Pests and Bird Food
It may seem silly but bird food should be kept outside the home and if it is in your home, it should be kept in the freezer. This is because bird food can contain insect pests like the Indian Meal Moth (Plodia interpunctella). These moths are commonly found in products like corn meal, bird seed, and stored grains. Eggs are laid on a food source and the larvae (caterpillars) feed on the grain or seeds. Usually, the larvae are what is found in bags of seed or on products. Not to worry, birds will still eat the food and have bonus protein added! Keep bird food in sealed containers to avoid contaminating other seed you are storing and once you’re through your worm-y seed, give the container a good clean to start fresh! Other pests that can be found in bird food are the Mediterranean Flour Moth (Ephestia kuehniella) and Rice or Gain Weevils (Sitophilus oryzae or Sitophilus granarius).
Now that you’re storing your bird food outside it’s important to keep it protected from rodents and Raccoons. If keeping bird food in a shed or garage, there are a couple of options. You can store food in big plastic containers BUT mice and squirrels can chew through the plastic. The solution to these sharp teeth is to trick their noses. If you grate some Irish Spring soap and sprinkle it around containers or the inside perimeter of your shed, rodents should not be able to smell the bird food. Keep ALL soap sprinkles outside of bird food containers. You must replenish the soap sprinkles periodically in order to help prevent rodents from finding your food.
The other option and the BEST option is an aluminum garbage can. Rodents can not chew through this and as long as the lid is tight they will not be able to get into the bin. If keeping bird food outside, it must be kept in an aluminum garbage bin with a lid that locks on tight! Raccoons have been known to remove lids from garbage cans.