19 Tips for Controlling Pests in and Around Your Home!
Discovering you have a pest problem is at the top of the list of things that can make you feel uneasy in your own home.
You must not only determine the source of the problem, but you must also determine whether the problem has spread to other areas of the house.
Furthermore, finding a pest-removal method that isn’t overly reliant on harsh chemicals or prohibitively expensive (such as hiring an exterminator) can help alleviate any additional stress.
To that end, we’ve compiled a list of the best ways to get rid of common household pests. These solutions will ensure that your pest problem is no longer a problem!
Maintain a clean kitchen
Pests thrive in a filthy, damp environment. Keep the kitchen counters, racks, stovetop, and drawers clean to avoid pest infestation.
Wipe them down with a disinfectant cleaner on a regular basis. Furthermore, food particles that are left out in the open will attract more insects.
This pest control tip will not completely eliminate your pest infestation, but it will significantly reduce the number of pests in your home.
Cleaning up after pest control is also crucial if you don’t want your home to become infested again soon.
Maintain the cleanliness of the restroom
The majority of pest control advice for apartments excludes bathroom pest control. However, the preceding rule also applies to bathrooms.
Maintain a clean and dry bathroom. Clean the toilet every other day with a toilet cleaner. Use a heavy-duty bathroom cleaner to clean the sink at least once a week.
Maintain a dry and moss-free shower curtain. Ensure that the drain is free of hair and soap particles and that it is always covered.
These small steps will help to keep the bathroom clean and pest-free for a longer period of time.
Any and all gaps should be filled
When you’re looking for all of the possible entry points for pests, keep an eye out for small, unsealed gaps where electrical lines and pipes enter your home.
These small gaps are ideal for bugs, mice, and other pests, so caulk them shut or use expanding foam insulation to keep them out.
Allowing water to sit in a container is not a good idea
Mosquitoes, for example, thrive in stagnant water. Clean the area around your house, and make sure the drains outside your house are cleaned as well, as stagnant dirty water in the drains can lead to mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria.
When you’re not using the buckets in your bathroom, keep them dry. Kitchen utensils are the same way. If you have a water-free air conditioner, don’t put a vessel under it to collect water.
Consider using an alternative, such as a pipe, to transport the water out as soon as it arrives. Alternatively, you could empty and clean the vessel every day. Make sure there is no standing water anywhere near or inside your home.
If you’re wondering how to do pest control at home on your own, there are a few simple home remedies that can help you get rid of these pests.
Do not leave fruits and vegetables out for long periods of time
Overripe fruits and vegetables attract flies and other insects. Cut and ripe fruits should not be kept out of the fridge for long periods of time.
While some pests, such as fruit flies, are harmless, rotting fruits can attract larger pests such as house flies, ants, and cockroaches, which are difficult to eradicate.
Ensure that garbage is disposed of on a regular basis
We frequently wonder how to clean the kitchen after pest control, but it’s actually quite simple, and having a garbage disposal is essential.
Garbage should ideally be disposed of every day. Garbage accumulation can result in rat, rodent, and cockroach infestations.
This is exacerbated when you discover rotten food particles all over the house. This can lead to disease transmission, particularly if you have pets or small children in the house.
Fresh Herbs
Are you fed up with mosquitoes crashing into your backyard? To keep mosquitoes at bay, place some fresh rosemary or sage on the coals.
Onions are unappealing to spiders
Even if it’s an old wives’ tale, it’s worth a try! Slice some onions and toss them in a bowl of water to keep spiders away. Spiders will avoid your home if you put the bowl where they enter.
Keep your garden in good shape
Fill in holes or pits where water can collect if you have a lawn or garden. Clean your pond or water fountain on a regular basis if you have one in your garden.
To avoid wild, bushy growths, prune the plants on a regular basis. To avoid unwanted pests such as mosquitoes, rats, and ants, keep your garden neat and clean.
