Pests are not only a nuisance and a health hazard in your home, but can also damage building structures. Exterminating a pest infestation isn’t easy and requires professional help, but you can put preventative measures in place to keep critters and bugs away from your residence. Here are some pest control practices that Glen Ellyn Pest Control recommends to all homeowners:
- Block Pests’ Entry to Your Home
Making it difficult for the pests to be able to enter into your home is the first line of defense. Inspect your windows and doors, or any other passageways in your home for gaps or loopholes for pest entry. Also, check if all your screens have some holes, and repair if you find that they are damaged. You may also want to replace weather-stripping for your windows if need be.
- Remove Stagnant Water
Stagnant water is a reproduction ground for mosquitoes, so removing stagnant water is the primary step to controlling this type of flies. Homeowners can easily miss standing water because they only concentrate on areas that they can effortlessly check and leave areas that are somehow hidden. To ensure no stagnant water in your home, regularly walk your property and check rain spouts, leaks near your AC unit and pickup toys left scattered all over the yard.
- Tidy up Your Kitchen
Ants, roaches, rodents and other pests will more likely be attracted to your home by a pile of food scraps on your floor or counter. Making sure that pests don’t find food leftovers in your kitchen by wiping your counters, sweeping your floors, putting food away right away after a meal, and taking out the trash regularly will keep pests away from your home.
- Maintain Your Yard
Vegetation overgrowth around your home is a perfect proliferation ground for different pests. So, trim your hedges, bushes, fences that are near your house. You’ll also need to rake up trash and weed around the house.
- Get Rid of Overly Ripe Fruits
Overly ripe veggies and fruits invite fruit flies into your house. Eat your fruits when moderately ripe—eliminating fruit flies is a frustrating problem you don’t want to deal with.
- Don’t Dispose of Meat Outside Too Soon
If you have to throw meat scraps into your outside trash container, then do it when certain that the trash will be collected in the next two days or so. Rotting meat can attract harmful pests to your yard really quick.
- Store Your Firewood Properly
Store your firewood away from your house—a distance of at least five feet away from your shed or house. Pile up the firewood in racks above the ground. This way, you’ll have denied the termites a free access to your home.
While there’re many measures that you can put in place to keep pests away from your home, there’re times when you just need to call in professional pest control service. Whether you’ve decided to follow a DIY route or hire pros, these tips help to take control of your yard this summer.