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Are you afraid to leave your house unattended because of the possibility of pests inhabiting it? Or are you one of those travel enthusiasts who are ready to take extra measures to protect their house from pests? No matter what your reasons could be, there’s no denying that looking after your house can be challenging, especially if you’re not always there to check it. Fortunately, you need not worry about these pests anymore as there are various alternatives you can utilize to keep them off your abode while you’re away for travel. To know more, continue reading the article.

Keeping Your Home Pest-Free 

Aside from worrying about the circuits and checking if there are plugged wires and cables in the house, another consideration that must be prioritized by many travelers and homeowners is to keep pests away from their houses. If you’re one of them, don’t worry as there are various alternatives you can utilize to control pests. For instance, you can seek help from reliable service providers like Yard Butler and other similar companies. You can also do many things to keep your house pest-proof while you’re not there. Here are some simple pest-control hacks you can do at home: 

1. Prioritize Cleanliness 

One of the simplest methods to keep your house free from pests involves cleanliness in your dwelling. Although it might sound impossible to keep pests away from your home, with adequate knowledge about proper cleaning methods and pest-control techniques, you can successfully keep bees, bugs, rodents, cockroaches, ants, and spiders away. Cleaning your house regularly, including the nooks and crevices in your house, can be of great help in ensuring your house is free from the presence of various organisms. It could also be great if you’d hire some pest control services near your area to ensure pests won’t be in any part of your house, especially if you’re off to travel. 

2. Cover Trash 

As a part of your cleaning regime, you must also see to it that all your trash bins and bags are closely lidded to ensure creatures won’t come in and overturn them. Fruit flies, bugs, and vermin are some of the top enemies of homeowners when it comes to matters like this, so you must take extra care to keep them away. Storing your trash in closely lidded bins can create a huge difference and can significantly free your house from pests to make it healthier to live in. Also, see to it that biodegradable wastes are disposed of properly.

3. Keep Your Yard Clean 

Another area in your home you must keep an eye on is your yard. Although some people would’ve simply neglected these parts, there’s no going around the fact that this area is one of the first things most people notice about your house. Hence, their cleanliness must be maintained. Cleaning your yard and garden not only adds curb appeal to your home but also ensures your house is pest-free. It can also encourage proper household cleaning and minimize the risks of having pests like mosquitoes and fleas in your home. Removing the leaves and debris in your garden can also be of great help in cleaning your yard, as well as checking all the areas where water can potentially accumulate. Fixing all water leaks in your yard can also be of great help to control pests. 

4. Fix Large Openings 

Not only do your yard and garden need a thorough cleaning as the large openings in your home must also be prioritized to prevent risks of pest infestation. Although the idea may sound challenging, especially if it’s your first time doing general cleaning and home restoration, there’s no going around the fact that these openings are at greater risk to be infested by pests once neglected. Seeking the help of service providers to restore and fix all openings in your house can be of great value in keeping pests away from it. It can also be a great idea to hire the local pest control services in your area to ensure optimal results. They’ll also be the ones to keep your home pest-free while you’re away.

5. Repair Holes And Cracks

Maintaining the cleanliness of your house and the restoration of all cracks and openings in it can significantly keep pests away and maintain a healthier home. And don’t be embarrassed if you have to google, “pest control near me” after your vacation. With the microscopic sizes of various insects and vermin potentially inhabiting, there’s no denying that they can easily enter your house despite all your efforts to get rid of them. You may not notice it, but the holes and cracks in your home might already be occupied by them. To solve this, the best thing you can do is to seal all the cracks and openings in your home using cement, as well as repair the woods and the damaged bricks in it. It’s also necessary to correct all the cracks in your home and look for damaged areas to ensure nothing’s in it. Keeping your home pest-free and preventing risks of pest infestation include restoring loose bricks, damaged cracks, and getting rid of rotten materials in your home.

6. Check Your Home Regularly 

No matter if you’re always on the road or off to travel somewhere, it’s crucial to be aware of the condition of your house. If you’re having a hard time doing so, you may ask someone you trust to look after your home while you’re away to keep it well-maintained. It can also be of great value if you conduct regular house checks and general cleaning to ensure pests are kept away from the premises of your abode. 

Final Thoughts 

Keeping your home pest-free shouldn’t be as daunting as it may seem. Although there are various considerations and processes you have to ponder upon, there’s no denying that keeping pests away is vital in creating a healthier home. 

Some of the best things you can do include prioritizing cleanliness in your home, covering the trash properly, repairing cracks, cleaning your yard, and checking your home regularly. Through these, keeping a pest-free home has never been easier.

Photos By: Freepik

We generally go out of our way to make sure that every spot in our homes are clean because that’s the right way to live. However, sometimes, without your knowledge, you miss a spot or even due to a small crevice or hole somewhere, you find that you’re not the only one in the house, and you start to notice that there are a few uninvited guests! House pests are annoying and can prove to be a health hazard as well, so it’s something that you can neither take lightly nor ignore. This is why we’ve created this guide to help you get rid of these critters for good.

