Pests can be awful for every home owner. Pests are annoying too, because they start creating colonies as soon as they appear in your home, and at this point, it becomes very difficult to get rid of them. We usually realize there are pests in our homes when it’s too late, and in most times we need to call pest control specialists. The simple trick to this is that it is much more convenient to keep these insects and other unwanted animals out of your house rather than trying to get rid of them when they are already in.
Pests do not just magically appear in our homes. They appear when we make some common mistakes and these “mistakes” are what attracts them to our homes.
Let’s review these mistakes and learn how we can keep pests away.
Old Trash
Menacing insects such as Cockroaches, Ants or Black beetle are said to be the most common pest all over the world. They are attracted to any place where they can find some food. They can smell the odor emanating from old trash from kilometers away and they will surely find a way of getting into your house.
So, make sure you clean your trash bins regularly, and also create an optimal way of collecting and disposing of garbage. Disposing of your litter in a big bin on the backyard is not a good idea. Pests that will surely appear there might easily sneak into your house. Keeping your trash for too long can also encourage the formation of maggots. You really do not want that.
Birdfeeders Are Not That Safe
For people who birds as pets, you should also pay attention to the placement of birdfeeders and birdbaths. Some people sometimes place them close to their windows in order to watch the birds easily and maybe to take pictures of them. Unfortunately, you’ll also be creating a leeway for insects to come into your house.
Birdfeeders should be placed not nearer than 10 meters from your house. Make sure there is no food spoilage there, because that can attract bugs from all over the surrounding area. Also avoid placing birdfeeders on the branches of garden fruit trees. It may be harmful for a tree to bear all those pests.
Stagnant Water
During the warmer seasons of the year, it’s not recommended to leave water stagnant for more than 2-3 days. Numerous life species can start breeding there, including mosquitoes, flies and even roaches.
We strongly recommend you pay close attention to dog bowls, baths and buckets outside your house, and even puddles on your yard. They can be a major factor for attracting pests. It’s easy to prevent such kind of breeding for these insects. Watch out for areas in your compound where water can gather, and make sure you take care of it promptly.
Another source of this stagnant water is found in poorly constructed bathrooms, where the water does not drain properly. If you live in places like these, ensure you use a broom to sweep away the water every time use the bathroom, instead of keeping it. This way you can avoid certain pests, and save yourself from skin and genital infections.
Poor Drainage Systems
This is a major problem in almost every town or city in Nigeria. Due to our highly inefficient waste disposal protocols, we have thousands of blocked drainages, which lead to dirty gutters, and countless spots holding stagnant water. These drainages are one usual place that can house pests. They always hold moisture which is why cockroaches, mosquitoes and other insects easily make gutters their home.
Consequently, because they need to feed, they will trace their way into dirty and poorly kept homes. It is important to clean drainages around your house regularly (as often as possible). Drainages that are clogged with old tree leaves might also be the source of earthworms climbing up to the roof of your house. It’s awful to watch and even realize that such things do exist in your own house.
Dirty Grill Equipment
This is for our grill fans that probably have special grill equipment always ready for use. However, not many people like cleaning that equipment after eating tasty BBQ dishes. As a result, grill equipment are a great place for cockroaches and other insects to create colonies.
Bits of meat fat fall onto the metal parts of a grill. After sometime, it becomes impossible to clean them out and insects will be attracted by the sweet smell from afar. And it won’t take them long before they find their way into your house afterwards. This also goes for our ovens, gas burners, microwave machines and other kitchen equipment.
Entrance Mat
Cockroaches and Ants have something called exoskeletons. It means that you actually can’t squeeze them to death that easily. These creatures find the narrowest of places and can easily come into the house through tiny holes. They have tracks which they follow all the time. Your entrance mat is the main thing to change if you are having trouble with pests.
Under the old mats, insects make their homes, find or create routes to go into your house, and organize their graveyards, too. It could possibly be an awful sight if you took up your mat and had a look at the underside. We recommend you change your entrance (foot) mat once every year.
Rotten Fruits At Home
Please eat your fruits before they become overripe. If you notice that the fruits will probably not be eaten, just get rid of them. However, don’t put that brown banana into the rubbish bin as it will be somehow impossible to prevent fruit flies from searching it out.
These little nasty creatures come down chimneys or through small cracks and gaps. You will never prevent them from getting to the old banana or rotten apple. If you don’t have the means to dispose of rotten food right away, just put them into a plastic bag and tie it up as hard as you can.
Buying Second-Hand Furniture
We do quite a lot of second hand buying in Nigeria, sofas and armchairs included, and they are the most common habitual areas for nearly all known house pests. If you decided to save up some money by purchasing a used sofa, call for proper cleaning services and have a special type of pesticide applied or sprayed on it.
Actually, it’s better to avoid purchasing any used furniture. And it’s not only about avoiding the big pests like ants and cockroaches. There are also billions of other microorganisms in used furniture, which can be detrimental to your health and possibly ruin the cleanness of your house.
Reluctance To Repair Crack And Leaks
Damages to your house’s flooring and siding can be yet another explanation as to how pests come into your house. Just a little crack on the wall would be a good home for a colony of ants. As soon as they get there, they will use the heat insulation as an excuse to take up permanent residence in your home.
There are plenty of insect species which can live in such conditions. So, make sure you avoid such trouble by having any cracks, leaks and holes in the walls and roof repaired.