Mice, Bed Bugs, and Pest Damage in a Storage Unit

A tenant protection plan covers damage to stored property from rodents, insects, and other vermin up to $500, with no deductible. It pays for the damage to your belongings, not for extermination of the unit. Below is what pests can do in storage, exactly what is covered, and how to keep them out in the first place.

Can bed bugs live in a storage unit?

Yes. Bed bugs can survive for months without feeding, and in cool conditions they can last close to a year. A storage unit full of furniture, mattresses, and boxed fabric is a place they can wait out. Sustained heat above roughly 113°F kills them, and an unconditioned unit in summer may reach that, but temperatures swing too much to count on it. If infested items go into a unit, assume the bugs come back out with them.

The practical rule: inspect mattresses, couches, and soft furniture before they go in, and bag or wrap them. A protection plan can pay for what pests ruin, but it cannot un-infest your things.

Mice in a storage unit: what to do

If you open your unit and find droppings, nesting material, or chewed boxes:

• Photograph everything before touching it. Droppings, nests, chewed items, entry gaps. Documentation decides claims.
• Tell the facility office. Rodent activity is rarely limited to one unit, and the facility handles pest control for the building.
• Do not throw damaged items away until they are documented. Discarding first is a leading cause of claim denial.
• File a claim at msgppclaims.com with your photos and an inventory of what was damaged.

What pest damage Property Protection covers

The Property Protection Addendum covers loss or damage from moths, insects, rodents, and other vermin up to $500, paid with no deductible. That cap is specific to vermin damage; other covered causes such as fire or water damage pay at replacement cost up to your full plan limit.

Many renters and homeowners policies exclude vermin damage entirely, so check the actual policy language before assuming your existing coverage picks this up.

What to put in a storage unit to keep pests away

• Sealed plastic bins with locking lids instead of cardboard, which rodents chew and nest in
• No food, pet food, birdseed, or scented candles anywhere in the unit
• Belongings raised off the floor on pallets or shelving
• Mattresses and soft furniture wrapped in sealed plastic covers
• A gap check at the door sill: mice fit through openings the width of a pencil, so report gaps to the facility

How to file a pest-damage claim

• Photograph the damage and the evidence of pests before moving anything
• File online at msgppclaims.com and describe what you found
• Submit photos, an inventory, and replacement estimates for damaged items
• Covered claims pay with no deductible, with our goal of settlement in 48 to 72 hours

Property Protection is added to your rent at move-in and ends automatically when you move out. There is no separate application and no deductible for a covered claim.