Homeowners worry about a lot of things especially when it comes to matters concerning the health and safety of everyone at home. However, one of the major problems that get homeowners truly worked up is pest problem. Having an infestation due to cockroaches, ants, rodents, bed bugs, termites, and other nuisance pests can be a total nightmare, bringing homeowners not only emotional and physical disturbance but also property damages.
A pest infestation should NOT be something that we wait to occur before we do something about it. Instead, we should be wiser enough to prevent pests from entering our property way before the rest of their population can build a colony and dominate our homes.
It is highly important for members of the family to know how to make their home unattractive to pests. These five simple tips are hereby suggested for you so you can:
1. Keep Your Home Clean and Clutter-Free.
One thing that definitely attracts pests like rats, mice, and cockroaches is a dirty surrounding. If you regularly clean your home and keep it free from clutter, you are not giving those pests any place where they could comfortably hide and build their nests. In addition, maintain a clean and dry environment by eliminating containers with standing water as these are potential breeding sites for mosquitos. Vacuum cleaning, dusting, and mopping are also some of the household chores you can do to remove all sorts of clutter or dirt, including food debris and food spills, which are what pests are after. Remember that ants, rodents, and roaches go to where their food source is. Immediately cleaning up the clutter both inside and outside of your home, therefore, will keep these pesky pests at bay.
2. Dispose of Your Trash and Keep garbage Cans Well Away From Your Property.
Garbage disposal is another very important task you should do on a daily basis. It is never a good idea to let your rubbish sit for more than a day without being taken out of your home. An overflowing and smelly rubbish bin is very inviting to pests and something that ants, roaches, and rodents can easily smell from afar. Hence, you must throw your household waste every day. Most importantly, keep garbage inside trash bins with tight-fitting lids and make sure these trash bins are located at a safe distance from your property to minimize the chances of pests infiltrating your home.
3. Seal All Openings Including Your Doors and Windows.
Pests gain entry to your household mostly through any gaps, cracks and holes they could find. Your doors and windows, in particular, serve as perfect entryways for pests. You must, therefore, install window screens and door screens preferably those with 200 holes per square inch at least, enough to block tiny pests from entering. As the homeowner, you must also check both interior and exterior parts of your household for possible entry points for pests such as broken doors and windows, ripped screens, loose siding, and gaps around pipes and electrical wirings. Once you spot these openings, repair or seal them as soon as possible using mortar seal, copper mesh, and other products that pests won’t be able to chew on.
4. Observe Proper Plumbing Maintenance.
Leaking pipes and clogged drains not only cause property damage but also provide pests with ideal breeding sanctuaries. Roaches and mosquitos, for instance, thrive well in a wet or humid environment. Hence, you need to fix any leaks and clean your drains every now and then to avoid attracting flies and other critters to your property.
5. Store Food Properly Inside Well-Sealed Containers.
Exposing your food openly obviously catches the attention of pests like ants, cockroaches, and rats and mice which all have hypersensitive sense of smell. Once they catch food aroma, in just e few minutes, expect these pests to come swarming or crawling to your food. To avoid this unpleasant scenario, you just simply need to store your food in containers with tight-fitting covers. You must also eliminate food debris and refrigerate left-over food instead of leaving them out in the pantry.
Preventing pests from invading your home all boils down to making your household environment not appealing to pests. It is about removing anything that attracts these pests such as food debris, mulch, clutter, rubbish, standing water, and moisture. Otherwise, your pest problem will worsen and you will have no choice but to contact a pest management company who can perform services such as termite control, cockroach removal, chemical treatment, and so on. Lastly, homeowners bear the responsibility of doing regular checks in and around their home to ensure that all potential “bridges” or “entrances” for pests are blocked or sealed.