How to Pest-Proof Your House – 7 Ways to Keep Pests Away

Many homeowners lose a lot of time and money struggling with pests. Since pests include various animals, from mice and rats to bugs and other insects, sometimes it’s impossible to eradicate all of them from your home.

That’s why prevention is a better option. Even though it’s not 100% safe, keeping pests away from your home in the first place will save you from wasting assets on this fight.

Over the next few paragraphs, we’ll show you several ways in which you can pest-proof your home

1. Seal the holes in the walls

Sounds simple, right? Well, not necessarily. There are many holes and cracks in the walls, in the roof, and in the flooring that you’re probably unaware of.

For that reason, inspect all those areas in your home to check if there are any potential passages for pests. Check behind your furniture and under the carpet or rug. Rearrange the dishes in kitchen cabinets and see if there are any cracks or holes.

Make sure to keep the attic and other storage areas well-organized. Pests like disorder and clutter because they can easily hide in those surroundings. In line with that, avoid clutter or at least start decluttering your home at once if you haven’t been keeping things in order.

Also, if you see any tracks of insects, such as dead pests, focus on the area where you found them to seal the potential cracks and holes.

2. Store the pest-alluring food

Pests are strongly attracted to smells. This is why the kitchen is one of their favorite home areas. It’s vital to properly store and keep your food if you don’t want swarms of bugs and mice looting your home.

So, store your food in line with these tips:

• Put the leftovers into the fridge. Everybody sometimes leaves their lunch or dinner leftovers on the counter. This is like an alarm sound for ants and other bugs. So, always put the food you haven’t eaten into the fridge.
• Buy enough jars and boxes. You shouldn’t leave flour, rice, sugar, and other similar groceries in bags, especially if you’ve already opened them. Buy metal and plastic boxes or jars instead to properly store them. The same goes for juices and other sweet drinks. That way, you won’t allure pests with those smells.
• Mind the garbage. Buy a trash can with a lid and a foot pedal instead of using an open can or bag. Use pest-repelling plastic trash bags to add to overall anti-pest protection.

3. Clean your home every day

The cleaner your home is, the less likely it is to get populated with pests.

So, try to clean it every day, if possible, or at least every two days.

By this, we don’t mean detailed cleaning that would take hours of your time.

What we have in mind are the following chores:

• Vacuuming – if you keep the flooring and carpets/rugs clean, you reduce the chance of finding mites, lice, and other insects in your home.
• Wiping sensitive areas – regularly wipe and clean coffee tables, kitchen countertops, and areas around the fridge and the oven. If pieces of food and various cooking juices aren’t removed, pests will smell them and find their way inside.
• Cleaning door and window screens – clean screens mean that fewer insects and pests will get a chance to enter your home.

4. Install pest repellants

If you’ve already noticed pests inside or around your home, it’s time to react at once.

In other words, it’s time to use various pest repellants.

• Mint will repel spiders.
• Cornmeal will eradicate ants because they can’t digest it.
• Lavender will successfully fight dust mites and moths.
• Ground coffee will repel insects from entering your home in the first place. Place it wherever you think they might be getting into your place.
• Apple vinegar attracts fruit flies so use it if you haven’t removed rotten fruit from your kitchen.

All the repellants above are ecological and efficient anti-pest fighters that will help you remove any existing pests from it and prevent others from coming in.

5. Evict, don’t stamp

We often react out of fear or anger when we see ants, spiders, and other bugs in our home. The most natural reaction is to thrash them with a hand or stomp on them with our feet.

However, that’s the worst thing you can do. When you stomp on a bug, eggs can spread around your home, which means you’ll soon have a new generation of other insects in your home. It’s even worse to kill a rodent that way.

What you should do instead is try to throw those animals outside without hurting them. That would be a more logical move from a biological and human point of view.

If you need to use mouse traps, go with the ones that don’t kill mice, if possible. Once they get caught, you can simply evict them from your home.

6. Keep your pets clean

Pets can be practical allies in keeping a pest-free home. For instance, cats will easily get rid of mice. Dogs will warn you if there are any other rodents or larger pests in your home, as well. They can smell bed bugs and some other insects and let you know that you need to deal with them.

If there are any bugs in your home, they’ll soon inhabit your pets’ hair and skin. Because of that, make sure to have your pets regularly cleaned. By doing so, you’ll kill one fly with two stones: the pets will be safe from pest-induced infections, and pests will be removed from your home and your pets.

With pets in your home, the eco-friendly repellants suggested above become an even more obvious choice. Additional two cents: if you get pets, always keep the pet food closed to prevent pests from getting into it.

7. Invite the pros

While you can keep most pests from your home by applying the tips from above, there are always exceptions. If larger rodents make a hidden nest somewhere in your home, they can hatch very fast and turn into a real nightmare. In that case, mouse traps and repellents won’t help you. If you notice those animals around your home, call rodent control professionals to inspect the area.

Likewise, if you notice a nest of wasps or hornets on your house or the trees in the garden, you shouldn’t remove them alone. This especially refers to hornets, which can pose a serious threat to your health if you suffer multiple stings.

Conclusion

It’s easier to handle a pest-free place than to deal with pests when they already get into the home. So, follow all the tips above, from keeping your house in order, to using traps, to applying natural repellants. And if prevention doesn’t work, work with pest control pros and have pests removed from your home.

About The Author: Luqman has been a pest control technician for over 20 years. He is passionate about solving people’s pest and wildlife control problems through innovative, eco-friendly, and humane methods. Luqman currently works for Pestend Pest Control Barrie. He believes that pest control is a science and feels that his function in his community is very important since he helps people live in peace without causing unnecessary harm to animals.

Photo by Timothy L Brock on Unsplash