July 17, 2013
Getting Rid of and Preventing Household Pests
It’s summer, and for most homes that means the arrival of a few house guests, and not the family kind. No, summer means visits from a variety of insects that can quickly take over your home, making your living space an uncomfortable place to be.
Invasions of the bug kind can happen to anyone. These tiny insects crawl into homes through open doors, windows, crack, and can even catch a ride on shoes and clothing. Getting rid of and preventing these unwanted guests isn’t always easy, but there are few ways you can make sure they don’t feel welcome in your home. Let’s take a look.
What You Shouldn’t Do
Before we discuss the steps you can take to prevent and get rid of annoying pests, we need to first discuss a few mistakes you should avoid.
- Don’t Assume There’s Only One – Thinking that there’s only one ant crawling around on your kitchen countertop is wishful thinking. In all honesty, many of the insects don’t travel alone and most reproduce quickly once they’ve set up shop. Even if you only see one, assume you have a larger problem on your hands.
- Don’t Spray – When many individuals see a bug in their home, they often go out and purchase harsh insect sprays to get rid of them. These chemicals can not only be hazardous to your health and the health of a pet, but can also create stains that are hard to get rid of.
- Don’t Vacuum Them – At first, vacuuming up all the bugs might seem like a logical solution. It’s not. Most bugs can survive the vacuum process, so when you put the vacuum back in the closet, they are free to climb out of the bag or container and re-invade the home. If you need to vacuum and know you have pests, empty the vacuum into the trash immediately after you are finished and take the trash outside.
What to Do to Prevent and Get Rid of Bugs
If you notice your home is being invaded, here are a few ways to deal with it without resorting to chemicals.
- Hire Greenapple House Cleaning – Bugs are often attracted to food and food particles, so make sure to put food away as quickly as possible after using it and have Greenapple House Cleaning come in to thoroughly clean the home often. Our home cleaning service will ensure the home is less attractive to bugs and help prevent many of them from entering the house by cleaning up food residue, crumbs, and making sure entryways are clean.
- Ants – Vinegar is a fantastic natural remedy for household ants. Spray any baseboards, cracks, and countertops where you’ve noticed ants travel. The vinegar will eliminate the chemical trail ants use to tell the rest of the colony where to go. Strong smelling substances, like peppermint essential oil and cinnamon can also be placed in popular locations to deter ants.
- Fleas – can be truly annoying pests to have in a home; they can infest your carpet, pets, and even bite you. Getting rid of them isn’t easy, but can be done. One of the best solutions is Diatomacious Earth, a type of rock that when crumbled can be spread over carpet to kill fleas. The rock is safe for humans and animals, but will leave cuts all over a flea’s body, causing them to dehydrate quickly and die. Another solution is leaving bowls of water, mixed with one tablespoon of dish soap, near a light source, such as a nightlight or television, at night. The fleas are attracted to light and will jump toward the light only to land in water and die.
Have pests taking over your home? Avoid the most common mistakes, hire Greenapple House Cleaning for all your home cleaning needs, and use natural remedies to keep your home and family safe.
