Cockroaches, centipedes, and other bugs often inhabit walls and crawl spaces. They can contaminate food and spread disease, especially cockroaches, which multiply rapidly.
Eliminating conditions both inside and outside your home that attract bugs will help you to avoid pest infestations. These include crumbs, open food containers, and moist environments like leaking pipes or puddles of water around the house.
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Seal Up Cracks and Holes
Due to their microscopic size, bugs can enter homes through cracks, gaps, and crevices that are nearly invisible to the human eye. Plugging these entrance points is a great Do It Yourself pest control measure, especially on the outside of your house, where insects tend to hide during daylight hours.
Many of these openings are caused by holes that have been drilled through the home for various utilities over the years, such as phone, cable, plumbing, and HVAC lines. Adding some expanding foam, such as Solutions Sealator Pro Black Foam, can fill in these spaces and keep out insects, spiders, and other unwanted guests.
These gaps can also be caused by tree limbs that touch the house, rocks or wood mulch that are too close to the structure, or by open vents and chimneys. Adding caulking around the edges of these openings can help to make sure bugs don’t find their way inside your home.
Doors and windows can also serve as hidden entry points for bugs, particularly if they don’t have tight seals. Examine the seals on the bottom of your doors to see if they need some extra weather stripping, and repair or replace window screens that are torn or worn.
Keeping your house clean can also go a long way toward stopping bug infiltrations, especially in fall and winter when food is scarcer for these creatures. Minimizing crumbs on the floor and in the corners of cabinets can help, as can ensuring that your trash bins have lids to keep out the smelly contents of decaying food.
Bugs aren’t just looking for food; they’re also searching for water and a place to lay their eggs, so they’ll be attracted to any damp areas of your house. Check and resolve any leaky faucets or drains, and be sure to run a dehumidifier in places like the basement and attic.
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Keep Your Home Clean
Keeping your home clean and organized is one of the best ways to prevent pest invasions. Messy houses look like red carpets to insects looking for food or a warm place to live. Cockroaches, for example, can find shelter and food in the crumbs of dropped bread, in the dust of dirty books, or in piles of newspaper. They can also hide in trash cans that don’t have tight lids.
Make a schedule for weekly cleaning tasks and stick to it. Wash dishes as soon as they’re done, don’t leave food out on counters or tables, and keep trash cans tightly sealed. Make sure to vacuum or mop floors regularly and wipe down high-touch surfaces, including kitchen cabinets, door handles, and countertops. Don’t forget to regularly clean your windows, too. And if your bedroom opens out to the yard, trim back bushes and shrubs that touch the house to keep bugs from jumping inside.
A wet environment can be just as inviting to pests as a dry one, so be sure to fix any damp spots in your home. Leaking pipes are a common bug attractant, as are wet basements and crawl spaces. Make sure gutters are properly working, and water drains away from the house. Consider installing a dehumidifier in your home to prevent excess moisture and prevent wood damage from termites and rot.
Many bugs, such as carpenter ants and cockroaches, can enter your walls through cracks around window frames, vents, or the siding. Have a professional seal these areas before winter sets in. Also, be sure to repair any leaks and have a professional install a chimney cap on your roof. This can help deter cockroaches and other pests that may seek shelter and food in your walls during the cold months. In addition, regular decluttering and putting away items that you’re not using can reduce the number of things bugs can use to hide or move into your home. This will also help reduce the odors that can attract pests.
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Avoid Leaking Pipes
A leaking pipe can become a major bug attractant, especially if it’s in a warm, dark place like your attic or basement. You should get a professional to fix any such problems as soon as they occur.
You can also make your home less appealing to bugs by keeping it clean. This includes sweeping up food crumbs, making sure the garbage is always securely sealed, and avoiding stacks of old papers, magazines, or boxes (these can harbor cockroaches and other pests). Don’t forget to regularly empty trash cans, vacuum, and wash dishes. You can use a non-toxic insect repellent such as peppermint oil around the house to keep insects and other pests away from your food, water, and living spaces.
If you have a wooded yard, make sure that firewood is kept at least 20 feet away from your house to help prevent termites, ants, and other pests from finding shelter in and around it. Similarly, ensure that your gutters are clear so that water drains properly and does not pool on the roof or in low-lying areas near your home. This will reduce the moisture that can cause rot or attract bugs, such as mosquitoes and carpenter ants.
In addition, you can encourage natural predators such as birds and bats by attracting them to your property with feeders and birdhouses. You can also plant trees, shrubs, and flowers that will attract these prey species to keep their numbers under control.
Given the microscopic size of many bugs, it can be hard to see any cracks or crevices that they might fit into. But a good rule of thumb is that if you can stick your finger into the gap, so can an insect. Inspect the exterior of your home for potential entry points and caulk or reseal them with mortar, caulk, or urethane expandable foam. Don’t forget to inspect and repair any gaps or tears in your screens (20-mesh or finer is best) as well. Remember that periodic beetle pest control can also be beneficial, particularly if you’ve had a problem in the past or suspect one is on its way.
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Keep Your Home Dry
Many beetles are attracted to moisture and can easily be driven into homes by the right conditions. Keeping the indoor environment warm, dark, and dry can help prevent beetles from making themselves at home there. This includes sealing up entry points to a structure, such as doors, windows, soffits, and fascia boards. It’s best to take this preventative measure before beetles search for overwintering sites in late spring or summer.
In addition to avoiding moist areas of the house, it’s a good idea to inspect foodstuffs, fabrics, and wooden items before bringing them inside. Be sure to replace and discard infested foodstuffs, fabrics, and wooden items. This is especially important in the case of wood-boring beetles, which can destroy elm trees on your property or invade homes by hitching rides on firewood stacks.
Beetles are opportunistic and will enter any space where food, water, or shelter is available. Although they aren’t known to carry diseases and are unlikely to bite, they damage plants, infest furniture, and contaminate foods. They are also destructive to gardens and outdoor landscapes and can eat through fabric, clothing, and other textiles.
To control beetles and other household pests, remove their food sources by storing food in the fridge or in airtight containers and cleaning up spills and crumbs as soon as they occur. Trim bushes, keep tree branches away from your home, and empty pet food bowls frequently.
If you suspect that your home is becoming a breeding ground for beetles and other pests, contact a professional. Your PMP can conduct a thorough inspection and recommend the right control measures to keep pests out of your home.
Some species of beetles can be controlled with natural methods, such as spraying a mix of 10-15 drops of peppermint oil into 8 ounces of water around your doorways and vents. Likewise, neem oil can be used as a natural beetle repellent. Your PMP can provide more information about this and other natural ways to keep beetles out of your living spaces. Be sure to follow these tips in combination with a regularly scheduled pest prevention treatment plan from your local PMP.
