Pests are such pests – and there are so many different types of them! Keeping your home free of them is a necessity in order to feel comfortable and safe, as well as staying hygienic and keeping your home and food supply intact. Preventing pests from invading your home is, unfortunately, a never-ending process. You always have to work to keep them out because they’re always looking for ways to get into your warm, food-filled home. So here are some steps you can take to keep the pests away.

Keeping Your Home Pest-Free

Deal With It Before It Gets Worse

Stopping pests from entering your home is a lot more pleasant than allowing things to get out of control. But if you have been caught out and there have been critters running about the place then the best thing to do is contact professional pest control services to come and deal with them. This way, they can ensure there’s no trace left so that you won’t have to suffer living with the pests again if they just reproduce and start tormenting you once again. That said, you need to always take preventative action to try and stop them from entering in the first place.

Seal Gaps

Bugs and insects are so tiny so sealing up even the smallest of gaps is needed to keep them out. Areas around doors and windows are often places where pests can enter, so ensure they are fully sealed, through the use of caulking, to help stop them from entering. Whilst it’s important to have windows and doors open for natural circulation in a home, this is how pests can enter, but you can work around this by adding screen doors to windows and doors. Other common weak points for gaps include water pipes and vents, which you can get professionally filled, or you can use steel wool to temporarily prevent vermin like mice from entering.

Mind Your Storage

Inside your home, try to keep food sealed and put it away from ground level. Also make sure to use covered and secure bins, inside and outside the house. Outside the house, storing wood and stones (which make great habitats for insects) away from the main building is a good idea so that they’re not near your home, where they may find entry points.

Use Natural Defenses

Use Natural Defenses

Whilst chemical products may be able to help in some places, this is not always the best for your house and for your health. There are many natural methods to prevent certain types of pests from entering. Some examples include:

  • Mint plants can keep ants and many other pests away
  • Basil can keep flies away from food
  • Garlic can keep certain types of beetles away
  • Fennel can keep snails out of your garden
  • Lemongrass may keep mosquitoes away
  • Chrysanthemums can keep many pests away, including cockroaches and tics
  • Venus fly traps can kill the odd fly that may get into the house

You can grow these in your garden, and keep them in pots in your home on window sills too.

Clean Your Home

Food and water are a couple of the main reasons why pests enter the house. Even small crumbs on the floor can encourage vermin to stick around, so be sure to clean and tidy often. Whilst pests may still find a way inside, they are less likely to stick around if food is well-sealed and hidden. Leaving dirty dishes in the sink or around the house will only encourage them to take up residence. Cover any water source containers as well.

keep your home clean

Tidy Your Garden

Another thing to do is trim your trees and hedges (which are used as habitats by pests) so that they do not provide a ‘bridge’ for pests to enter the home. Also, keep your lawn short and if you choose to compost, make sure it is a good distance from your home because bugs love these areas too. Rainwater can collect in things like buckets and children’s toys, which bugs like mosquitoes love – so keep these under shelter or empty them out often.

 

Overall, there are many different measures you can take to help keep your home pest free. A lot of these are easy to do and will just require equipment you most likely already have, so there are no excuses to not start straight away! You can combine the above methods with more vigorous methods, such as calling in a pest control expert or even buying a cat, to keep the pests at bay!