Tips on Keeping Your Home Pest Free
I recommend that you hire a licensed Pest Control operator to spray your home and the perimeter of your property monthly.You can ask them to spray only the outside of your home and garage, basement, other areas not lived in, or have them spot spray the inside of your home including kitchen, and all living areas. If you have a new born baby it is best to not spray the nursery in case the baby has allergies to the chemical being used. There are different chemicals available, some have an odor, and others don’t. If you are sensitive to certain smells or fragrances mention it to your Pest Control operator.
The following are other ways to keep the Pest population low inside your home, but should not be used as a substitue for Pest Control service:
1. Keep your home clean! No crumbs on the countertops or floor, sweep under the fridge and stove. Clean up food messes immediately with soap and water, or a kitchen spray.
2. Don’t leave wrappers, plates, empty food containers lying around after eating something. This is just asking for bugs to come visit!
3. Store dry goods like rice, dog food, etc… in air tight containers
4. Wash out food containers before trashing them. This will prevent spills and leaks (and your house will smell better)
5. De-Clutter your home. Inside and outside. Clutter gives bugs dark hiding places that they quickly become comfortable with. Pile of old clothes in the garage? Watch out for Black Widows! Bunch of stuff in a corner of your yard? Watch out for cockroaches and spiders!
6. Keep your woodpile off of the ground and neatly stacked away from walls.
7. Take the trash out regularly
8. Keep windows screened, and patch any holes in the screens so bugs can’t sneak through. Keep doors to the outside closed.
9. Seal cracks, holes and spaces that lead from the outside to the inside of your home. The tiniest spaces can still be big enough for roaches, ants, and spiders. Keep in mind that mice can fit through holes as small as 1/4 of an inch!
10. Replace outdoor light bulbs with Bug lights. White lights attract bugs, where the bug lights do not attract them. They do not however repel them or work for all bugs.
11. Clean up dog mess! If you have other animals their messes need to be cleaned up as well. Animal feces attract flies and roaches, plus your pest control operator will not be happy if he steps in it while trying to spray your property!
12. To keep bugs off houseplants, as well as outdoor flowers and plants mix a couple drops of dish soap with warm water in a spray bottle shake it up and spray it on your plants. Reapply if plants get rained on.
Follow these tips, and soon you should see a decrease in pests invading your home.
