You’re not alone. If you’re glad you’ve finally found a place to call home, there’s a good chance an army of pests is also jumping for joy. Now that you’re here, these pests are giddy. Your presence tells them they will have a never-ending supply of food. ; And the best part’s it’s not run-of-the-mill food that they will have to scrounge but quality food that’s well cooked.
Pests will definitely overrun your place if you let them. That’s a given. The worst part is this creepy crawlies and the likes are bad news. Don’t be fooled by their diminutive sizes, they’re a force to reckon with. Not only will they intend to ransack your place, but they bring sickness. Yup, we’re talking about deadly diseases such as malaria. Fortunately, keeping them out is not as hard as you might think. With persistence and attention to detail, flushing them out should be a matter of time.
Fortify Your Abode
Let’s talk about the bucked-tooth rats and the smaller mice. These pests are tenacious. Their big front teeth are a dead giveaway. Note that they will eat wood just to get into your house. And before you know it, you have an uninvited house guest lurking in the kitchen, running to and fro to evade detection.
And yes, it gets even worse these days. No doubt, the pandemic has made people more food-efficient. So the result? Food has become scarcer for scavengers than before. That said, more rats have braved the streets coming out of hiding to look for food.
So how do you contain them? It’s simple. Don’t give them a way in. Rats may cut through the wood but they can hardly cut through metal. Use steel wool to plug holes found in dryer vents or plumbing pipes. The same holds true for your air conditioners.
To contain mice inside, use bait stations or mouse traps. Also, check places where they could nest such as your bookshelves and garage.
Shut The Doors
The same technique applies to minute pests. Cut those tree branches leading to your rooftops or windows. These are ways for an army of ants or termites to march in without resistance. Add to that list bigger pests like raccoons and squirrels.
Ants and termites are a little tricky. As tiny as these rummaging pests are, they can easily slip in without warning. So seal as many entrances as you’ll find. Use silicone caulk.
Remember that a single lonely ant is a telltale sign that a thousand is nearby. You can use tape as a barrier. Line them up. Just make sure you have the sticky side up.
You can also use a fine powder called diatomaceous earth or plain salt to discourage ants. If the problem goes out of hand, however, calling a pest exterminator is a wise move. A trained eye will save you the experimentation and put you out of harm’s way in a jiffy.
Destroy Their Places of Breeding
Mosquitoes may not look like a big threat but the creature is a winged monster out to destroy you. . Know that mosquitoes can bring deadly diseases to your home. Just a peek of that list is going to cause shivers down your spine. We have dengue, Zika, and malaria just to name a few.
The best way to discourage mosquitoes is to destroy their breeding places. To do that make sure no standing water exists around your abode. Water is where these flying pests breed. So empty out buckets and flower pots after a hard rain.
Make Food Unavailable to Them
One way to invite freeloaders is to let the food out. To discourage intruders, make the food scarce. Store them in glass containers if you have to. It’s important that you clean your kitchen regularly. Bread crumbs and all sorts of food bits and pieces in the floor is a feast too hard to pass up for hungry vermin, or marauding ants.
Moreover, this also means you shouldn’t leave those dirty dishes unattended. Clean it all up. And while you’re at it, have someone throw trash. Done regularly, these places shouldn’t become one bug party anytime soon.
Pick Your Poison
Homemade deterrents can go a long way to bug-proof your abode. Spiders for one hate the natural vinegar solution. To do it, just mix in equal parts of vinegar and water. Put it in a container and spray around windows and door vents.
As for rats, there’s boric acid. The best part is you can DIY it. Just follow the instructions here.
Then don’t forget every pest has its own natural enemy too. Rats for one hate cats. Add to the mix a number of pest-repelling plants and you know keeping your abode pest-free is just a matter of time.
