Article writer-Harvey Hemmingsen
Pests, such as mice, insects and other animals, can be very difficult to get rid of once they have invaded your home. In many cases, it is easier to practice prevention rather then extermination. For some easy pest control techniques that will stop these pests from ever reaching your home, keep reading.
Make sure that you do not have any candy lying around the area of your home. Candy is made of sugar, which can attract a wide assortment of bugs. Therefore, the best thing that you can do is eat in the kitchen and make sure that candy does not get into other areas of the house.
Bedbugs hide in a variety of locations, making them hard to completely get rid of. Before you call the exterminator, seal off any cracks or crevices. This way, bugs have no place to hide.
Keep in mind that pests are not fond of the same air you are. Your home might not have been designed for proper ventilation in crawl spaces and the attic. However, these spaces need sufficient ventilation so that the environments within them are not suitable to pests who might come in.
Go through the foundation and roof of your house to ensure that there're no cracks or holes that pests can get into. If
source website find any, make sure you seal them up as soon as possible. Try to avoid using typical caulk as they usually can chew through this. Your best bet is to use something made with copper or mesh.
If you have a lot of trees or bushes around your home, prune them. This is a good way to prevent insects and animals from moving closer to your home, as they will not be able to transport themselves. Try to prune your trees at least once every few months or when they are getting too large.
Keep your home clean. Many pests can be kept from your home with some simple cleaning. Eliminate food sources by washing dishes promptly, keeping the trash empty and the counters clean. Eliminating clutter also eliminates potential hiding places for pests. A clean home is inhospitable to pests, preventing them from becoming a problem in the first place.
Use plastic storage containers when storing dry food items. Lots of these products are sold in boxes or bags, which can be easily breached by pests. When you get home from the store, transfer your dry foods into containers with tight lids. Using containers made from plastic can keep pests under control and extend the freshness of foods.
If you have a supply of firewood, keep it at least ten feet in distance from the outside of your home. Termites occasionally find and feast on firewood. While this would deprive you of firewood and mean termites in your yard, the space should buffer your home safely from infestation.
Talk to friends and family about what has worked for them. You might be at your wits' end when you are dealing with pests. That's when you need to take a step back and find out what has worked for other people. Your friends and family may be able to step in and help you come up with a better plan.
If you have children, explain to them the rules around the house for eating. Make sure that you designate only one area of the home for eating to help reduce any infestations that you may have. If all members of the house are responsible for what they do, you will have less of a pest problem.
Store flour, cereals, sugar, and other dry goods in sealed plastic, glass, or metal containers. This prevents invasions of pantry moths, weevils, ants, and even mice in your kitchen. Do not count on cardboard or other flimsy packaging to keep pests out. Mice can chew through them, and insects can penetrate tiny openings.
Make sure that all of your windows are closed when you go to sleep at night or go on vacation. The last thing that you will want to do is to give the bugs outside a free entryway into your house. Seal all windows when you are sleeping or not home to reduce pests.
Don't neglect appliances when it comes to pest control. Bugs like the warmth inside the components of the fridge, microwave, washer and dryer and even little things like the toaster and coffee pot. Be sure to saturate them with your pest-control solution, washing them carefully again before the next time you use them with food.
If you see a row of ants in your garden, and you want to prevent ants from getting into your house from the outside, draw a line of chalk around your home's perimeter. Ants turn away when they encounter chalk. You can draw a line of chalk at the base your house to minimize chances of entry.
Colonies of fire ants in your backyard are not exactly welcoming! Instead of calling the exterminator, try this good old trick. It is said that fire ants are repelled by the smell of human urine. Sprinkle human urine on fire ant mounds and they will decide to move somewhere else!
Hornets, wasps, and other dangerous bees (not honey bees) are a seemingly scary problem that can be exterminated easily. Wasp and hornet killer is inexpensive and doesn't require you to be near the nest to use it. Alternatively, hair spray can also be used through products designed to kill wasps/hornets are preferable.
If you spot spiders inside, remember that they may be there because they eat other bugs which may be in your home. To reduce this possibility, dust and vacuum often. Doing this keeps down the number of bugs in your home and will result in fewer spiders, too.
If you see carpenter ants, you actually have a broader issue. They just eat wood that is wet, so their presence heralds a leak and problem with rotten wood. Hire a professional to come and inspect in order to determine the cause of, and the solution to, the problem.
You can now battle against those pests in your home. Use the information you have garnered here to effectively rid your home of unwanted pests. Before long, these pests will be gone and you can have your house back again.