Pests Be Gone – How to Keep Bugs Out of Your House

Do you hate having pests in your house? Have you been trying to ward them off, but to no avail?

While a lot of homeowners deal with bug and insect problems, very few actually know how to deal with these creatures. Luckily, with the right know-how, you can keep pests out of your home for good. It is important to pest proof your home, not to only have a clean house, but also to avoid diseases caused by pests.

Check out this guide to discover how to keep bugs out of your house.

Clean Up Your Kitchen

While the kitchen may be considered the heart of the home, it’s also a hotspot for bugs and insects.

Bugs are attracted to all different kinds of food, including cereal, flour, nuts, dried fruit, popcorn, crackers, baking mixes, and spices. Ants have a sweet tooth, and flour beetles go for things like flour, rice, nuts, and cereals.

To prevent bugs from making a home in your kitchen, make sure to keep your counters and floors squeaky clean. And, make sure your floors are free of crumbs.

To keep bugs out of your flour supply, we suggest keeping this ingredient in the freezer. Also, don’t forget to keep your pet food sealed tightly, as some bugs like to chomp on this.

Seal Up Cracks and Other Openings

Go around your home and take a close look at your windows, doors, and screens. If you notice any cracks, close them up with caulk or repair them.

Adding new weather stripping on your doors is another good way to keep bugs out, as well as prevent cold drafts from entering your home. Even the smallest of cracks is an open invitation to bugs, so make sure to seal them up immediately.

Clean and Sweep On the Regular

Cleaning and sweeping your home isn’t just about keeping up appearances. These housekeeping tasks are also an important step in keeping bugs out of your home.

Vacuum on a regular basis and empty trash cans regularly. Also, don’t forget to clean your bathtub drains and kitchen sink. These often-neglected areas can be a magnet for drain flies that are on the hunt for food.

To keep these pests at bay, use a drain cleaner on a regular basis. Also, avoid allowing magazines, newspapers, and boxes to pile up, as these can be a magnet for cockroaches.

Dry Damp Areas

In addition to keeping your home clean, it’s also important that you keep your home dry. Bugs aren’t just on the hunt for food, they’re also on the hunt for water.

This is why it’s very important that you dry up damp areas as soon as possible. If you have any leaky drains, faucets, or pipes, fix them immediately. Also, make sure that your washing machine, dryer, and air conditioner are working properly.

It’s also a good idea to run a dehumidifier in areas of the home that are naturally damp, such as the basement. And, don’t forget to inspect your attic to make sure that it’s dry.

Keep Your Outside Area Free of Debris

In addition to keeping the inside of your home clean and tidy, it’s also important to keep the outside of your home neat.

Compost bins, yard waste, and firewood stacks all make good hiding places for bugs. So, make sure these places are situated away from your house.

Additionally, before you bring firewood inside, make sure that it’s bug-free. If you have areas of standing water in your yard, remove the water immediately. Otherwise, you’re creating a breeding ground for mosquitos.

It’s also important to keep your landscape weed-free and debris-free. Otherwise, you risk an insect infestation. Lastly, make sure to keep your trees and plants well-pruned and away from the foundation of your home.

Get Ants Out the Natural Way

Obviously, you don’t want to be dowsing your home in Raid every day to keep ants away. Luckily, there’s a more natural way to keep ants at bay.

Ants hate the smell of vinegar, so we suggest cleaning your cabinets with this product. Not only is vinegar a great disinfectant, but ants can’t stand to be around it.

If you spot ants, you can also put your spices to use to keep them away. Ants shy away from cinnamon, black pepper, red chili powder, mint, and turmeric. If you spot an ant, put a light dusting of one of these spices in the area where the ant was spotted.

Get Rid of Cockroaches the Easy Way

Another bug that you can typically kill using a DIY method is a cockroach.

Cockroaches have a sweet tooth. So, we recommend mixing something like cocoa powder and sugar with a cockroach killer, such as Borax. The cockroach will be attracted by the sweet smell, and then the Borax will help kill them.

You can also try to get rid of termites naturally by wetting a piece of cardboard and placing it near the suspected termite colony. Once the termites start to move to this area, you can burn the cardboard.

You can also check out this blog post to learn how to spot termites.

Know When to Admit Defeat

Sometimes, no matter how diligent you are, bugs still find their way into your home. If you’ve exhausted all of your options, then it’s time to call a pest control company.

A pest control company can come to your home and take care of the bug infestation in a matter of hours. Just make sure you hire a certified pest control professional to get the job done.