The sight of a cockroach scuttling across your kitchen floor, or the sound of a fruit fly buzzing around your fruit bowl is enough to make anyone cringe. Even if you keep your home clean and tidy, it’s almost impossible to completely eradicate pests. These tiny creatures will always find ways to get into our houses, whether through broken windows, rotten floors or holes in walls. If you have pets such as cats or dogs, there’s also a chance that they could bring fleas or ticks into the house from outside. Thankfully, there are plenty of simple precautions you can take to prevent pest infestations and keep your home safe from creepy crawlies.
Change Your Doors and Windows
The most obvious place to start with keeping pests out of your home is with the doors and windows. Doors should close properly and have tight-fitting, undamaged window frames. If you suspect that your windows or doors are letting pests in, have them repaired or replaced as soon as possible. Pests can easily squeeze through the tiniest of gaps, so check all window and door frames for signs of damage like gaps or holes. Pay particular attention to the frames of doors leading out to the garden, like the patio doors. If your home is close to woodland or fields, pests like mice and rats will likely be able to squeeze through tiny gaps, so make sure you check the frames of doors leading out of your kitchen and other rooms regularly. If you have outside cats or dogs, you’ll need to check the frames of doors leading outside as well.
Clean Your Kitchen and Bathroom Regularly
Keeping your kitchen and bathroom as clean and tidy as possible is essential if you want to avoid pests. It’s important to pay extra attention to these rooms, as they’re likely to contain lots of food and water. Fruit flies, for example, are often found around fruit bowls. You can get rid of these pests naturally by keeping your fruit bowls in the fridge. Make sure you thoroughly clean your kitchen and bathroom regularly, especially around the sink and the stove. If you have a dishwasher, use it regularly to save yourself from cleaning and drying dishes. Using a garbage disposal regularly will keep your garbage from building up and attracting pests.
Don’t Forget to Vacuum
Most pests like mice and cockroaches can’t be deterred by any single measure. Instead, you’ll need to employ a combination of different methods to keep your home pest-free. One of the simplest and easiest ways to keep pests away is by vacuuming your home regularly. You can find vacuum cleaners at every price point and you don’t need an expensive model to be effective. Regular vacuuming will catch lots of pests that might otherwise stay in your home and multiply. If you have pets, you’ll need to vacuum more frequently to catch fleas and ticks. Pets are often the source of pests in the home and vacuuming regularly can help keep your home pest-free.
Install Gap-filling Vent Covers
Although it’s important to keep pests out of your home, you should also make sure that they can’t get into your attic or basement. Pests like mice and rats can climb up the walls of your home and find their way into the attic or basement through small gaps like vents. You may have noticed that your attic or basement has a few small gaps in the walls between rooms. If this is the case, you’ll need to install gap-filling vent covers to make sure that pests can’t get in. You can buy pre-made vent covers or make your own. Just make sure to seal the gaps tightly so that pests can’t squeeze through.
Use Natural Repels
Certain natural repellents can be very effective in keeping pests away from your home. Keep in mind that these won’t work instantly and you may need to reapply them every few days. You can purchase products that contain natural repels designed for keeping pests away. Cedar wood chips, for example, are a natural repellent that can help keep pests like mice and rats away from your home. If you have a garden, you may want to plant cedar or juniper trees around the edge of the garden to keep pests from getting into your house from the garden. Lavender can be beneficial for keeping rodents away, while mint can be effective against flies. You can also plant mint around your home to keep pests away.
Conclusion
There are many ways to keep pests out of your home. Some of these methods, such as changing the doors and windows or installing gap-filling vent covers, are long-term solutions. Other methods, such as the use of natural repellents, can be used in the short term until you can get a professional to come and make repairs or install new features. Pests can be a problem for anyone, but they don’t have to be a source of stress. Follow these tips to keep your home free from pests.
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