Having pests in your house is annoying and destructive. Annoying because they can crawl out at any time, even when you have visitors, and destructive because they can consume anything in their path.
You can do pest control yourself by for small or isolated pest infestations by doing any or all of the following:
- Using pest control sprays or traps
- Fixing holes and openings
- Keeping your environment clean
- Disposing of garbage regularly
These are a few of the basics, but we have a few more tips for you below that will help you eliminate your pest problem as well as mitigate the initial cause.
Let us expand on and discuss these easy DIY pest control methods, showing you how they can help keep your home free of insects.
1. Using Common Sprays & Traps
You can use pesticides, such as a bug spray or traps to control the number of pests in your home. For mice and rats, I recommend using a trap rather than poison. Poisons are not always effective. If it does work, the rap or mouse can crawl into a wall or hard to get to a place and you’ll smell it rotting for weeks.
2. Fixing Holes and Openings
There may be openings in the walls, windows, doors, and other areas around the house. Do a thorough inspection of the property to find holes so that you can fix them. Check the basement, roof, base walls, and other likely places for pests to crawl through.
This may be a tedious task, but it helps keep the pests out of the house while repairing your property. If you are not skilled enough to perform the repairs yourself, you may need to hire a contractor for a more professional job.
3. Keeping Your Environment Clean
Keeping your home and environment clean is key in DIY pest control. Even if you use a pest control company, you will also get the advice to keep your surroundings clean. There are several ways to do this: clean the rooms and the yard, and keep the environment as arranged as possible.
Do a weekly cleaning of every part of the house. This is especially true if you have to deal with a lot of pests around you. Cleaning your home does not have to be a job you do yourself; you can always hire a cleaning company. But if you are trying to get rid of pests, it may help to get involved in the cleaning because you may be more detailed.
4. Disposing of Garbage Regularly
To get rid of pests, remove garbage from your home every night. You must do it before every pest control service, whether it is DIY pest control or you use a pest control company. A lot of garbage in or around the house can attract rats, roaches, and even bed bugs if left unchecked.
Check the area for spoiled food, especially inside the refrigerator. It does not matter whether or not the food is cold; the rotten smell can still attract unwanted visitors. While at it, thoroughly clean the refrigerator and remove all rotten or expired foods. Throw them out of the house the same day; do not store them in the garbage until later to avoid a pest problem.
5. Storing Pet Food Properly
Leaving pest food just lying around in an opened bag is not the best plan for pest prevention. Mice also like bird seed and dog food. You are best transferring the pest food into sealable plastic containers. This will stop rodents from being able to smell and get to the food source.
6. Keeping Outdoor Items Where They Belong
DIY pest control works best if you put items in their proper places. If you are outdoorsy, it is crucial to leave equipment and gear outside. And if you typically go into the woods or grassy areas, you may attract bugs. A bug spray may work for some time, but you need a more permanent way to ensure the bugs stay out of your house.
In the same vein, discard things you no longer need or use. Storing old items creates an excellent breeding place or nesting ground for pests. If that continues, using pest control may stop working.
DIY vs Pro pest control
You might be tossing up between DIY and using a pro for pest control on your property. Both can work, but obviously using a pro has a much greater success rate. Let’s look at a few pros and cons.
Advantages of Using a Pro Service
1. Better success rate
Have a much higher success rate in killing pests and keeping them away. A professional service has the training to identify all types of pests. Knowing the right pesticide to use to eliminate an infestation is crucial. It is one thing to use a bug spray on a few bugs, but totally different if you have many pests to deal with, hence the professionals.
So, such a service inspects your home, identifies the prevalent pests, and uses the right products. You are more likely to get rid of the pests permanently if you use the services of a professional exterminator than not.
2. Safer use of toxins
Using a professional is going to be safer as you will not be in contact with any chemicals or toxins. It is always going to be safer as professional pest control services know what precautions to take.
3. Can help mitigate the pests return
Prevention measures help keep the pests away in the future. In a lot of cases, you might not even be aware something you are doing is attracting the pests in the first place.
Pro services come with a wealth of knowledge that can help you get a better and lasting results.
4. Getting Customized Treatments
Each treatment method may not be the same because different pests respond to pesticides in various ways. That is the place of identifying the bugs in a house before recommending a treatment method. Professional service does not use a one-size-fits-all treatment; it typically tailors the treatment to fit the occasion.
For example, a bed bug infestation will get a different approach from a cockroach infestation. The same is true if the house has ants or rodents. Always follow instructions from the professional for better ad extended results.
Disadvantages of Using a Pro Service
1. More expensive
Obviously, the big one is it will cost you more initially. A lot of the time this can work out better as one visit from a pro can be cheaper than going to the store every month for the next best trap or spray.
2. Can't choose your products or methods
A lot of us want the pests to move on and not necessarily die. Using a more holistic approach is not something pest control services are known for.
The same can be said for products used. More and more customers are looking for natural solutions, but this is not generally something exterminators consider when selecting their weapon (chemical) of choice.
