The worst nightmare of a homeowner or renter is creepy crawls and things that go bump or squeak in the night. Luckily, there are known methods of preventing, avoiding, and handling home infestations that do not require spraying toxic chemicals. Here are ways to exterminate household pests.
Keep your home clean
Prevention is the best way to keep out pests. I understand you’ve got pests already. However, preventive measures will help keep the issue from worsening, and in fact, help eradicate current pests. Keeping your house extra clean and in good repair is the best way to keep unwanted bugs and rodents away. Bugs tend to be attracted to a house’s unsealed or old garbage components, leaky pipes, and food residues. Pests can also enter your home through cracks, rotted wood, overgrown plants, and firewood piles or surrounding debris. Trying to keep things neat will help to prevent pests in the first place, and a good cleaning can help make your home less comfortable for recent invaders.
Remain dry and fix all hoes
Mosquitoes and cockroaches are especially attracted to water sources, so keep the house dry whenever necessary. A full sink is literally a swimming pool for cockroaches, so drain water as soon as the dishes are finished. Wipeout pools of water that create puddles or spills. In addition, no one going to slip and get hurt.
Fix leaky pipes, sinks, appliances, and attachments to the bathroom to prevent water from dripping. Don’t forget when you said that the hole in the wall or door would be repaired? On that promise, it’s time to make good. A small hole or rip is an open invite and stroll in pests of all shapes and sizes. Patch or replace holes, especially around windows and doors, in screens and walls.
Get the caulking gun out and seal cracks and openings around baseboards, windows, and pipes — store piles of firewood and mulch far from the foundation of the house. Between the two environments, bugs and rodents can easily travel. Try keeping between the pile and the house at least 30 feet, if possible.
Diatomaceous Earth
You could roll your eyes if you’re not in organic gardening. Diatomaceous earth is a powdered substance consisting of phytoplankton fossilized remains. It is non-toxic, mammals harmless, and bugs lethal. To help prevent pests, some farmers feed it to their animals, and some people include it for various potential health benefits in their diet. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth on baseboards and in corners, and everywhere, you typically find bugs. To get rid of pests in your house, food-grade (not the kind for swimming pools). Only enough to get a proper dusting, but don’t pile up the powder, or they will just crawl over it. Working may take a couple of days, but eventually, it will kill your home’s bugs and keep future bugs at bay. In killing ants, spiders, and even bed bugs, and even in getting rid of lawn bugs, diatomaceous earth is effective.
Use vinegar spray
If it’s ants, then try a vinegar and water spray. In a spray bottle, mix about one part of the water and one part of the vinegar. Track the ants down to find their route and see where they’re coming into the house. Spray on the baseboards, doors and/or windows at their entrance. Follow the trail and spray all of it. This is going to kill the sprayed ants, and more importantly, their scent trail will be ruined. Keep an eye out for more ants and spray one hanging out wherever you see one. Wait with a cloth and start wiping when all ants are dead and repeat when you see more ants. Even if they do not return immediately, repeat for the first week a couple of times to keep them under control.
Make your own DIY trap
Cockroaches and fruit flies can be a real annoyance, and while setting traps will not completely eliminate an infestation from your home, they can help catch stragglers and keep your living areas bug-free. Cut off the top section of a plastic soda bottle to make a home-made bug trap. Invert it and tape or staple it to the opening of the bottle, making the bottle into a funnel. Pour apple cider vinegar into the bottle to trap fruit flies or gnats. This method can work well when you don’t have a vast population of flies in your home; you can take care of the problem by using this trap for a couple of days. Fill the bottom of the bottle with soapy water for cockroaches. Water attracts cockroaches, and they will crawl in and drown.