5 ways to effectively protect your home from pests

Pests are an uncommon sight, but never a pleasant one. They can invade your home without much of a warning, and they can spread disease. Once you have an infestation, you want to get rid of it as soon as possible. An even better way to protect your home would be to prevent pests from ever invading it. Here are some pest control solutions to help keep your home safe. 

Clean the kitchen thoroughly

It goes without saying that pests won’t be equally attracted to different rooms in your home. For obvious reasons, the kitchen is a prime spot for pest infestations. Not only do we store our foodstuffs there, but cooking can result in lots of splashing and stains, which then attract insects and small pests. The leftover food we throw in the trash doesn’t help, either. 

Because of this, keeping the kitchen clean is a crucial part of pest control and removal. If you deny them the food and scraps that they seek, the pests won’t be attracted to your kitchen. Be extra thorough when cleaning the stove, sink, and cook prep surfaces. The fewer food particles are present in the kitchen, the less likely it is that pests will appear.

Don’t allow stagnant water

Some pests are attracted to stagnant water more than any sort of dirt or leftover food. This applies to mosquitoes most of all. These annoying insects breed in stagnant water, and they come out in large numbers if there’s a lot of it. More mosquitoes could lead to more mosquito-borne illnesses, but the insects themselves are irritating as well.

Various places in and around your home could have stagnant water. Drain pipes, buckets, and even plant pots could have enough leftover water to attract mosquitoes. Make sure that you check as many areas of your home as possible for any stagnant water. If possible, clean out outdoor drains to make sure that a blockage hasn’t caused water to pool up. 

Dispose of garbage often

Garbage disposal is one of the most important pest-prevention steps you can take. Keeping a full garbage bag or bin for too long will inevitably cause the contents to rot. No matter what you placed inside, it will start reeking and this attracts various pests. 

Even if the garbage bag isn’t completely full, you should consider throwing it out if it spent a couple of days in your home. If you don’t fill up the bag on a daily basis, consider getting smaller garbage bags so that you can throw them out more often. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that a pest will find its way into your home.

Contact pest control

Once you notice that there’s a pest in your home, you’ll have to take measures to get rid of them. Sometimes, Borax and traps can help you out, but they might not always do the trick. Some pests are more resilient than others, and an infestation can be quite difficult to resolve. In these situations, it’s best to contact pest control.

Many Australian homes require pest control services from time to time. Pests can appear as a result of neighbouring homes having infestations, or there could be a general trend of certain pests multiplying in a region. In Queensland, an unusual number of homes have been infested by common household pests in the past few years. The good news is that it’s easy to find services for professional pest control in Cairns. The services are effective at getting rid of pests, but you must stick to proper cleaning and garbage disposal to avoid future infestations. 

Maintain the garden

Our gardens are wonderful reservoirs of nature for our yards, but they can also hold pests. If a garden is overgrown or not maintained properly, pests can make their homes there and slowly spread towards a home. 

If there are holes or pits present in the soil, make sure that they don’t accumulate water. Otherwise, you might have mosquitoes or other pests that seek water. Ponds and fountains should be cleaned regularly as well.

Allowing the garden to grow too wild can provide cover for small rodents. Trim the lawn and bushes so that they remain clean and neat. While this won’t guarantee protection, keeping things clean minimises the chances of pests hiding there. 

Conclusion

There are numerous ways to keep your home safe from common household pests. In general, you want to keep things neat and tidy so that you can clean the home more efficiently. Cleanliness is the best way to fight pests, but it does take a lot of work. With this in mind, you can’t always prevent pest infestations if the house next door has one. Having the number of a local pest control service is always handy, so don’t forget to jot a number down.

Guest Contributor: Ron Wolf