The Winning Plays to Score a Pest-Free Super Bowl Party

The Winning Plays to Score a Pest-Free Super Bowl Party

Kitchens are stocked with salty chips and carbonated drinks, live TV is in higher demand now than in any other month, and grocery stores are selling out of frozen appetizers that rarely taste as good as their fresh counterparts. That’s right: the Super Bowl is here! This Sunday will be celebrated by Chiefs fans, 49ers fans, general football fans, and party food fans.

The quickest way to ruin this food-filled party (besides running out of chicken wings) is with a pest infestation. There are all kinds of creepy-crawlies that are attracted to the food, water, and shelter our homes provide any day of the year, never mind on Super Bowl Sunday. So let’s discuss the best ways to prevent pests from showing up uninvited to your big party!

Food Storage

As the host, you likely have a pile of party food taking up space in your kitchen. It’s smart to buy all of your ingredients and refreshments before the big day, but make sure to keep it all unopened and together this week. Food-loving pests — ants, roaches, rodents, etc. — are drawn to food that is easily accessible to them because they can quickly grab what they need and retreat to their hiding spots.

If you keep all of the snacks and random ingredients together, you can make sure there aren’t any hungry pests chowing down on your food. Plus, by keeping everything sealed (or in the fridge and freezer), the food is well-protected until it’s all opened for the party.

Yard Work

It’s easy to forget the yard when preparing for the Super Bowl party since all of the action (usually) takes place inside. But pests have to come from somewhere, and an overgrown yard is the ideal hiding spot for countless species.

The amount of yard work you complete is up to you, but trimming everything back from the house is essential. Any bushes, plants, and tree limbs that touch the house act as highways for pests to walk right up to your home. It’s best to focus on the areas around your doors for this party since they will constantly be used by your guests.

Trash Cans

Bowls and platters filled with savory snacks and delicious finger foods are in abundance at the best Super Bowl parties. This means that your guests will be in serious need of a place to put their used napkins and paper plates. If you’re hosting a good amount of people this Sunday, we recommend placing a few different trash cans around the eating area. This way, your guests won’t be searching for the only trash can to easily dispose of their food trash.

You can also set up a recycling bin for cans and bottles, as fruit flies love leftover alcohol in discarded bottles. Any food scraps and dirty dishes will attract pests if left out for long enough, so proper trash management is essential for this party.

Disposable Plates

Hosting your closest friends for dinner is one thing, but your best plates probably shouldn’t come out at a lively Super Bowl party. Disposable plates, napkins, and cutlery have many perks at this kind of gathering. For one, they eliminate the stress of your guests trying to pile their used dishes in the sink.

Another benefit is that they are less likely to attract the attention of invasive pests since they’ll be thrown away and kept in strong trash bags. Pests aren’t picky when it comes to food, and many of them — ants, roaches, flies, gnats — would happily enjoy food remnants on a stack of dirty dishes. Make sure all discarded plates make it into the trash and don’t let any used dining-ware sit out for too long.

Buffet Line

One of the most efficient ways to keep your guests fed and happy is with a good old-fashioned buffet table. Everyone can take what they want and go back for more during a slow point in the game. This process has the added benefit of preventing pests by keeping the food in one area.

Instead of scattering small dishes throughout the room — where pests have more opportunities to find crumbs and leftovers — keeping the food in one area means that it’ll be easier for you to make sure it stays pest-free. Your guests will appreciate being able to access your delectable party food anytime they want!

Waves of Food

Speaking of food that’s been sitting out, another way to keep your food fresh and pest-free is to introduce everything in waves. There is nothing more off-putting than biting into a cold chicken wing or warm guacamole when you were expecting the opposite. If all of the food sits on the table for the entire game, the risk of food-borne illness is introduced in addition to the risk of attracting pests.

Try serving everything in shifts — appetizers, main course, desserts — to serve each item when it’s fresh. Anything perishable should go in the fridge before it reaches that strange room-temperature phase.

Crumbs & Spills

It’s exciting when wild plays and long runs happen in the actual game, but a real fumble is when someone accidentally spills at the party. The combination of greasy food, sticky beverages, and a thrilling football game almost always results in at least one dropped item by the end of the night.

Forgotten crumbs and spills are the steady diet for many pests that invade your home, so any major spills are preferably cleaned ASAP. You don’t have to spend the party picking up every tiny crumb you see, but give the floors a good vacuuming or mopping once everyone leaves.

Doors & Windows

It may still be winter, but a large group of people talking and laughing indoors will definitely heat up the house. Pests are drawn to the warmth of our houses and will do everything they can to get inside a heated home. If you’re hosting a large group, turn off the heater beforehand and make sure everyone has a place to put their coats. Your guests will be happy and sneaky pests won’t hide in the jumbled mess of coats within the overheated house.

Even though it’s February, you may feel the need to crack a window or sliding door open when the living room gets toasty halfway through the game. Check the window or door screens beforehand to be sure there aren’t any holes that critters could sneak through.

Leftovers

As the game ends and everyone gradually makes their way out to their cars, it’s time to pack up the leftover food. There might still be quite a bit of remaining snacks and dishes by the end, considering the hefty amount of food that the party likely started with. No matter how you decide to deal with the leftovers (keep them, give them away, toss them) we suggest taking care of it right away. This way, you’ll have one less chore to think about when you spend the next day cleaning up.

Anything you want to refrigerate, such as leftover appetizers or desserts, should be put into lidded containers and placed in the fridge. Non-perishables, like chips and crackers, can either be thrown out or transferred into airtight containers. We may be stuffed after a day of eating tasty party food, but pests would jump — sometimes literally — at the chance to feed on our Super Bowl leftovers!

Pointe Tackles Pest Problems

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest “party days” of the year, but one type of guest that is never invited to this party is hungry pests. The knowledgable team of Pointe Pest Control is always prepared to meet your pest prevention and extermination needs. We begin every service with a complete inspection to search for all signs of pest activity. These findings help us to create a customized treatment plan that will target the specific pests invading your home.

We guarantee that our environmentally-friendly treatments are effective against pests but still safe for both people and pets. Your best defense against local pests is the efficient services from our experienced team, so contact us today to learn more about our treatments that will take you straight to the end zone of a pest-free home!

Citations

Don’t let the end zone become the danger zone: Your guide to hosting a penalty-free Super Bowl party. (n.d.). Food Safety. Retrieved January 24, 2024, from https://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/dont-let-end-zone-become-danger-zone-your-guide-hosting-penalty-free-super-bowl-party

Super Bowl party ready planning tips for your home. (n.d.). Carlisle Wide Plank Floors. Retrieved January 24, 2024, from https://wideplankflooring.com/blog/super-bowl-party-ready-planning-tips-for-your-home/

Walansky, A. (2023, January 28). How to plan a delicious Super Bowl viewing party. Forbes. Available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/alywalansky/2023/01/28/how-to-plan-a-delicious-super-bowl-viewing-party/?sh=11e41ca630ef (Accessed on January 24, 2024).