Empty pots, planters, fish tanks, cages and garden tools are all welcome in a unit, once they’re clean and dry. Plants and animals can’t be stored, because they need light, water and care that a closed unit can’t give them.
Why plants and animals stay out
A plant left in a unit soon dies and starts to decay, and that brings damp, mould and smells that can spread to your own boxes and to the units next door. The same goes for anything once living. Every site has pest control in place, regularly inspected by professionals, and keeping out anything that rots or attracts pests is a big part of keeping everyone’s belongings clean and dry. For pets of any kind, a storage unit simply isn’t somewhere an animal can be looked after, even for an hour.
Moving house with plants or pets
If there’s a gap between homes, your plants need a home of their own for a few weeks: a friend, a neighbour, a relative, or the new garden early if you can get access. Our guide to moving house with houseplants covers watering and packing them for the journey. The same goes for pets, fish included, so plan who will look after them while everything else is in storage. Pet food is best kept at home with them too.
Fish tanks, cages and pet kit
These store well with a little preparation:
- drain a fish tank completely and let it dry before it comes in, because water left inside things is how damp starts;
- dry filters, pumps and hoses fully, and pack them with the tank;
- empty vivariums of substrate, soil and plants;
- wrap the glass, keep tanks upright and stack nothing on top;
- bring cages, hutches, carriers and beds in clean.
Our units have no power, so tanks and lamps can’t be run there.
Garden kit
Garden furniture, empty pots and hand tools are welcome once they’re clean and free of soil. Bagged compost, weedkiller and fuel cans stay at home, and a petrol mower or strimmer can come in once it has been run completely dry. Our guide to what you can and can’t store has more on garden equipment.
Florists and garden businesses
The kit around the flowers stores well: vases, stands, arches, ribbon, wire and floral foam. Live plant stock has to stay out. If you work with seeds, bulbs or dried flowers, call us before you book and we’ll tell you what can come in.
If you’re not sure about an item, just ask. Call us on 0800 2545585, or get a price online.
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