact local professionals like Pearl Street Self Storage.
