If you have been a homeowner for years or just a few weeks, there is a good chance that you have come face to face with a pest of one kind or another. Knowing what to do when this occurs will help you. Continue reading to learn what to do if you find your home has been invaded by pests.
You can keep ants away from the inside of your home using a mixture of sugar and borax. Start by mixing one cup of sugar and one cup of borax into a quart jar. Then, punch some holes in that jar's lid. Sprinkle it near the baseboards inside your house and around the outside. The ants will eat the sugar and the borax will poison them.
You should always fix any leaks in the plumbing of your house. You will also want to look for any other sources of water lying around. A place people often look is under their houseplants. Bugs tend to go places in which they can find water so they can drink and breed.
Are you able to see through the bottom of your home's doors? If so, this means pests have an easy way to enter your home. In order to eliminate this issue, you need to fix the height of the door. You could also just add a weather strip seal to your doors.
Once a flea population has been established, they can be very difficult to eliminate. It is essential to eliminate all the fleas and their eggs from any animals who live in the home, and also kill any eggs, larvae and fleas from bedding and carpets. Keep in mind that it is vital to break their cycle of life, so do not hesitate to repeat the process multiple times.
If you have problems with moles in your yard, set up a trap. You will know a mole is present by the raised portion of your yard that's been tunneled under. Use a shovel to collapse a section of the tunnel (approx. 4"). Set up a mole trap over the collapsed portion and wait for the mole to tunnel through and try to fix the collapse.
Electronic pest repellents can be very effective. These are placed in your home and buzz to scare rodents away. While humans can hear them, they don't harm them. Rodents dislike this sound and will leave.
Be careful of using poison if you own a dog, cat or other pet. Your dog or cat can come in contact with the poison because of this. You don't want to have these types of traps when children are around either. Kids may think the pellet is candy.
If you are being bothered with mice and rats, it is time to set traps. Most rodents are attracted to peanut butter. Take a small bit of peanut butter and roll it into a tiny ball and place it on a mouse trap to tantalize rodents with the scent.
One of the biggest sources of pests entering your home is the type of mulch you use on the outside garden beds. If you are using wood chips, termites are attracted to this and will get inside your home from it being in close proximity. Use rocks and stone in your garden instead to eliminate this problem.
In order to keep pests away from your edible items, make sure that you store them properly. Use airtight plastic or glass containers to keep your food away from pests. Don't use paper or cardboard bags because pests can easily claw or chew through them.
Try to reduce the amount of cardboard boxes that are lying around your house. Pests love to hide in and around these cardboard boxes, and will multiple if you leave them there for a long period of time. Take this precaution if you want to save a lot of time and money.
If you live in an apartment and can't seem to get your pest problem under control, talk to the building manager. It may be that someone living next to you is the cause of the problem. If that is the case, you will continue seeing pests no matter what you do. Alert the owners or management so that they can perform a full inspection.
Read the labels and directions of any pest-control products you use thoroughly. More is not always better. Misapplication or overuse of certain products can be dangerous to the occupants of your home. In some cases, it is even illegal and can result in fines or jail time behind bars.
Although you should try to prevent using pesticides to get rid of pests when you can, if it is necessary to use one, then make sure you select the right one. Read the label of a pesticide so that you can be aware of exactly where you can use the pesticide. You don't want to use it in the wrong place where you can put others in harm. If you are searching for a pesticide to eliminate a certain pest, make sure you actually see the pest on the label before using it.
Baby powder is something that you can use to get rid of pests in your home. Simply sprinkle a little baby powder over any infested areas that you may have and you should get rid of them in no time. This is a very accessible and cheap way to solve your problem.
Try to learn what you can about the pest that is invading your home. The more that you know about its habits and ideal diet the more that you can do to keep them out of your home. For example, cockroaches love paper, so you would not want to have newspaper stored anywhere in your home.
You now have information that you can use for the rest of your life. There will always be a chance of pests in your home, but now that you know how to get rid of them, things are going to be better. Write them down or print them out so you have them on hand for the next time you find a pest in your home.
