The Valentine’s Day Candy Pests Love Most

Everyone claims to want grand gestures of love and romance on Valentine’s Day. But really, a box of sweet treats is the way to most people’s hearts. 

Unfortunately, you’re not the only one eyeing that heart-shaped box of candy. While you’re deciding which chocolate to eat first, some common household pests are already swiping right on your Valentine’s stash. From sticky sweets to strong scents, these are the treats pests find most irresistible. 

Box of Chocolates

No pest has a sweet tooth like a rodent. And as luck would have it, those very same teeth are built to chew through anything. 

Mice and rats are drawn to the sugar and rich cocoa scent of chocolate, and the cardboard, plastic, or foil that is sealing your sweets from the world can’t keep these critters out. Even chocolate left in pantries or gift bags on the floor can look like an open invitation for rodents to snack around. 

Once inside, rodents don’t commit to just one piece, either. But the worst part? They’ll definitely ghost you after sampling every flavor. 

Gummy Candies and Jelly Hearts

If gummy candies could walk into a room, they would take an ant’s breath away.

Ants are drawn to sugar first and foremost, and gummy candies have everything an ant would want in a partner. These sweets also leave behind a scent trail that makes it easy for scout ants to alert the rest of the colony.

Drop just one gummy on the floor, and you’ll quickly learn that ants can communicate better than your ex. One ant becomes ten, ten becomes fifty, and suddenly your Valentine’s reservation for a table for two needs a few extra seats.

Scented Treats

Raspberry truffles. Citrus-flavored chocolates. Strawberry-filled bonbons. Delicious to you, but irresistible to flies.

These annoying pests rely heavily on scent to find food, and sweet, fruity aromas are impossible to ignore. Fruit flies in particular don’t need much. Just a lingering aroma and a little residue are enough to attract them and keep them hovering around your kitchen for weeks.  

If you leave these treats uncovered on the counter or toss wrappers into an open trash can, you’ll find out just how clingy flies can be.

Caramel and Toffee

Cockroaches don’t fall in love easily, but they do commit to a good food source. 

Caramel and toffee are dense, sugary, and slow to break down, which makes them ideal long-term partners for cockroaches. A sticky drip on the counter or a forgotten candy under the couch can feed cockroaches over multiple visits — no candlelit dinner required.

Because cockroaches prefer to stay hidden and feed at night, these messes often go unnoticed until the relationship is well established and very hard to break up.

Powdered Sugar Treats

If you want to give your significant other an elegant treat, powdered sugar cookies and truffles are delicate delights. But if pantry pests enter the picture, it’s a relationship that can quickly turn toxic.

Pests like beetles and moths are drawn to fine, powdery ingredients that are easy to consume and easy to spread. Once they get into these treats — or nearby dry goods — they tend to leave a trail of evidence behind. 

Unfortunately, this is where the romance ends. If you find scattered sugar, it’s a sign that your cookies have been contaminated with fecal matter, shed skin, or larvae and should be discarded immediately. 

It’s Time to Break Up With Your Pests

Valentine’s Day is a great holiday to spend time with significant others and friends, but more isn’t always merrier. If pests have already developed a sweet tooth for your space, contact us for a quick and efficient removal.