Beyond the stress that it gives, a dirty home exposes you to health risks and pests. Pests like bugs and rodents typically thrive in this chaotic environment and, in turn, wreak havoc inside the residence. To prevent this situation and prevent pests from taking over your house, keeping a spotless space will be necessary.
A busy lifestyle is no excuse to share your home with unwanted pests. The fact is that homeowners like yourself can incorporate pest-proofing into your cleaning routines to make sure your daily, weekly, or monthly cleaning hits two birds with one stone.
Here are ways to sanitise the house and keep it pest-free and, by extension, germ-free:
Make the house a little less tempting
Put the food away and people will know the party is over. For the most part, that’s how you bid unruly houseguests goodbye: make the home a little less hospitable. In a way, pests aren’t any different. Because they came for food, keeping food sealed in containers or inside the refrigerator should make the place not too welcoming to them.
And while fresh fruits are great to display on the dinner table (like they’re some form of centrepiece), bugs like fruit flies just can’t resist them. As for those pet bowls, it’d be wise to clean them up every after meals. For sure, you wouldn’t want ants taking over the clean-up job—no matter how good they are at it.
Keep every nook of the home as dry as possible
Damp or wet areas in the house are both a drinking fountain and a breeding ground for pests. Indeed, the presence of moisture can be dangerous to households for its propensity to attract pests. With that in mind, a sink filled with dirty dishes and standing water is certainly going to be a pest attraction if kept that way for long. That’s not to mention the other areas where water or humidity may be collecting, too.
Speaking of sites where water may possibly collect, take a look at the pipes beneath the sink or those in the bathroom if they’re leaky. See if the roof space or sub floor areas are damp, too. Any time there is an excess of moisture in such areas, you can be certain that cockroaches will find themselves setting up camp in or around them. In case you didn’t know, cockroaches are constantly in search of water.
Make cleanliness a top priority
Where there is a mess, there will be bugs and rodents. Needless to say, pests gravitate toward anything messy inside the house. In other words, keeping the place clean is still the best way to keep pests at bay. This is especially true in the kitchen where crumbs and minute treats often sit around and wave at any passing insects and rats.
With that in mind, try vacuuming your personal space on a regular basis (e.g. once a week). And on days when you’re on your last legs and can’t even muster enough strength to take out the trash, make sure the bin is sealed or covered. Besides the trash, get rid of clutter wherever you can. Cockroaches and silverfishes love the smell of paper and hate light so rooms with a lot of clutter (e.g. stacks of magazines, bags, and boxes) are typically where these bugs congregate and party while you’re not looking.
Know when to call over reinforcements
You may have already done your part in cleaning up the house daily but try not to forget that not every pest infestation can be solved by diligence. In some cases, what you need is vigilance.
Have you been getting itchy all over right after you get up from bed? You may be dealing with those ever-elusive bed bugs. Found a pile of frass or discarded wings in a corner? You may have a termite problem in your hands. Either way, your best bet is to bring in professional pest control so you can evaluate the extent of the infestation and be able to remedy the situation before it gets worse.
Indeed, there’s nothing wrong with admitting defeat against formidable pests. Just don’t shy away from bringing heavy artillery when the situation calls for it.
Keep your eyes peeled always
Even if pests appear to have otherworldly abilities, they don’t just materialise out of nowhere. So keep an eye out for warning signs when an invasion is taking place right in your personal space. More importantly, turn your house into a hostile environment for these pesky critters so you won’t even have to stay up and keep watch of their advance.
Beyond pest-proofing, don’t forget that your best weapon against them is sanitation. After you clean your home, make sure to truly neutralise the pest threat by removing every trace of them in your house. That means sanitising your space after every pest treatment to ensure that these disease carriers won’t wreak havoc beyond the nuisance they already bring.
If it’s professional sanitisation that you need for your home, know that we got you covered. Give us a call and we’ll make sure to make your house both pest-free and germ-free all at the same time!