Tend Your Property Well for a Pest-Free Environment
It is said that prevention is better than cure. This is true, even in cases of pest infestations in your home or office. Pests drive to us the importance of having clean living or working spaces. We also have to pay attention to our surroundings to make sure that pests are not damaging the property we invested so much in. It can be disheartening to see how much damage an unattended place can suffer, if we don’t care for it as we should.
How do we prevent pests from coming and taking over our property? How do we avert a life troubled by their destructive presence? Here are methods you can use to make sure they don’t come and invade your space:
1. Store your food properly.
Pests are attracted to the smell of food. Make sure to properly keep your food in places where the bugs can’t easily get to them. Replace the lid tightly on containers and place your leftovers in the refrigerator. Leaving them out on the table regularly with only a small cover serves to attract pests to come within your vicinity.
Make sure to properly close cabinets where you store cereals, oatmeal, and other foodstuff. An open cabinet works like an invitation for a rodent to come strolling in and steal your food from under your nose. Starting a snack but not finishing it is not also advisable. Leaving a torn packet of Cheetos on your bedside table will endear you well to pests. They will not want to leave your bedroom as soon as they find you stashed food in one of your closet drawers.
2. Clean up food spills.
Wipe away any trace of food particles from where they fell. You might be preparing coffee in the wee hours of the morning, for instance. Your hand shook and some sugar fell from your spoon to the floor. You stare at it for a while and decide you’re going to leave it alone. After all, what can a little sugar do to attract pests?
That’s where you’re wrong. The smell of food can attract pests looking for it from outside your home or office. There are cockroaches, ants, and mice, which can soon encroach in your property as soon as they find a crack in your floorboards or a tear on your window screen. It is advisable to keep all surfaces clean. Wipe your stove with soap and water to remove cooking spills and be sure to vacuum your floors for any food substances that you may have missed.
3. Don’t eat all around the place.
If you like to eat in the kitchen, take your snack at the dining room, and indulge on some dessert while watching television at the living room. You might not notice that you’re spilling crumbs and some food particles as you nimble on a cookie or sip some hot broth as you eat and walk around. Limit your movement and stop to eat in one place only, such as the kitchen or dining room. This helps limit the areas where food particles can remain.
4. Throw away spoiled food properly.
There are instances when we forget about leftovers. Don’t throw them away in your garden or yard. This serves to attract pests, which can damage your hedges, shrubs, bushes, and others. It is better to bury spoiled food, which helps keep it away from pests and fertilize the soil as well.
5. Drain unused water.
Running water does not attract pests, but water left alone in basins, fountains, and pools do. Make sure you regularly replace water in your flower vases, cover up pools, and drain basins if you’re going to leave them alone overnight. It is also advisable to drain fountains if you are going to turn it off for a period of time. This helps to get rid of places where mosquitoes can breed and expose your family or employees to the dangers of mosquito-borne diseases.
6. Wipe puddles and fix leaks.
Puddles are like free drinks and breeding grounds for pests. Make sure to wipe them up to make your place safer for everybody. Leaking faucets, dishwashers, radiators, and other fixtures or appliances should be fixed so moisture will not occur and make your surroundings breeding grounds for pests that love humid and soggy hiding places.
7. Seal cracks and repair broken-down external fixtures.
Sealing cracks and fixing openings along baseboards and other vulnerable parts of your property helps close your place against destructive intruders. This prevents insects from entering and burrowing into places where they are not wanted. It is also recommended that you repair door and window screens and clean up clutter left behind in the garage and attic. Stacks of old newspapers and boxes often have cockroaches that have made it their home so be sure to organize your clutter. Throw away things which you don’t need anymore. This clears up space and enables to keep your place cleaner.
8. Groom your garden to get rid of infestation.
Taking care of your garden is not only meant for visual appeal, but also for upkeep of your property. Pruning your plants and mowing your grass makes pests like rodents unable to hide from you when you try to catch them. Sprucing up the space outside your home or building helps clear away burrowing places for pests while keeping it attractive.
9. Set up traps for those pesky pests.
Fight back when you’re already infiltrated. Follow the tips above and then set up traps where unaware children and pets are unlikely to find them. Use food as bait and arrange different contraptions like mouse traps and cockroach killers. It also helps to spray insecticides on areas that your unwanted tenants frequently visit. Once you’re able to catch them all, take them away to a place where they can’t easily get back to your home or bother other households if you cannot kill them.
10. Dispose of your garbage properly.
Neglecting to take out your trash for days can make your home irresistible for different types of pests. Make sure you clean up your garbage so there would not be rodents or ants trying to reach it.
Cleanliness is the Pests’ Worst Enemy
Being conscious about your surroundings should be practiced so you will not suffer visits from those over-friendly tenants that just would not leave and also damage your property. Make sure to take care of your home or office building from upper to lower levels. This helps get rid of those pests that plague our property and pose harm to our health. Start cleaning up and organizing your possessions for pest-free properties!