For most people, they only acknowledge a pest problem only when it’s too late. By then, pests may have already done significant property damage and put people’s health at risk. Needless to say, they are a major nuisance for homes and businesses.
Unfortunately, most of us lead busy lives and may have little to no time to take care of the problem ourselves and this is why we turn to pest control experts. This doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about pest infestations, though. The truth is that you can keep unwanted critters away from your place with a combination of professional sanitisation and personal hygiene.
Identifying Common Pest Species
Any animal or insect that is harmful to us and our living conditions is considered a pest. Some can be annoying but others carry with them deadly diseases. Either way, they shouldn’t be ignored because they can have a massive impact on your quality of life the moment their population gets out of hand.
Before you can act on a pest problem, you have to determine the enemy you’re up against. A few of the most common pests that property owners deal with are the following:
- Ants
- Bed bugs
- Birds
- Cockroaches
- Flies
- Mice
- Mosquitoes
- Rats
These pests are typically found in both urban and rural locations. Identifying which one is invading the home or office can be as simple as seeing a rat scurry across the floor but, in most cases, finding them isn’t a straightforward process. If you suspect that an infestation is going on, check areas of the building that are likely to accommodate any of their three basic needs, including food storage areas, warehouses, basements, and elevated drafters. When you’re having a hard time detecting the uninvited guests, call a professional exterminator ASAP.
Natural Ways to Keep Pests at Bay
Before the pest control teams arrive, you can do a couple of things to make sure your house or commercial building would repel vermin and insects. It begins with observing personal hygiene and space organisation.
Limit the Areas Where You Eat and Store Food
Bring food all over the house and you’d deal with infestation in every corner of the building. Limit food consumption and storage in the dining area and kitchen and you’d also limit the areas where insects and rodents circulate. In other words, do whatever you can to contain the mess associated with food.
Eat in the dining area and keep the kitchen clean. Do these two and you can already make sure that vermin won’t venture all over your space. Remember, these creatures have a pretty powerful sense of smell and they’d be able to detect if some leftover pizza sits on your bedside table or bread crumbs are scattered in the living room carpet.
Take Out the Trash Regularly
Rotting food is a gold mine for bugs and rodents and they’ll zero in on these whenever you leave the trash bin open. It goes without saying that taking the trash out and keeping it from getting filled to the brim keeps pests out. Keep trash short-lived, contain its smell, and you can be sure that insects and vermin will have one less reason to stick around.
One tip to help you prevent having overflowing garbage cans inside the house is to buy smaller bins. When you’re forced to take them out constantly, you effectively keep the smell of trash from acting as a beacon for pests of all kinds.
Scrub Down the Cracks
Tiled surfaces may offer clean aesthetics but they tend to collect junk and crumbs in between tiles. Indeed, these small openings in floors and walls are among the last places that people want to clean because doing so requires some serious elbow grease.
However, these crevices and cracks are perfect environments for pests to live and reproduce. In fact, these hard-to-reach places provide the likes of ants and roaches with full-course meals! Sadly, a simple mop isn’t enough to remove those hardened dirt and food particles stuck in them.
Keep the Refrigerator Clean
To pests, refrigerators are a paradise and just having moulding or expired food stored in them will drive them to a frenzy. Leave the freezer or refrigerator door open for just a bit (within a considerable timespan) and bugs will venture inside without freezing to death.
Combine a fridge opening, spilt condiments (or milk), and pests and you’re certainly concocting a recipe for disaster! Remember, these dark, cool boxes of food are a luxury house for vermin and you certainly wouldn’t want to tempt them needlessly this way. For a home that is pest-free, keeping your refrigerator clean is a good start!
The Road to a Pest-Free Home
For a house or office to be free from unwanted guests, you need to make sure that the whole space isn’t to their liking. Besides organising drawers, cabinets, pantries, counter tops, and cupboards, you should also look into eliminating crumbs, dirt, and, ultimately, bacteria.
With that, it’s clear that cleaning and disinfecting keep all sorts of pests out of your living space or workplace. Mopping, vacuuming, and wiping surfaces down with cleaning solutions is, indeed, a good start in the battle to maintain a pest-free home or office! It doesn’t stop there, though.
To achieve a thorough sanitisation of your residential or commercial space, leave this rigorous task to professional disinfection teams like ours! This way, you leave no room for pests and viruses to disrupt your daily life!