Pest infestation is a lot more common in homes than you think. You are not immune to these little crafty creatures as well. Besides damaging your property and possessions, most of these pests are carriers of dangerous diseases and thereby pose a great danger to you and your family.
To control household pests, prevention is key. If you don’t want to deal with hefty property damage repair costs and a hoard of diseases caused by these pests, you need to prevent them from entering your home. Here are some useful expert extermination tips on the most effective ways to control household pests.
Effective Ways to Control Household Pests
Rats and Mice
Rats and mice are not only annoying and disgusting to have around, but these creatures can cost you a huge amount of money in frequent repairs, not to mention that they pose a great healthy risk to your family. They will gnaw wooden materials, chew holes into your clothes and other precious possessions, and nibble stored foods.
If you find droppings, urine, gnaw marks on wood/furniture, gnawed holes or hear scampering noises through the walls or in the attic, or even find burrows in your composite pile or garden, you may have a rat infestation in the house.
One of the biggest problems with these household pests is that they tend to multiply very fast and within a short time, you may be facing a huge infestation. If you think you have a serious rodent infestation, it’s advisable to use the right techniques to get rid of them or call professional pest control services.
Once the extermination is done, you need to prevent them from access your home. Seal all cracks and holes in your home with sheet metal because rats and mice can nib their way through wood barriers. This will also prevent household pests like termites and squirrels from making their way into your home. Additionally, keep garbage in sealed bins to keep rodents and other bugs out.
Cockroaches
You will find them everywhere in the house- in the kitchen, living room, bedroom, attic, garage, and the storage room. A cockroach infestation is a problem that most homeowners often have to deal with from time to time. These tiny creatures are very sneaky and tend to hide in darkest, well-hidden places.
Cockroaches will contaminate your food, chew holes through clothes and papers, and worse, spread a hoard of diseases like salmonella, hepatitis, and Staphylococcus.
Although most store-bought and home remedies for eliminating cockroaches are effective, their sneaky nature tends to make the extermination process a little bit difficult. Therefore, when it comes to cockroaches, preventing them from gaining access to your home is your first line of defense.
Eliminate the insects’ sources of food, water, as well as shelter. They will have nothing to eat, nor to drink, and nowhere to hide. Dispose of your garbage in sealed bags and bins, and make a point of emptying garbage at least once or twice a week. Additionally, keep all cabinets shelves and pantry locked, and clean up the living room and the kitchen before going to sleep. Doing this will cause most of them to starve off and die.
You can also spray roach powder, which is an insecticide that is very effective in killing cockroaches.
Fleas and ticks:
Spiders
One of the tell-tale signs that you have more than a few spiders is webs in the attic, storage room, underneath cabinets, and generally, rooms that are not used frequently.
Apart from making your home look like a haunted house, spiders pose a big threat especially because a single bite from a venomous spider can cause severe health complications or even death. This explains the widespread phobias about spiders.
The good news is that eliminating spiders is as easy as preventing them from entering your home in the first place. Banana spiders are actually some of the most common spiders that gain access inside the house in search for food and shelter. Here are several things you can do to effectively control spiders in your home:
- Seal all cracks and holes leading to the insider of the house, and cover your chimney and vents
- Remove any vegetation away from the perimeter of your house because vegetation acts like the perfect hiding spot for spiders. Also, remove any stones, leaves, and debris around your home’s perimeter
- Get rid of banana plants especially around the house to prevent banana spiders from entering your home.
- Get rid of other bugs because spiders enter your home to hunt these bugs in the first place
Keep the house clean and tidy
Termites
Often referred to as the “Masters of Destruction”, termites can render your home inhabitable in just a matter of months. They are some of the most destructive household pests that many homeowners deal with. A queen termite can lay thousands of eggs in just a single day, which makes a termite infestation quite dangerous. These destructive pests are actually responsible for billions of dollars in home repair costs in the US alone.
If you notice that some of the wood in your home appears darkened, blistered, or even tunneled in, you may have a big termite infestation. You should call a professional to eliminate and control them with immediate effect.
To prevent a future termite invasion, eliminate wood-to-ground contact in your house, remove any cellulose-based debris from around the house, use building materials that have been impregnated with termiticides, use termite baits, have the house pre-treated for termites, and fill all cracks in your house to prevent further infestation.
Bed Bugs
Bed Bugs are small, brown-colored creatures that invade your house and make everyone’s life unbearable due to their painful bites and sleepless nights. Although they don’t transmit diseases, bed bug bites have been said to cause insomnia and anxiety.
The biggest problem with bed bugs is that getting rid of them is quite a daunting task. A single female bed bug can lay thousands of eggs and the fact that they hide in the narrowest spaces especially in the beddings and furniture makes them such a nuisance to homeowners. You might want to call a professional bed bug exterminator to eliminate these problematic bugs.
Once you are sure that there are no more bugs lurking in your house, you can take appropriate measures to prevent them from settling in your home. First, consider sealing up cracks and peeling wallpapers to eliminate future hiding spots. Secondly, use pure essential oils like clove, peppermint, and lemongrass to repel the bugs. You can also sprinkle bedbug powder on cracks and on the bed to prevent them from setting up shelters.
