Bugs are almost impossible to avoid in your home. They can gain access to your house directly through cracks in your walls, windows, and doors or indirectly through guests. You can also easily carry a bug from a public area to your home. Common bugs that infest your home include cockroaches, houseflies, bed bugs, mosquitoes, ants, lice, moths, and fleas.
Bugs are carriers of diseases through biting as is seen with mosquitoes or by landing on your food as is with houseflies. They are also a nuisance which is why you need to invest appropriately in keeping them out of your home. Some methods you will use to keep bugs away from your home will be unique to each bug.
General methods you can use to keep bugs out of your home include:
1. Keep your house clean.
It is quite clear to many homeowners that bugs are attracted to dirt and dust. Cockroaches, for example, are attracted to leftover foods while house flies are attracted to any form of organic matter. To keep such bugs out, regularly take out your trash. Once you do that, thoroughly wash your trash bin and let it dry.
Similarly, clean dishes immediately after a meal to avoid a cockroach infestation. Wipe any spills immediately and always drain your sinks and bathtubs to avoid bugs which are attracted to pools of water, such as mosquitoes and drain flies. Have weekly cleaning of drains in your house as well.
2. Repair openings around the house.
Cracks on the walls, windows, and doors provide bugs such as ants with a passageway into your house. Regularly inspect the exterior of your home to seal any cracks you may find. Also, inspect drains for any leaking and fix them. Leaking drains can cause pools of water around your house or in your house that will attract bugs like mosquitoes.
Inspect entrances like windows and doors for any openings that can pave a way to bugs into your home. Doors usually have gaps on the bottom, top, and the sides through which bugs can pass. You can seal the gaps with door sweeps or any tight-fitting material.
3. Organize your house.
A messy house also attracts bugs. Donate any clothes in the wardrobe you are not using and throw away old magazines and newspapers that have piled up in your home. These items provide breeding grounds for bugs. Create a habit of folding your clothes immediately after laundry and arranging them neatly in the drawer.
Keep your kitchen organized by storing foods properly. Store cereals and grains in tightly sealed containers to avoid bugs like weevils from infesting the house.
4. Use homemade preparations.
Have you noticed several bugs running around your house lately? You are probably thinking of calling a pest control services provider, aren’t you? No need, you can get rid of those bugs yourself through solutions you can prepare with simple ingredients in your kitchen. Homemade solutions are effective and will cost you nothing.
The solutions you prepare will depend on the type of bugs you want to keep out. Essentials oils and vinegar solutions are, however, the most popular solutions that can keep out more than one type of bugs. For example, a diluted solution of vinegar can help keep away moths and drain flies. You can also use several essential oils, such as lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint, and thyme. A solution of lavender oil, for example, can eliminate bugs like ants, beetles, mosquitoes, moths, and fleas. You can have a solution made of several essential oils to cover more bugs.
5. Install fine mesh screenings.
Fine mesh screenings are a preventive measure for all insects except the tiniest ones. They keep out bugs by acting as a physical barrier to entry. Since they become part of your house, you will need to inspect them the same way you inspect your house exterior for any damages. Do any repairs and replacements on the screenings in case of wear and tear.