Is your house full of pests? Are those little critters just driving your crazy? A pest problem can ruin your life. Some pests can even adversely affect your health. Continue reading to learn how to eliminate common pests from your home.
Begin your pest control from ground zero. You must get to the root of your pest issues. It is likely that pests are coming into your home due to food, water, or enough shelter. Try to fill cracks, clean food sources and block entry to your house.
It is important that you are aware of local building ordinances when it comes to which treatments you can use to eliminate pests. Depending on the codes, spraying a chemical that has been locally banned can hurt you if you ever attempt to sell your home. This rarely occurs, but this should teach you to research what remedies are approved best to use in your community for pests.
If your home has a problem with brown recluse spiders, use sticky traps to catch them. It can be hard to get to these critters with chemicals, as they hide in deep areas. However, during the night, they come out to find food. Keep traps near the walls and furniture to catch them.
Spray a perimeter spray around your home to keep bugs out. Apply it to the steps, foundation and around windows and doors. When spraying, look for small cracks where pests can come in. Use caulk to seal these areas.
Airborne pests can be thwarted if you fix any tears or holes in screens on doors and windows. Screens will also keep most crawling bugs out of your home. If your screens have holes in them, then you should immediately repair them so that you prevent any kind of bugs from entering.
Are you dealing with an ant infestation? A mixture of borax and sugar can help you eliminate ants from your home. They will be attracted to the sugar, but the borax will be deadly. To create the mixture, get a jar the size of a quart and mix one cup borax and one of sugar. Put some holes in the top of the lid to make it easy to sprinkle.
Anytime you put brushes around your home, ensure you put them a minimum of one foot away. Many insects will take up residence here, regardless of the preventative measures you take. If you place the brush too close to your windows or other home entry points, you'll risk those bugs visiting you inside.
Fleas are a tough pest to abolish, but there are many ways to help do this. Get started by vacuuming every single day and spraying with a product formulated specifically for fleas. Keep in mind that your vacuum bag should be disposed of immediately upon finishing vacuuming.
Outdoor Lighting
Having outdoor lighting is great to have when you are entertaining or to keep strange people away from your house at night, but it's also a great way to attract pests. If you really need outdoor lighting, choose the color of the light carefully. Pink, orange and yellow lights attract the fewest pests.
If you find mice holes in the floors or walls, cut some steel wool, then place it inside these holes. Mice will see the steel wool blocking their hole and attempt to chew through it, and the steel particles will kill them. Keep the rodents out by mixing pieces of steel wool with putty and putting it over the hole.
Try to learn everything possible about the pests that you are trying to kill. Find out what it eats, where it prefers to nest, and (most importantly) what can kill or drive it away. It will be easier to eliminate pests if you know which methods will be efficient.
Remember that mice and rats are omnivores. It also makes it very easy to set traps for them because you can use just about anything as bait. Using spoiled food is also effective, and that way, you at least get some use out of it.
Keeping your food sealed or refrigerated is the best way to get rid of cockroaches. If you have an open container, you must put the entire container in a zip-lock back. It's also a good idea to transfer loose foods to seal-able plastic containers. Food that is vulnerable like that will maintain the health of the cockroach population. Always keep your flour, sugar, and baking supplies sealed up.
When you are looking for pesticides to try to control your pest problem yourself, take along a few samples of pests. This will help you find out what kind of product you should use. There are certain pesticides for particular pests. You can then make sure you are utilizing the correct pest control product.
When trying to get rid of rodents, concentrate your energy on the yard. Make your home and yard uninviting and inhospitable to these unwanted guests. Destroy all weeds and any other type of clumped up bushes where rodents can reside in. Keep your grass length short, and be sure to get secure lid trash cans. When you do this, most rodents will move on to greener pastures.
Pest Control
People make millions off of pest control each year. However, you can solve many issues if they're addressed early. Use the advice offered above to help you gain control over your pest problems. If you can stop your issue early, you won't need pricy exterminators. Stay on top of pest control practices, and you surely will be glad you did.