Your home is your sanctuary, and it’s something that is yours, so you should feel safe in it. Keeping your home pest-free doesn’t require expensive, stressful, chemical-heavy routines. Therefore, the most realistic approach is a combination of structural repairs, natural barriers, and simple cleaning habits.
To maintain that sanctuary environment in your home, understanding what works to keep it pest-free is crucial.
The Low-Stress Daily and Weekly Routine
The search for water and food drives pests. By making these unavailable, it’s going to eradicate the problem for the most part. Daily routine habits like removing items from original cardboard boxes and storing these in airtight storage stop pests from getting to the food.
A quick wipe down of the surfaces and sweeping the floor immediately after meals will help keep everything clean and tidy. A handheld vacuum is excellent for quickly tidying up any crumbs that would attract pests.
Any pet food shouldn’t be left overnight, and any bowls should be washed before heading to bed. Taking out the trash regularly and using bins with tight-fitting lids will help keep pests out of the high-value areas.
Seal the Fortress
If pests can’t even get into your home, then they’re not going to be able to overrun it. Spending one afternoon walking around with caulk is the best way to remove any small opening or crack that might otherwise be available to them.
Check your doors and windows, replacing any worn weather stripping and fixing any broken screens, so that this helps secure your home from pests and any human nuisance.
Sealing pipe entry points with steel wool to seal gaps where plumbing, dryer vents, and electrical lines enter the foundation is useful to do.
Installing weep hole covers with brick exteriors will help to allow drainage while blocking insect entry.
Natural and Non-Toxic Deterrents
The use of safe and simple materials to rid yourself of pests and to prevent them is helpful when you’ve got inquisitive pests and kids running around the house.
Diatamaceous Earth is a good option to dust in hidden and dry areas like wall voids, under the fridge, and in cracks. It damages the exoskeletons of bugs and causes dehydration as a result.
Peppermint spray is great for putting around window sills and doors to help repel spiders and ants. You could also use a vinegar solution of equal parts white vinegar and water to wipe counters to break pheromone trails that ants use to navigate the home.
If you already have a pest problem, then a pest control service is likely to be more effective at getting rid of the problem than anything you do at that point.
Exterior Buffer Zone
It’s important to keep an exterior buffer zone, so you’re not making it easy for the bugs to get inside the home.
Keep plants, shrubs, and mulch at least 18 inches away from your foundation to prevent easy access.
Trim any tree branches that touch your siding or roof. These act as bridges for rodents and ants. It’s worthwhile keeping any firewood stored away, at least twenty feet from the house and elevated off the ground.
Routine Inspections
Routine inspections are good to keep an eye on your home, so conduct regular inspections of high-risk areas. Check for droppings in basements and attics, as well as any damaged installation or nesting materials.
Keeping your home pest-free is easy enough and doesn’t need to come with all the stress.
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