Many homeowners are nor sure what to do if they come across a pest problem in the home. Their first instinct is to grab the phone and call in the professionals. There is no need for this. You can exterminate these pests on your own. Keep reading to learn how.
Don’t wait for a pest control problem to become an infestation; call a professional or take action on your own immediately. You might think that just because you’ve only seen one or two or that you don’t see them often there isn’t a big problem. Do something fast or you can expect big problems later.
Ask any professional you hire for references. Just because they have an ad in your yellow pages does not mean that they do good business. They only way to be sure that you are going to get your money’s worth is to verify that their other customers are satisfied with their work.
Check to see if you have any centipedes around the house. Centipedes usually will prey on other bugs, so if you have a lot of them, you may be infested. In this case, the best thing that you can do is to hire a professional to help get rid of the issue in your home.
Mice enjoy eating grains and cereal. This is something you have to make sure you don’t leave lying around in your kitchen. Mice will sink their teeth into almost anything! If having mice in the home is common for you, remove the food supply and place them in high cabinets and use sealed containers. They have a fantastic sense of smell, so don’t underestimate these little critters.
If you have pets in your home, make sure that you clean up after them. Leaving pet food or pet waste out in the open can be an invitation for flies or other types of insects to come into your home. Clean up efficiently if you want to prevent bugs from coming into your house.
If you spot bugs or pest in an apartment complex, you need to complain to your landlord immediately. You will not successfully eradicate the pest if you take action by yourself. The only way to get rid of pest is to treat the entire apartment complex at once, which means residents might have to stay somewhere else for a few days.
Keep standing water at a minimum if you want to keep mosquitoes away. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in stagnant water, so if you have a small puddle in your yard you are giving them a perfect place to breed. To prevent this you can walk through your yard after rain storms to ensure that your yard does not become their breeding ground.
Getting rid of fleas is a lot easier than you may thing. A good mixture of boric acid and a botanic-based pesticide is not only helpful in killing fleas, but is also safe to use. The pesticides found in the oil works by cutting of oxygen to their breathing tubes and the boric acid destroys their digestive system.
Check your home for moist areas in the structure if you have carpenter ants. Carpenter ants are very attracted to moisture, so if you begin to have a problem with them, chances are that you have a leak somewhere. Once you find and solve that problem, the carpenter ants will move on naturally.
If you are about to wipe out pest with a chemical product, take the time to protect yourself first. Wear some gloves and find some protective goggles for your eyes. Place a scarf on your nose and mouth to prevent exposure to the chemical. If you get some chemicals on your skin, rinse immediately.
If you can, try to eliminate pests without using pesticides. Although pesticides can get rid of insects, most of them are very toxic and can harm people if enough is breathed in. Therefore, try using an IPM approach. This approach involves using no chemicals so that you can eliminate pests without causing harm to anyone.
Make sure that you spray your house at least once a year. This will serve to eliminate all of the bugs in your area at the current time and prevent new ones from coming in near future. If you do not spray your house, you are making your living space open season for bugs.
You should have a weekly or bi-weekly cabinet cleaning schedule. These dark spaces, full of hiding places, are a great home for pests. Use an environmental, non-toxic pesticide in the corners and joins of the wood each season. Always be watchful for signs of potential infestation that will need to be dealt with.
If you have a problem with bugs, buy a bunch of caulk and seal up every crack that is around the home. You can’t get the insecticides deep into the crevices in your home where the pests like to live. The caulk will seal around pipes, where the molding meets the floors, and areas where bugs can enter.
Neighbors can be a great resource for information. If you are having problems with mice, for example, your neighbor may be having that same problem. It may be that this person has hit upon a solution. It is also helpful to let them know in case they weren’t aware of the issue yet.
Always make sure that people and pets are properly protected from a pesticide. Pesticides can cause serious harm to living things if precaution is not used. Therefore, make sure that the location you apply the pesticide is free of people, pets, and even toys and and dishes. Be extra careful when using a pesticide near a stream, well, garden, school, or workplace.
Pests will be a problem no more in your home. Any time there is an issue, you will know just what to do. You can take all that money you would have paid an exterminator and treat yourself to a nice dinner and come home to a home that is pest free.