Anyone who owns a home can resonate with the struggle of pest invasions. Once pests enter your home, they can easily spread disease and cause damage to your property. If you are looking to make your home more secure against pests then you need to avoid these five common mistakes that are inviting these nasty creatures inside.
1. Leaving clutter around
Your clutter doesn’t always have to include food in order to attract pests. It could just be a few old boxes filled with storage piled up, or a stack of magazines – they are both natural environments for these tiny pests to hide. Your piles of clutter could very easily turn into a blind spot where pests camouflage themselves from you and they become hard to find. In order to avoid this, store any items that you wish to keep in see-through, sealed boxes – where pests would be visible if they were to occur. Having an organised and clean home is the perfect start on your fight against the pests.
2. Have you got cracks, gaps or holes in your wall?
Small gaps, cracks, and holes sound familiar in your home? Most people, especially if the damage is extremely small, will neglect small cracks and not take any action. These holes, albeit tiny, are huge invites for pets. Check under doors, walls and pipes for cracks that pose an entry to tiny insects. To aid your defence against pests, spend time identifying and covering any holes in your home to deny these pests access to your home.
3. Not taking out the bins regularly
You don’t have to be a genius to know that pests are attracted to food and waste. One of the most tedious chores of the week is definitely putting the bins out – but guess what, we all have to do it! Leaving food waste inside your house for long can be an attraction for pests to feed off. As well as taking the bins out regularly, you should also clean your bin every couple of weeks to ensure there is no residue left over that pests would still love to get their hands on.
4.Not Cleaning Kitchen Appliances
After cooking a lovely homemade dinner, most people disregard thoroughly cleaning their kitchen surfaces such as the stove, microwave and oven top. Left-over food that isn’t cleaned up will most certainly attract common household pests in your kitchen. As the kitchen is the primary space that food is stored and cooked, pests lingering around can pose some health problems to your family. Pests are capable of spreading and carrying diseases such as salmonella, as well as leaving their droppings in or near your food, causing potential contamination. It’s important to clean these appliances as well as your kitchen regularly to avoid inviting unwanted pests in your home.
5.Birdfeeders
Birdfeeders are great at attracting pretty looking birds, but they are also attracting pests too. You should be very careful when placing a birdbath/feeder in your garden – as if it is too close to your window, you will be creating a leeway for creatures to enter your home. As a rule of thumb, a bird feeder should be at least 10 metres from your home, and regularly check there is no food spillage too, as this can also attract bugs from your local area.