Got the feeling that some creepy-crawlies have moved in and taken up residence in your own home? Then you might want to take action to evict them!
Since you want to save a little money, you may wonder: can I do my own pest control?
The answer is both yes and no. There are things you can do to lessen your chances of getting infested and to eliminate little occurrences of bugs or flies. Read on to find out our 7 tips for getting rid of unwanted house guests.
1. Keep Your Kitchen Clean
Many pests, such as ants and cockroaches, are attracted to your home because of crumbs and other traces of food morsels. You may give your counter a quick wipe after every meal, but you may be accidentally dropping food particles onto the floor where pests can easily access them.
Make sure you regularly sweep and vacuum your floors and that you keep all food items in either your pantry or refrigerator.
2. Eliminate Places for Pests to Hide in
Pests can move in and multiply without you even suspecting it if they have plenty of places to hide in. By the time you realize you have a thriving population of pests in your home, it may be too late to employ any of the other tips in the rest of this list.
Even if you keep your house clean of debris and leftover food, there still may be places for pests to hide in. If you have stacks of paper or cardboard boxes in the house, or piles of leaves in your yard, these are perfect places for pests to reside in.
If possible, you want to remove all dark little corners and keep as much foot traffic as possible in every part of your home so it doesn’t get too comfortable for pests to settle in.
3. Seal Your Home Off
Your home is a nice, warm shelter from the elements outside, so it’s no surprise that pests want to seek shelter where you reside. Some bugs and unwanted guests may have already made their ways into your home, so you need to take action yesterday.
Buy a caulk gun and do a thorough walkthrough of your home and find all the cracks and holes you can. Fill them up with the caulk gun so no more pests can get in.
If you’re renting your property, make sure it’s ok to do before you use a caulk gun. Also, if it turns out you have a huge infestation, it’s your landlord’s responsibility to take care of it.
4. Clean Your Closet out Regularly
We tend to think of the closet as somewhere where we can dump things we don’t use that often. While it’s handy for that, the closet can also attract all sorts of nasty things, such as silverfish, moths, spiders, and even mice.
If things have been sitting quietly in your closet for a while, empty it out and clean it out before putting everything back in. You may want to put a reminder for yourself to clean out the closet every so often so nothing in there becomes attractive to pests.
5. Put out Vinegar and Dish Soap Fly Traps
Are you sick of all those little fruit flies lingering around your kitchen, waiting to dive in on whatever food you have out? Well, there’s a way to get rid of them without harmful chemicals!
Grab a glass and fill it with some cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap. Get some Saran Wrap and put it across the top of the glass. Poke a few holes in it and set the glass somewhere where a lot of fruit flies hang out.
The flies will be attracted to the vinegar smell and will fly into the glass to check it out; they won’t be smart enough to figure out how to get out. When they land on the solution, they’ll drown since the dish soap will trap them in.
6. Spray Peppermint Oil Wherever You Can
This is another tip that’s great for people who want to avoid harsh chemicals in their homes, especially if there are small children and pets around. Plus, peppermint smells great and can perk up your home’s aroma!
All you have to do is fill a spray bottle with about 10 drops of peppermint oil and the rest of it with water. Shake up the spray bottle and spritz any area where you find bugs, such as your kitchen floor and along the baseboards. Since the smell of peppermint is so strong, pests will avoid areas that have the spray.
7. Kill Cockroaches with Baking Soda
They say nothing kills cockroaches, but that’s definitely a misconception. In fact, you can kill them with two simple ingredients in your pantry: baking soda and sugar.
Make a mix of equal parts baking soda and sugar, then sprinkle it wherever you’ve seen cockroaches in your home. They won’t be able to resist the free sugar; when they ingest your mix, they’ll die to the baking soda. With this method, you’ll also avoid putting dangerous chemicals around your household.
Can I Do My Own Pest Control? Kind Of.
Here’s the answer to this question: can I do my own pest control? It’s “kind of.” While we’ve given you 7 tips to keep pests in check, they only work for populations that are small in number.
If you’ve left a pest problem to grow, these 7 tips may not work anymore. In that case, you need to have a professional pest control company step in before it starts being a health hazard.
Has your pest problem grown out of control and you need professionals to step in? Then get in touch with us today.