I am not sure if the Critter forum is the correct location for this post and I apologize if this has been covered. I am new to navigating the forums here. I am thinking you folks would be good to ask about keeping
pests away, so here goes:
My husband and I are moving out of a rental while we look for
land to buy. We do not want to get rid of all of our things and so we're looking to store them for an extended period of time. In fact, I have a storage unit that's killing me to throw money away on, so I would like to get rid of it as well. We have a
canopy (tarp) style garage thing (
like this would fit). We are also considering buying a resin shed to store our upholstered sofas and some clothing and things that need a bit more protection. (Like this:
https://www.costco.com/Lifetime-Brighton-8'-x-15'-Storage-Shed.product.11650111.html)
My concern is
mice, moths and all the creepy crawlies that can so quickly ruin things. I got the idea to invest in these heavy duty yellow & black 27 gallon storage bins (
like these) to protect our things. I didn't
think cardboard boxes that can quickly be turned into nesting material would be a great idea. I have seen sofas left in summer cottages turn into stuffing-strewn mice hotels. At the same time, I can think of tons of cardboard boxes that were kept in garages, barns and so on and held up through the years, or even decades. I am now wondering if I'm overthinking this. Granted, there are a few things that we may truly want to protect from ambient humidity here in the rainy Pacific Northwest, so a few of these crates are nice to have on hand. But, to put our entire household into plastic crates, if we really don't need to, is not something I want to pay for or bother with otherwise.
I have heard about Fresh Cab (or peppermint or citrus oil) to repel mice. That still leaves moths and such. Do pheromone moth traps really work? I'd sure love advice on this. If I have to pay what amounts to several months of storage unit costs to protect our household belongings, so be it. But, if I can save myself the money and hassle and be assured that things will be OK, then I'd love to go the cheaper route.
Thank you so much!