You probably already know if you have roaches, mice, or rat infestations in your home. But it is important to know how big the problem is, how pests are entering, and where pests are getting their food and water, and how best to get rid of them and prevent them from returning.
To find out, go through every room in your home, focusing on the kitchen and bathroom, where pests are usually worst. You may need a flashlight for the dark areas.
Start in Your Kitchen
Look out for waste and droppings: Cockroach droppings look like dark smudges with dark dots. Their egg cases are yellowish and ribbed, about the size of a small fingernail. Rodent droppings are brown, the size and shape of rice grains.
Look out for Chew marks in woodwork, walls, and food containers. Gaps, cracks, and holes in walls, along baseboards and windows, and around pipes and wires, and drains: Cockroaches can squeeze through cracks as small as 1/8 of an inch. Mice can get through holes as small as 1/4 inch.
Look out for Leaky faucets and pipes or leaks in ceilings and walls. Open food packages, sticky surfaces, pet food left out and garbage cans that don’t close tightly.
Try Reduce Clutter
Recycle piles of newspapers, paper bags, cardboard, and bottles, especially around stoves and refrigerators. Store clothing and linens, you don’t use in sealed plastic boxes or bags.
Vacuum Thoroughly
Use a vacuum with a hose and crevice tool. Special filter vacuums, known as HEPA or allergen-reducing vacuums, work best. Vacuum behind and under refrigerators and stoves. Empty cabinets, throwing away old food and items with signs of pests. Vacuum inside gaps and holes in walls and in and behind cabinets.
Wash Hard Surfaces
Wear household gloves, fill two buckets with warm water: one with a mild soap or detergent, and one with plain water for rinsing, separate rinse water will help you, avoid spreading insect eggs, food, and other wastes and Change the water often. Use a sponge and plastic scouring pad or scrub brush to scrub and rinse:
• Countertops, tables, and surfaces where food is stored, prepared, or eaten.
• Under the stovetop, inside burners, and under and behind the stove, refrigerator, and dishwasher.
• Inside the rubber seal of the refrigerator door.
• Inside drawers, cabinets, and shelves in the kitchen and bathroom.
• Floors.
For hard-to-remove stains, use a mild bleach solution (1-part bleach, 10 parts water) or a cleaning product with bleach. Start high and work down. When you’re done, seal the vacuum bag in plastic and throw it out.
Deprive them of what they love most; food and shelter:
Seal up cracks and small holes and fill larger holes and gaps. Store all loose food in tight containers and manage your garbage well. Use garbage cans with tight-fitting lids and clean them more often, inside out.
For other pests, you can control and prevent them by using a number of do-it-yourself chemicals or engaging our services , if infestation is beyond control. Do-it-yourself pest control products are becoming more common as people are becoming more educated on the subject of pest control. Choose materials that are effective and can give you good value for your money.
