
After you have a pest infestation, it can be tough to eliminate it. This process can take up a lot of your time and hard-earned money. Use the following advice to prevent pests from taking over your life.
Plug holes that mice or other pests can enter with steel wool. Steel wool is too tough for any pest to chew through, even rats and mice. Any opening larger than a half inch should be stuffed. These pests are able to get through the tiniest of openings.
Vacuuming rugs helps eliminate the pests inside a home. By doing this, you will pick up existing bugs, ants and fleas around the house. Make sure to throw the bag away when complete.
Always start at the beginning. If pests are an issue for you, find out what is causing them. Pests probably like to come into your home because they have shelter, food and plenty of water. Try to fill cracks, clean food sources and block entry to your house.
Those who are contending with flying bugs must make repairs to all window screens. Screens are effective at keeping out both flying and crawling pests. Fix or replace any holes or tears in your screens to seal off pests.
Are you dealing with ants? Mix borax and sugar to eliminate them. The sugar lures the ants in with its sweet smell, while the borax kills them dead. Mix equal parts sugar and borax in a small, lidded jar. Punch some holes in the top to make a sprinkler and distribute the mixture around the foundation outside and the baseboards inside.
Check your home for hidden standing water. Many pests, including mosquitoes, are attracted to stagnant water. Make sure to check your entire home for leaky pipes and make sure to clean the water trays under the house plants. If you make water sources scarce, chances are good that they will find a new place to call home.
Having exterior lights on your home can be great for entertaining or for preventing burglars from breaking in, but they can also attract pests. Bugs and pests do not particularly care for the colors orange, pink and yellow, so using these colored bulbs can help deter certain pests.
People that are having problems with pests like bugs may have solutions handy. Visit a home improvement or hardware store near you and ask for professional assistance. When you let them know which pests are bugging you, they can recommend the right kind of treatments.
Have a rodent problem? Walk around the perimeter of your home and try to locate small cracks that might be allowing pests inside. Use scouring pads to fill these cracks, or use some rodent poison in there. Mustard oil or other odor-rich repellants can often be useful.
Keep mosquitoes away by getting rid of places where they like to stay. Drain places that are harboring stagnant water. Studies have shown that mosquitoes breed in very small areas of water, such as water left in discarded food cans.
The lights that you use on the exterior of your home are attracting pests. Try keeping those lights far from the entrance of your house. Yellow and orange lights can be effective for thwarting bugs.
Clearly, it’s a lot easier for pests to invade your home than for you to get rid of them. Now, you are armed with the advice you need. An out of hand problem is going to require an exterminator.