How to Prevent Pests in Your Home
Keep Pests Out For Good: 12 Must-Follow Tips
Unwanted houseguests like cockroaches, mice, mosquitoes and ants don’t just gross you out—they can contaminate your food items, damage your property, and even make you sick. The best way to deal with common household pest is to keep them from getting in at all. This guide will walk you through the top 12 strategies to fortify your defenses.
1. Cut Off Their Food Source
The easiest way to discourage pests is to stop offering five-star catering! Bugs and rodents are attracted to any edible source of food inside (or even outside) your home. Careless food prep and storage habits provide free room-service to these freeloaders.
Follow these rules to curb the snacks:
- Sweep up all crumbs and properly store any food leftovers
- Store pet food, dishes in airtight containers
- Empty garbage frequently
- Fix leaky taps, pipes to prevent mold
- Remove pet waste and fallen fruit/nuts from yard
2. Thoroughly Seal All Possible Entry Points
Even just a tiny gap in your fortress can let an army of invaders march straight into your kitchen! Check inside and outside your home for openings in walls, floors, and foundations. Use steel wool, caulk, weather seals, door sweeps and screens to close up cracks. Pay special attention around utility pipes and wires where they enter the house.
3. Mind Your Trash Manners
Like we mentioned earlier, garbage is an all-you-can-eat buffet for pests. Deposit trash in secure lidded bins instead of open piles or bags. Designate one area away from house entrance for covered bins. Take cans to the curb the morning of pickup instead of the night before. And never throw loose food waste straight into bins!
4. Fix Moisture Issues ASAP
Stagnant water, leaks, and humidity provide an ideal water source, breeding ground and feed pest life cycles. Dry out soggy areas in yards. Maintain rain gutters. Insulate cold water pipes prone to condensation. Keep bathrooms well-ventilated. Monitor air conditioning units, basements and crawlspaces for excess moisture. Water-loving termites and mosquitos will move out when your home’s no longer damp!
5. Unclog Drains
That yucky gunk in your sinks and showers isn’t just gross—it appeals greatly to filthy flies and roaches looking to lay eggs. Pour enzyme cleaners down each drain weekly on a regular basis to dissolve gunk. For tougher clogs, try a metal zip tool first before resorting to harsh chemical removers.
6. Cut Back Clutter!
Pesky critters adore clutter—it serves up endless hiding spots to breed undisturbed. Be brutal in organizing storage areas, closets, basements and sheds. Eliminate paper stacks, cardboard boxes, containers and any other clutter, donating or recycling when possible. What remains should be neatly arranged in lidded plastic bins on shelves.
7. Inspect Attics and Crawlspaces
It’s easy to forget about neglected spaces like attics and crawlspaces when pest-proofing your home. But their dark isolated nature attracts bats, rats, squirrels and insect nests. Cover vents with fine mesh. Seal any holes or gaps in walls and ceilings. Place sticky traps and non-toxic baits if needed. Monitor these areas closely year-round!
8. Maintain a Clean, Trim Yard
Your landscape likely borders your home’s exterior walls and foundation. So unkempt vegetation literally invites pests inside! Keep tree branches, tree limbs, bushes and vines closely trimmed back from touching the entire house. Rake up accumulated leaves/debris. Move excess yard waste, stacks of firewood and building supplies away from house walls where possible.
9. Use Pest-Repelling Outdoor Lighting
Standard outdoor light wavelengths powerfully attract night-flying insects like moths. These swarming bugs can enter homes through cracks. Many also lay eggs that become destructive larvae. Replace your exterior bulbs with high or low-pressure sodium vapor lights instead. The unfamiliar yellow glow confuses bugs so they stay away!
10. Routinely Inspect Outdoor Items
Yard furnishings like playsets, porch swings and benches seem harmless—until you flip them over and uncover subterranean termite colonies or muddy rodent nests! Develop a habit of closely checking over all outdoor items at least twice a year. Look for sawdust piles, small holes or tunnels in the wood piles. Catch problems early before they spread to your home’s structure!
11. Monitor Indoors for Activity
Keep pest detectives sharp by routinely scouting for physical evidence of invaders. Listen for scurrying or scratching noises in walls and ceilings. Check along baseboards, under appliances and behind furniture for droppings. Place sticky traps in undisturbed corners to catch unwanted pests. Finding signs early on makes eliminating an infestation much quicker and easier!
12. Call Backup If Prevention Fails!
Despite your very best efforts, sneaky pests can still find their way inside even well-maintained homes. If you spot bugs crawling on counters, catch mice in traps or discover major termite damage, it’s time to call in pest control professional. Reputable local exterminators have industrial-strength solutions to tackle infestations while preventatively securing your home against future infiltration!
With some diligence implementing these key tips, you can send a strong message that freeloading pests are NOT welcome! Still have questions? Let our team know—we’re happy to help keep your home pest-free for good.
