Pest invasions are one of the things all homeowners have to deal with at one point or another. There are no positive ways to look at pests and the havoc they cause. They carry diseases and cause untold physical damage to your house.
Getting rid of or preventing pests from getting into your house while maintaining your house is something you should aim to achieve. Here are some simple ways to do both.
Keep Your Home Clean
There is a dual purpose to constantly ensuring your house is clean. It increases the house’s lifespan and ensures that pests are kept at bay. The kitchen, attic, basement, and bathroom are places those roaches, rats, and other pest love to reside. Leaving any of these areas dirty for an extended period is an invitation to pest infestation.
Wiping down your kitchen counters, cooktops, washing used pots, cutlery and plates, and disposing of any waste ensures that you don’t attract any pests and enhances the kitchen’s hygienic condition.
The same applies to bathrooms. Keep them clean and dry to avoid mold buildup. Wash your toilet and faucets regularly with antiseptic cleaners not just to keep them clean but to kill any germs living in them.
You can clean weekly for the bathroom and toilets, the kitchen you be cleaned daily or every other day. Except in the case of significant cleanings, you can do that every fortnight. For your attics and basements, these are usually the least used areas of the house.
Make sure everything stored there is in order. You can clean it as often as possible because neglected basements could be a breeding spot for pests.
Dispose of garbage regularly
In addition to keeping the house clean, dispose of waste generated in your home regularly. When bugs are given the ideal environment to thrive, they will never leave. Daily disposal of waste into bins eradicates stench in the home and minimizes the possibility of pest infestation.
Apart from regular removal, ensure that your garbage or trash can has tight-fitting lids. Some rodents or stray animals can lift lids from garbage cans, don’t allow them to feed out of yours.
Maintain your environment
A well-kept garden or lawn improves the aesthetics of your house and helps the environment by providing nectar for valuable insects like bees. However, when flowers are left to overgrow, it could be a breeding grounding for pests that include snakes.
The first thing to do on your lawn or garden is to fill all holes that can hold water. Stagnant water is a haven for breeding insects. Also, mow your lawn regularly, leave no hiding spots for rodents and reptiles.
Fix Nets on Windows
Window nets help prevent house flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, and other insects from accessing your house. Check all nets around your house regularly to see if they are torn and replace immediately. The best screen mesh to use is those with a minimum of two hundred holes per square inch.
Having damaged nets around your windows defeats the purpose of having them in the first place. The alternative is keeping windows and doors locked all the time. Doing this will prevent ventilation and make the house stuffy.
Contact A Building Inspector
Having a building inspector go through your house is a great way to prevent pest infestations. These professionals will find potential areas of invasion and tell you what to do. If they think you need the services of a professional pest control service, they will recommend one for you.
If you need one in Melbourne, here is a great way to get it from building inspection Melbourne.
Clean Drains
Kitchen and bathroom drains are often filled with a lot of debris. This debris provides great living and breeding spots for pests. Clean out your drain as often as you can, every two weeks if possible.
Baking soda and white vinegar, when used together, act as an effective drain cleaner. Apart from drains, check all gutters around the house for signs of blockage. A blocked gutter means standing water, which in turn implies a breeding spot for pests.
Dispose of things you don’t need
Decluttering your house is a crucial way to control and prevent pest infestation. Over time, everyone keeps stuff we don’t need at home. While some of these things might hold sentimental value, they are also good spots for rodents and reptiles to hide.
Sell or dispose of any item you know you don’t need anymore. Properly dispose of cartons and other recyclables lying idle, have a garage sale for old toys, strollers, and other things you have accumulated over time.
An important way to know if you need something or not is to ask yourself, have I used this object in the last six months, and will I use it in the next three months? If the answer to the questions is negative, then get rid of them.
Conclusion
By preventing pests from entering your house is often cheaper and more accessible than getting rid of them. Apply these tips and enjoy a pest-free home.