There’s nothing worse than rolling out the BBQ, putting some drinks on ice, preparing a succulent meal and sitting down to a plate full of food and flies whilst shooing away other bugs and mosquitoes. It’s even worse when you get home from a long day at work, only to sit on your couch to relax and have bugs and insects flying around your lounge room.
If your home has started to be overrun with pests and insects and you want to get rid of them, here are some great tips on how to keep bugs out of your house. Keep in mind that these are hints and tips – for the greatest results the best option is to call in a professional pest control company like us and we can deal with your bug problems quick-smart!
OK, onto the tips on how to keep bugs out of your house...
Food glorious food
Like all other creatures on earth, insects and bugs need food. If you’re getting bugs like fruit flies, house flies, cockroaches, etc in your home, it’s likely they’re being attracted to a food source in your home. The easiest way to make sure that icky creepy crawlies don’t come into your home in the first place is to remove all their food sources. Here’s a list of what the most common pests are when they’re holidaying in your home.
Fruit Flies
Fruit flies will be attracted to the following food sources:-
- Fruit (obviously)
- Decomposed plant materials (dead houseplants, etc)
- Leaves
- Organic material in drains (sinks and tubs, etc)
House Flies
House flies will be attracted to the following food sources:-
- Rotting meat
- Plant nectar
- Rotting food
- Sweet things
- Liquids
Cockroaches
Cockroaches will be attracted to the following food sources:-
- Pretty much anything (no, really they’re not that picky)
- Sweets
- Starches
- Sugary foods
- Greasy foods
- Anything we eat, they will eat… except kale, no one likes kale :-)
Gaps and cracks are a bug’s best friend
This may be oversimplifying things, but any gaps or cracks that lead into your home should be sealed up as this is where bugs will be getting in. Not only are the gaps and cracks in your home letting bugs in, in the colder winter months, they’re also letting the heat out!
If you’re looking for gaps and cracks that lead into your home, here’s a list of places you might want to look first:-
- Window and door frames
- Under sinks (particularly if there’s holes for dishwasher pipes, etc)
- Shower trays
- Grout in baths and showers
- Walls, internal and external
- Check the bottom rails on your doors to make sure there are no gaps or openings
- Screens (make sure there are no holes or gaps in them)
Check your drainage
If your drainage is clogged or blocked in any way, it’s likely that leaf matter, debris, dirt and a whole manner of other items will be stuck in your drains. This can be a haven for bugs, particularly mosquitos.
To treat them mean, keep things clean
If you really want to annoy bugs the easiest thing to do is make sure your home is neat and tidy. Cleaning up food scraps and removing their food sources wherever possible means they won’t have any reason to hang around in your home for long.
Vacuuming at least once a week, wiping down all benchtops after preparing food, sealing and covering any leftovers and not letting open waste containers with food in them sit for long periods of time (check your teenagers’ rooms – these are a haven for leftover food lying around).
Keep leaks and water pooling to a minimum
Bugs need water and some insects like cockroaches are attracted to moist areas in your home so if you’ve got a leak in your roof or the shower is leaking behind the wall, this is like a beacon for insects looking for water.
It’s worth checking under your sinks, make sure your taps aren’t leaking and have your showers and baths re-siliconed if your old silicon is a little worse for wear.
Plants can be a great natural repellent
Before the days of professional pest control companies and modern building techniques and materials, our historic forefathers used many different types of herbs and plants to keep pesky insects at bay.
Granted they don’t work nearly as effectively as modern pesticides, but if you’re looking for a more natural way to remove insects from your home, try growing some of these plants in and around your home:-
- Basil
- Lavender
- Rosemary
- Lemon Balm
- Sage
- Marigold
- Venus Fly Traps
- Other carnivorous plants
If you’ve tried all the tips above and are still getting bugs in and around your home, it might be time to call in a heavy hitter and contact us to conduct a pest treatment in your home.
Call us today on 1300 057 067 if you would like to talk with us about pest control treatments for your home.