Insect Traps

Many people love to use these kinds of traps for mostly flying insects and sometimes creepy crawlers as well, as they are probably the hardest to capture due to their size and the fact that they fly or run real fast. These bugs are not good for your plants and you certainly don’t want them in your house. This is why you should definitely consider getting a couple of insect traps if you are having a difficult time getting rid of mosquitos, flies, and many more insects. Basically, this is a strip of sticky tape that attracts the bugs, and once they’re on it, they can’t get free. 

Exterminators

If you find you have an infestation problem that you feel is something that is way out of your league, then you know it’s time to call in the professionals. If this is something that you haven’t done before, then make sure that you ask around and check out reviews to make sure that you’re hiring someone reliable. For instance, if you live in Pennsylvania and have a serious termite problem, then there are specific people that know how to deal with this problem. You need to contact a termite exterminator in your area and have them come out as soon as possible to assess the situation. They’ll be able to see how far the problem goes, where the source it, and be able to eliminate it from the source so that this is not a repeat issue. Generally, when you hire professional help, they’ll end up giving you really useful tips as to what you need to do to avoid something like this from happening again. 

Bait

Bait is another version of the insect trap, as it has the same premise. You place this gel or substance in a container, and the pest is attracted to it and gradually, they’ll all collect there. Bait gel is great for land insects such as ants and cockroaches, and you can even locate where they’re coming from and place the bait there to get rid of the main source once and for all. 

Seal Any Points of Entry

Insects don’t just materialize in thin air- there’s always a point of entry for them. So the best thing you can do as a preventative measure is have a good look at every single inch of your home and make sure that there are no holes or cracks from where they can enter. If you do find any, make sure that you seal them as soon as possible, and do it well! You also need to check your window sills and your doors. 

Cedar Oil

If you have kids or pets, then you’re probably wary about using anything that is chemical-based as it poses the risk of poisoning them. One alternative that has proven to be extremely effective is cedar oil. If you mix it with a bit of water and put it in a spray bottle, it really works wonders in keeping all kinds of insects away. 

Outdoor Maintenance

As mentioned earlier, it’s best to always look for the source. And besides pests creating nests inside your home, they obviously come from the outdoor area. It is extremely important that you keep your back and front yard well maintained to avoid having pests and critters close to your home to begin with. Always trim your shrubbery and trees, and make sure that you take all the necessary precautions to keep pests away to the best of your ability. There are plenty of natural remedies that you can use in your house and in the garden to keep them away without having to use chemicals as well. 

It takes a bit of work to make sure that your home is pest-free, but it’s also not that difficult. If you follow the tips provided here, you’ll find that you’re well on your way to a bug-proof home, and taking the necessary precautions can actually keep them away for good. Always stay clean, pay attention to any points of entry, and try to use natural remedies and other available options to get rid of and keep pests away. 

All Photos By: Morgue File

They are the most unwanted guests that homeowners can have and they usually cause big headaches and stress. Getting rid of different types of termites can be a long and exhausting process, so it is better to start as soon as you see them. They can do a lot of damage to your home after which you will have to do a big renovation or replace furniture pieces. Once they are there they tend to form a colony which makes it even more hard to control. They can live up to 25 years and this is why you must take action immediately when you notice an infestation. Here’s how you get rid of termites in your home:

Locate and Identify Them

The very first thing that you should do is to locate them. There are signs of termites that you should closely inspect in order to follow their trace. They can be hiding in wooden furniture so look for visible damages. Don’t miss places where wooden surfaces meet with soil as well. They can be hiding in tubes that run in walls. Since there are different types of termites, you can find other types in dry places. Wood pellets are another well known place where they can be.

Call a Professional Service

This is the most obvious thing that you should do. I don’t advise you to try to get rid of them on your own since you don’t have any special equipment or knowledge how to do that in the right and most effective way. Remember that this is a pretty hard job and you shouldn’t leave things just to yourselves if the termites are widespread. However, if you think that they are only found in a certain place, you can give some DIY solutions a try.

Set Termite Baits

These baits are inserted in the ground around your house and hopefully the termites will get them back to the nest. It may take 3-14 days for the whole colony to get killed.

Apply a Barrier Treatment

If you are using the barrier treatment make sure that you are following all of the prescribed directions accordingly. The barrier treatment consists of granules that are set outside your home. It kills the termites before they get inside.

Use Spray or Foam

If you have just spotted termites on a super accessible spot get the right spray or foam to eliminate them immediately. They work great for indoor termites while the previous two are more suitable for outdoor usage.

Use Boric Acid

If you are looking for something not so harmful and more natural, get boric acid or also known as Borax. It is still toxic, however not as much as the other insecticides. It is said that it works on most of the termites and that it takes 3 to 7 days for them to die. You can use it either as a powder or a borate solution. It’s great that you can use it both indoors and outdoors. It’s very cheap as well, so it fits everyone’s budget as well.

To Sum Up

Consider your own situation and saving accounts before deciding how you would like to treat the termites. If you don’t feel like waiting to see whether they are gone or your treatments have been successful, call the professional pest control service and let them deal with the termites in the most effective way.

