Pests can cause thousands of dollars in property damage and threaten your and your household's health (click here). Regular pest control inspection is an excellent way to keep pest populations from getting out of hand. However, there are ways we can maintain the pest population in control with the resources we have. It pays to ensure that you keep your surroundings clean to make it difficult for pests to thrive. We share helpful pest control tips for your home for the typical homeowner.
Keep Your Garden Well-Kept
A garden is an excellent way to make your house achieve a tremendous curbside appeal. However, a garden also provides shelter and a breeding ground for pests if you let it grow wild. Ensure that you always keep your plants pruned and your lawn mowed regularly. Moreover, when you water your plants, use a water sprinkler and check if your water pools up in puddles. Make sure you don't leave puddles behind for a long time enough to provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Check Your Walls, Doors, and Ceilings for Gaps and Cracks
Now that you have a clean garden check your home exteriors for cracks and gaps. These allow tiny insects such as ants, termites, mosquitoes, flies, and others, to enter your home. Seal those cracks in your walls with mortar. Do not overlook other openings such as entryways for electrical wiring and plumbing. Seal those off with copper mesh, coarse steel wool, or mortar.
Place Window and Door Screens
Letting in natural light and fresh air makes your home feel more prominent and pleasant. However, windows and doors are also where pests can enter your home. Place window screens to keep off flying and crawling insects from quickly entering your home. Ensure that there are no gaps in your window and door panes.
Use The Right Lightbulbs and Place Them Properly
LED lights have, among their benefits, electrical savings. LED lights also benefit from not being attractive to most insects. Warm yellow LED lighting is suitable for porch lighting because it does not attract bugs as much as mercury vapor lamps. Moreover, do not place your exterior lights too near your doorway.
Prevent Having Stagnant Water In and Around Your Property
Mosquitoes, aside from being a significant nuisance, are disease carriers. Insects love to breed and thrive in stagnant water. Leaving them unattended will buy enough time for thousands of mosquitoes to breed and multiply. Always keep your buckets and other water containers dry. Keep them covered if you need to stock up on water. As mentioned in an earlier pest control tip on keeping your garden clean, ensure that you check your ground for water puddles. If you have water plants inside your home, you need to replace the water regularly as these are perfect breeding areas for mosquito larvae. Always keep your drains covered. If you have air conditioners, channel the water directly to the drain instead of catching them with a bucket.
Dispose of Your Garbage Regularly
Garbage always presents a perfect breeding ground and hiding place for pests on your property, especially if you don't dispose of them or if they keep piling up. Having garbage in or around your home can be very dangerous as pests that reside there carry harmful pathogens that will be dangerous for children and the elderly. Always dispose of your garbage daily. Ensure that the trash on your curb is also picked up regularly.
Keep Your Kitchen Clean
Preparing food and keeping fruit peelings and leftover ingredients in your kitchen for a long time will attract pests. Ensure that you clean up after preparing your food. Once you do so, wipe kitchen surfaces such as your countertops and sink with disinfectant to prevent these surfaces from breeding bacteria. As mentioned earlier, dispose of your garbage regularly. Rotting food particles attract pests as well. Don't forget to wipe your kitchen floor as well.
Always Cover Fruits and Vegetables
You don't have to wait for your fruits and vegetables to rot before they can attract pests. Flies will lay eggs in these even if they don't rot yet. Once you have rotting or overripe fruits and vegetables, dispose of them immediately. If you can't keep your fruits and vegetables in the fridge, wrap them in plastic.
Keep Your Bathrooms Clean
Keeping your bathroom dry and clean will prevent water-borne pests from breeding. Always clean and disinfect your bathroom floor, sink, and tiles regularly. Clean your pot with toilet cleaner to avoid these from breeding harmful bacteria. Always keep your buckets dry if not in use. Always keep your drains covered and cleaned to prevent these from clogging.
Declutter and Rid of Stuff You Don't Need
Having too much-unneeded stuff around present places for pests like rats and mosquitoes to hide in and thrive. Having less unnecessary stuff, like broken and old things, lying about make your house more pleasant and creates more space. Your home can also be safer from being a shelter for harmful pests.
Conclusion:
We hope these pest control tips can be helpful for you. You can do these immediately to prevent pest populations from growing unabated. Though certain pests such as termites are difficult to control, especially in specific geographic locations, practicing these tips can keep many other pests from being more than just an annoyance. If the level of pest infestation goes out of control, you may need help from qualified professionals to find the breeding grounds for insects and eliminate these on the spot.