Use Copper Mesh to Fill Holes
Find a way for pests to get into your house. With a screwdriver, insert a generous amount of copper mesh, leaving about half an inch of space for expanding foam sealant.
Finish by filling in the gaps with foam to keep pests out for good.
Natural Ways to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
If your kitchen is infested with pesky fruit flies, take a small bowl and fill it with apple cider vinegar. Wrap plastic wrap around the bowl and poke a couple of pencil-lead-sized holes in it.
Fruit flies will be drawn to the vinegar and will be able to enter but not leave.
Keep items that are used outside of the house
If you have a kitchen garden or a lawn, you’re likely to have furniture, shoes, buckets, and other gardening-related items on hand.
Keep these items outside and don’t use them inside until they’ve been thoroughly cleaned. This is because bringing them in could unintentionally bring in a slew of pests.
The same goes for outdoor toys like battery-operated cars, bicycles, and other similar items.
Keep them locked up in the garage or another outdoor location, and instruct your children not to bring them inside.
Easy Spider Solution
Maintaining a 40 percent humidity level with a humidifier and vigilantly sweeping down cobwebs whenever they appear will almost completely eliminate spiders in your basement.
Keep the windowsills in the basement clean as well. The spider population will drop dramatically in a matter of weeks, and you won’t have to worry about house pests.
Get rid of ant trails
If you see one ant, there’s a good chance you’ll see more. Because ants leave a scented trail that other ants follow, this is the case.
Sweeping and mopping aren’t enough to get rid of the odor. Instead, make a spray bottle with 1 part vinegar and 3 parts water, and spray it wherever you’ve seen ants before.
This will deter outdoor nesting ants from foraging for food inside the house (ants that come inside are not necessarily trying to establish a nest).
Ants that have already established a nest inside will not be deterred by vinegar and water. You’ll have to use ant bait to get rid of them.
Trim Plants Against Your House
After you’ve exterminated the ants in your home and yard, make sure they don’t return. Trim back bushes, shrubs, and trees that brush up against your siding or roof, creating a pathway for ants to get into your home.
To prevent ants from nesting in the siding, leaving a 3-in. to 6-in. clearance space between the soil around the foundation and the bottom row of siding (and make sure the soil slopes away from the house).
Install window nets
Install window nets to keep pests out, such as house flies, mosquitoes, spiders, and large cockroaches.
Not only will these nets help with ventilation, but they will also keep pests out. This is a very effective method of preventing pests from entering your home.
Also, if any window panes or glasses are broken, repair them as soon as possible to keep insects out.
Check all of the house’s doors as well, and make any necessary repairs to make your measures more effective.
Take Care of Your Chimney
To keep rodents and birds out of your chimney, install a chimney cap and screen. They can not only cause damage, but they also bring in smaller bugs that will settle in your home.
Get rid of anything you don’t need
Decluttering your home is an important pest control tip. If you have any unused boxes or toys that your children have outgrown, get rid of them.
These items are nothing more than breeding grounds for insects and germs. Any old item, such as old baby strollers, shoes, packaging material, plastic bags, torn luggage, and so on, can be sold or thrown away.
If you’re having trouble deciding whether or not to toss something, consider this: Will I use this item in the next three months? If you answered no, it’s time to get rid of it!
Hire a professional pest control company
While the measures listed above can help reduce the number of pests in your home, you will need professional assistance to completely eliminate pests.
Pest control services can help you get rid of these dangerous pests. They are well-trained and use approved chemicals and procedures to ensure your and your family’s safety.
We all want our homes to be pest-free, but store-bought chemical pesticides are far too toxic and harmful to use near your home, family, or pets.
If these chemicals can kill insects, they can’t possibly be good for humans, so it’s preferable to use something natural and safe whenever possible.
Which of these tips did you find the most useful? Or perhaps you have your own bug-repelling technique? Tell us about it, and please share this article with your family and friends.