The Dangers Of Poison.

Unfortunately, poison is one of the most common remedies used for pests These poisons are also readily available and anyone can purchase them.   That’s a haunting thought once you realize what it really does.  Rodenticides (rodent poison) can have one of  the 10 common active ingredients; Warfarin, Chlorophacinone,  Diphacinone, Bromadiolone,  Difethialone, Brodifacoum, Bromethalin, Cholecalciferol, Zinc phosphide, Strychnine. These poisons are made to kill rodents like rats, mice, squirrels etc. The rodents are becoming more and more resistant to them, meaning they don’t always die, and some only die days after ingesting in all the while being sick and in extreme pain.

Inhumane.

If only that were the biggest problem. You see, these poisons do not break down once the rat dies. That means that something else will come along and eat the rat because it’s food and get sick. (Kind of just like what the rat did). Small rodents are eaten by raccoons, reptiles and bigger and bigger mammals and so the poison can spread all the way to the top of the food chain.  By poisoning rats, you could be unhinging a substantial part of the ecosystem. If that weren’t enough, most of those ingredients we mentioned, are highly toxic to humans and can make us sick by means of ingestion (kids), inhalation, skin irritation and eye irritation. Luckily, there are some things you can do to prevent or otherwise get rid of these pests yourself.  For example, a good way to prevent any more pests from coming in your house is by ensuring that certain areas in your house are replaced or repaired. You can go the route of paying full-price, but the best way to lower costs is by investing in a home warranty. Not only can it help lower costs, but will be helpful in the long-run as you continue to live in your home. 

However, it should be noted that some infestations can be more stubborn than others, like raccoons in the attic, but before resorting to poisons, call a pest removal company. They deal with pests in a humane way and know how to handle them without being bitten or infected.

Prevention

Pests are uninvited, that much is obvious, but there are still things you can do to help prevent infestations as much as possible.  Infestation is when the pest reproduces in a space where they aren’t supposed to be, it happens when an animal is comfortable wherever it may be.  Raccoons in the attic, rats in the basement, roaches in the cupboard by the water heater. They’re all typical places each of these animals will feel comfortable.  That being said, there are different ways to ensure different pests stay out of your home and garden.

Rats and mice 

There are many Old Wives Tales about keeping rats and mice away such as mothballs, peppermint oil, ammonia, cat urine (what?) but hardly of any of these prove effective in the long run if at all. Rodents are a stubborn breed and if strong smells bugged them, they wouldn’t hang out in dumpsters now, would they? The truth is the only way to keep them out is by finding any possible entrances to your home,  like holes in the roof, walls or roof seal them shut and by keeping vulnerable doors and windows closed. That’s it. No more rodents.  But if you do find yourself in a position where they forced their way in (rats can chew through concrete) consider non-lethal traps that you can make yourself or pest removal, but never ever handle wild animals yourself.  They carry horrendous diseases that you can contract by merely inhaling their excretions. 

Raccoons

These things may tiny, but boy can they make a mess! They’ll certainly give a 2-year-old a run for their money.Random destruction like a mess around the trash cans, a destroyed garden, an empty bird feeder on the ground and blurs of grey and black running away, are all pretty reliable signs that you may have raccoons. Like any wild animal, raccoons love easy food; berries, corn, melons or other delectables growing in your garden can draw them in. Not to mention, pet food, bird feeders and unsecured trash cans.  Sometimes they simply want a warm, dark and quiet space to raise little ones. But food too, always food. The same applies, to cover any potential entrances but raccoons will live in your yard too, so you have to take away what is attracting them. They also hate loud noises, so you can scare them off with some blasting music. Something to remember, however, that before you take action to get rid of raccoons, if they have babies you should wait until the babies are stronger and can join the mother in the wild. Otherwise, they will most certainly die.  Raccoons can carry rabies and they are very protective of their young, so if you spot them, try not to go near them. Scope them out with binoculars if you can, before you can determine your next step. 

Cockroaches

Roaches are gross little bugs that tend to multiply at an alarming rate. A single female cockroach can easily produce 150 offspring (that also reproduce) in a matter of a year.  Before you know it your house is crawling with them.  Cockroaches are after food. Yup, totally surprising.  To prevent them from sticking around you should clean out your kitchen and its contents, any rooms that can have old food (because kids) and properly clean all of it. Also make sure to keep all food properly sealed in resealable containers, for example, to minimize the chances that a stray roach can find it.  Cluttered, humid and hot spaces (Attic with a roof leak maybe?) are ideal for these things to reproduce, make sure to check and recheck (because they can live 3 months without food) any places you suspect of harboring cockroaches. 

In Conclusion

Pests can be frustrating, bordering infuriating but there is always a humane way to take care of it, you only need to be determined enough to find the right solution. Maybe a better way to go about this is making sure that every opening in your house, whether it be your roof, window, a small crevice in a pipe, or even an appliance leading into your house is covered. Not only will it help prevent any pests from getting in your home, but it also decreases the chance of an animal getting hurt. If you’re afraid of how costs may affect you, it would be ideal to invest in a home warranty so you can decrease costs.