Storing dog food

[Vandal03]

I usually just buy dog food 1 40 pound bag at a time and keep it in a sealed container. But now that I can order the original Pro Plan C&R, I've begun to buy several bags at a time and keeping the extra bags in my basement. I'm just curious how well those bags are sealed and if any of you ever have rodent problems with extra bags of food lying around. I haven't had a problem yet, but now that it's cold, I'm wondering if I'll be attracting mice in the house. Or am I being too much of a worrier? Are there better ways to store extra bags than in the original package in my house? Garage?

[Maverick57]

I believe if left on the ground it could mold and invite unwanted guests, Mice, insects etc

I store my food in metal trash cans with lids have had no problems with unwanted critters or mold. I am feeding 4 of my own, My daughters dog cause she is back at the house, and a foster dog once in a while.

[Surveyor]

A 40gal rubbermaid trashcan will hold 80lbs of dogfood. A 50gal can will hold 100lbs.
They are waterproof and won't rust, easy to clean and last forever.

A peice of "Just One Bite" on the ground by the can will take care of rats and mice. Of course you want to keep your dogs away from it though.

[stlgsp]

I buy 4 - 6 bags at a time and stack the bags on an old table so they're off the ground. I was keeping it in a closet in the basement that has a folding door until one of the dogs figured out how to open it.... Moved it to a room with a locked door. With 9 dogs and two cats I don't think a mouse would have much of a chance.

[Will]

Just bought 6 bags due to a great sale and I'm going to keep it in the garage, up on a bench or on a pallet with mouse poison underneath.

The bags are sealed up great if a mouse doesn't get into them. The expiration date on mine aren't until July of 2010 so no worries there.

[topher40]

I usually buy food by the pallet and keep it all in rubbermaid trash cans and havent ever had a problem.

[ACooper]

Everyone needs to remember that with most poison you not only have to worry about the poison itself but secondary poisoning, like if the mouse dies and the dog/cat eats the dead mouse, it can kill your pet just as dead if they ate the poison themselves.

[Wagonmaster]

I used to buy dog food 1000 lbs. at a time and store it in my dog building. The bags of the major manufacturers are sealed up fairly well, so spoilage was not a problem and it was cold in that building during the winter anyway. However, pests can be a big problem. You have to think in terms of all possible pests, not just mice. Rats, raccoons (and they are in urban as well as rural environments), your dogs, neighbors dogs. The bags themselves were pretty tough, so mice did not get into them. But all it took was one larger pest to open a bag up, then all of them knew there was food available. You really need to have a pretty good plan, a storage closet that is pest proofed or something similar. I was lucky, it worked for me the one time I bought in that kind of bulk, but I have had lots of raccoon problems in more recent years. I have had raccoons eat the heavy duty plastic lids off of large garbage containers, and I have never found a metal garbage can that could resist them either.

[GSPVIZ]

Definitely don't leave it on the floor of the basement. I had mice chew right through the bag. I have even elevated it and somehow they got to it. Now I just store the extra in a Rubbermaid container.

[Pineywoods]

I have had rats chew a hole in a plastic trash can to get to dog food. I got a old chest type freezer that no longer
work's (for free), can easily hold a dozen bags or more, has a magnetic sealed door and rodent proof.
Got the ideal from Purina Pro club magazine (some coon hunter from Alabama ).