5 Tips On Doing Your Own Pest Control

The barbarians are at the gates! Your home is a prime target for so many pests it can feel like you are under attack.

Your choices are to pay up to, and over, $300 per year to have a pest control professional come to your house to get rid of and prevent bugs and animals from getting too cozy in your home.

Instead, you can come up with your own pest control plan and keep that money in your wallet.

In this article, I will go over some ways to protect your home and make it unwelcome to pests. Let’s go over the most common offenders and see what we can do about them. Of course, many of us are not happy about doing our own pest control and if that is the case then it’s time to contact a pest control company in your area such as Pest Control Experts – accordingly, you can learn more about some of the different pest control services that they offer by taking a look at the resources on their website here: https://www.pestcontrolexperts.com/

Cockroaches

The saying that if you see one cockroach means you actually have thousands is very true. If you see one, then you have a problem, but it isn’t hopeless. There are several ways you can get rid of them yourself.

There are roach baits that you can use to trap them to eliminate a good amount of them. However, you can’t trap them all so this shouldn’t be the only strategy.

You need to target their food and water sources. Clean all the crumbs in areas where there is food and even where food may have fallen. Get behind the stove, under shelves and appliances. 

Then fix any leaky sinks and pipes to make sure they don’t have a water source.

Once you have everything tightened and tidied up, sprinkle some boric acid pesticide powder around the edges of the house, under sinks and under appliances. That will kill any that are out looking for food.

Termites

As annoying as most pests are, termites are the ones that can cause the most damage to a home. It is extremely important to get rid of them at the first sign and then do everything you can to keep them out.

Look for any signs of them in your basement around the wooden beams. They will mostly try to stay out of site so get a good look with a flashlight. You will also see brown droppings concentrated around where they are.

The best way to get rid of them is as natural as it comes. Nematodes can be purchased at a local garden supply store. Place them around the foundation of your house and they will hunt them down and eat them. 

Also set up some bait stations with boric acid in them to trap and kill the ones that the nematodes don’t get.

Bed bugs

Bed bugs can get into your home very easily. Even if you keep it meticulously clean. If you travel frequently, they usually stowaway in your luggage after getting picked up from a hotel.

When you realize you have bed bugs, you’ll need to place any area rugs rolled up into a plastic bag. Even paintings need to be wrapped up tightly into a trash bag so the bedbugs will die. Sheets, comforters and clothes need to be washed and then dried on the highest heat possible.

Then spray down your mattress, bed frame, and any other furniture in your bedroom with some bed bug spray. To keep them from coming back you should invest in a bedbug cover to put over your mattress.

Mice

The process of getting rid of mice is essentially the same as cockroaches with the exception being that there are far less of them.

You’ll want to clean up any possible food source to create an environment where they can’t thrive. Then place traps out to remove them. You should be able to get rid of just about all of them with traps.

Mice are pretty smart and usually know a trap when they see one, so you have to place them inconspicuously around to actually trap then when they don’t expect it.

Button it all up

Once you feel like you have all of the insects and critters out of the house then it is time to seal it. Find all the cracks around the foundation and seal it with some foam that expands into spaces. Put grates on any vents to keep animals from getting in. And then seal around the edges of the grates.

Copper mesh around the gaps is also a good way to keep pests out especially when used with foam. After you’ve sealed the house then make sure that you are going around the yard to remove anything that will attract pests to return. Keep bushes trimmed and garbage cans closed and the area clean.