Summary: One of the leading causes of food contamination is a pest invasion. This blog looks into the lives of 6 food-contaminating pests to learn how they ruin our food. Pointe Pest Control provides safe solutions to common pest problems.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Since food is an essential (and enjoyable!) part of life, it’s important to protect it from outside dangers. There are about 3 million cases of foodborne illnesses a year, and they’re all linked to contaminated food.
Food gets compromised by being stored improperly, sitting out at room temperature for too long, or being infested by pests. In order to protect your food from these contamination risks, you need to know the specific pests to watch out for…
Let’s dive into the dangerous habits of the 6 worst food-contaminating pests, then learn how to prevent them from invading our kitchens.
Ants
Transmitted Diseases: salmonella, strep, E. coli, staph, etc.
When we say “food pests,” you say “ants” (Food pests! Ants! Food pests! Ants!). The most infamous food pest, worker ants are always on the hunt for food sources to sustain their colony. They love sugary and protein-filled foods, but ants are attracted to opened foods and residue. They mainly forage at night in damp areas so they can also get water.
Ants have 4 to 5 times more odor receptors on their antennae than other insects, so they have no problem sniffing out food sources — and contaminating them. Ants lead their fellow workers to food by leaving a pheromone (scent chemical) trail. After they walk through disgusting areas (trash, bathrooms, etc.), ants spread that bacteria to the surfaces and food they walk on later.
Cockroaches
Transmitted Diseases: salmonella, E. coli, staph, strep, etc.
Speaking of disgusting, cockroaches are one of the grosser pests on this list. They stay in warm, humid spaces that are close to reliable food sources. While they prefer starchy or organic foods, roaches will eat just about anything. They’re nocturnal and can run up to 3 miles an hour, so these pests are tough to catch before they cause trouble.
Roaches carry over 33 types of harmful pathogens. The bacteria lives in their systems, and is passively transmitted to us through their droppings, body, and saliva. This bacteria can live in their guts for a month! Roaches leave droppings everywhere they travel, so contaminating food is sickeningly easy for these pests.
Flies
Transmitted Diseases: dysentery, salmonella, typhoid, cholera, etc.
Flies reproduce even faster when it’s hot, so get ready for the fly population boom that we’re about to see. These pests are even worse than roaches in terms of disease. Flies carry over 100 harmful pathogens that they transmit through their feet, droppings, and saliva. The organisms only stay on their feet for hours, but live in their gut for several days.
Flies make up for having poor eyesight by having a great sense of smell. They walk on food since their taste receptors are on their legs. Their proboscis (long mouthpart) can only have liquids, so flies vomit digestive enzymes (*gags*) on their food. Their prior meals are in these enzymes, which means that bacteria from the garbage or excrement they ate is on the new food.
Fruit Flies
Transmitted Diseases: E. coli, listeria, salmonella, etc.
Fruit flies don’t carry as many pathogens as houseflies, but we’d still rather have them stay far from our food. Adult fruit flies lay hundreds of eggs in a food source to give their offspring a good start. These food sources are usually overripe or fermented fruits, vegetables, and beverages. They also breed in trash cans and drains, so their standards are very low.
These brown flies take just one week to go from an egg to an adult. They tend to stay in moist areas because of the aforementioned food sources, but anywhere with decaying matter is good enough for them. When fruit flies invade regular food, they transmit the bacteria from their gross habitats to that beverage or food. No one wants to eat a fly-filled fruit!
Pantry Pests
Transmitted Diseases: No known diseases
This food-contaminating pest is a little different. Pantry pests, or stored product pests, aren’t known to spread diseases. This group quietly invades stored items and hide within the food while they lay hundreds of eggs. Common pantry pests include Indian meal moths, sawtoothed grain beetles, confused flour beetles, rice weevils, and other tiny invaders.
These pests use their tiny size to their advantage by slipping through gaps or chewing into flimsy plastic, paper, or cardboard. They can even spread to other items or rooms in the house. Pantry pests love any dry food items, including cereal, rice, pasta, baking ingredients, nuts, chocolate, dried fruit, and processed snacks. Infested foods should be thrown out immediately.
Rodents
Transmitted Diseases: salmonella, hantavirus, plague
We’re back to the disease-ridden pests with rodents. Rats and mice spread bacteria through their droppings, urine, feet, and fur (which also contains mites). Droppings are the cause of many foodborne illnesses because they contain parasites and pathogens. Rodents make about 25,000 droppings a year, so there are a lot of opportunities for contaminating food.
Rodents are also greedy with their food. Mice need to snack 15 to 20 times a day, while rats eat about 10% of their body weight a day! Their health risks aren’t limited to food contamination. Rodents need to constantly gnaw to keep their open-rooted teeth filed down, and they can chew through drywall, insulation, and electrical wiring.
How to Protect Your Food
We don’t know about you, but our appetites are significantly less after talking about food-contaminating pests. So, why not focus on the best ways to prevent pests from invading your food in the first place?
The best ways to keep your kitchen and food pest-free are:
- Clean surfaces daily — Every day, use your favorite antibacterial cleaner to remove crumbs and residue from countertops, tables, and floors.
- Inspect groceries in the store — As you choose each food item, inspect the packaging (and food itself) for any holes, tears, gnaw marks, or pests.
- Take out the trash — Keep the kitchen trash from overflowing by taking the full bag out to your outdoor garbage can.
- Use airtight containers — Protect your stored food items by transferring them to glass or acrylic airtight containers with good lids.
- Keep up with the dishes — Ensure every dirty dish in the house makes it into the sink, and don’t let them sit in the sink for more than a day.
- Cover food outdoors — When eating meals outside, keep the dishes of food covered with mesh domes or tin foil in between servings.
- Throw out expired foods — Declutter your pantry and fridge on a regular basis by throwing out any food that’s expired, overripe, or leaking.
- Seal entry points — Inspect your house’s exterior for cracks and gaps, and seal any that you find with waterproof caulk.
- Fix plumbing leaks — If any pipes are leaking — especially in the kitchen — get them fixed as soon as possible to minimize damage.
Everything Pairs Well with Pointe’s Treatments
Even the hungriest pests are no match for the experienced technicians of Pointe Pest Control. We use Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a custom combination of treatments, to solve each pest issue. This lowers the amount of chemicals used, which makes our services more family and pet-friendly.
We are committed to protecting your home from pests all year long. We want you to get the most out of every service, so our team is happy to address every question and concern you have along the way. For a free quote on our reliable services, contact us today!
Citations
Booth, S. & Seed, S. (2023, December 14). How to get rid of fruit flies. WebMD. Available at https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/how-get-rid-fruit-flies (Accessed on June 11, 2025).
Callahan, K. (2019, September 24). 6 incredibly gross pest facts that impact food safety. Rentokil. Available at https://www.rentokil.com/us/about/blog/all-industries/gross-pest-facts-food-safety (Accessed on June 11, 2025).
Harney, C. (2024, January 17). The worst food pests. Pointe Pest Control. Available at https://pointepest.com/the-worst-food-pests/ (Accessed on June 11, 2025).
Redwine, K. (2025, February 24). How pests spread food borne pathogens and what can be done to prevent contamination. Food Poisoning News. Available at https://www.foodpoisoningnews.com/how-pests-spread-foodborne-pathogens-and-what-can-be-done-to-prevent-contamination/ (Accessed on June 11, 2025).
Speer, F. (2021, September 24). Food safety and pests. Clark Pest Control. Available at https://www.clarkpest.com/residential-service-blog-old/food-safety-and-pests (Accessed on June 11, 2025).
