Vermin are small animals and insects that damage property or spread disease and are hard to control once they appear in numbers, such as rats, mice, cockroaches and textile pests like clothes moths. Pest control is the work of keeping them out of a building and dealing with them quickly if they get in.
At Wigwam
All our sites have pest control measures in place and are regularly inspected by professionals, so looking after the building is our job. If you ever spot droppings, gnaw marks or a musky smell, tell us straight away on 0800 2545585 so we can deal with it across the building.
If you take our contents protection, it lists damage from moths, insects or vermin originating externally among the risks it covers.
Giving pests no reason to visit
Mice and insects come looking for food and soft material to nest in or feed on. Take those away and there’s nothing to draw them in:
- keep food out of your unit. Food in one unit can draw mice into a building full of other people’s belongings, so we ask everyone to store food-free. Check drawers, bags and toy boxes for forgotten snacks;
- vacuum sofas down the sides and under the cushions, and wash or clean clothes, bedding and rugs before they go in;
- use lidded plastic tubs for fabric, books and papers, and keep things off the floor. Mice can gnaw plastic, so no box is completely chew-proof, but a clean, lidded tub with nothing tempting inside is a better barrier than cardboard;
- leave mothballs, poison and other chemical treatments at home. Chemicals and anything that gives off a smell can’t be stored, for everyone’s safety, and telling us is the quickest fix.
Wool, silk, fur, hair and feathers feed the larvae of clothes moths and carpet beetles, so check and clean those items at home first. Museum textile guidance suggests freezing infested material rather than using pesticides. For wool rugs and carpets, our guide to storing rugs and carpets covers cleaning, rolling and wrapping them.
Related terms
Related questions
- Can mice get into a storage unit?
- Can I store food in a storage unit?
- How do I stop clothes going musty in a storage unit?
Further reading
- Museums Galleries Scotland: Caring for textile collections