You found it! The only source you need to keep your home pest-free in 2015. Keep it close, and keep it safe. Your family will thank you.
- Keep trash cans covered at all times. Bugs nest in rotting food, and wildlife are drawn onto your property by the smell of decaying food matter.
- Wash your counters. All it takes is a dollop of jelly to feed a bug.
- Clean your rugs regularly. Crumbs and food particles get in there.
- Clean your floors. Insects love sticky spills. It is never a good idea to leave juice or other liquids on your floors. Use a mop to get those spills up.
- Deep cleaning under your fridge or on the sides of your oven will keep cockroaches away.
- Sealing your pantry items in hard plastic containers will keep the smell from luring in pantry pests, and keep rodents and bugs from chewing their way in.
- Put fruit in the fridge till you're ready to eat it. Fruit fly eggs are almost invisible to the naked eye. When you bring fruit home, you have a time bomb sitting on your counter.
- When the snow is off your lawn, remember to keep it trimmed down. Tall grass is inviting to pests, and if they get near your foundation walls they will be tempted to get inside.
- Keep firewood away from your cellar walls. Putting a food source for wood-eating bugs next to your exterior walls is never a good idea.
- Clutter, whether it is on your lawn or in your attic or basement, is attractive to many kinds of pests. Keeping clutter stowed away is a great deterrent.
- Many insects are drawn in by light. If you're able, keep drapes shut at night and replace outside white lights with insect-resistant yellow lighting--or keep them turned off. If you attract flying insects, they will attract spiders.
- Exterior wall treatments keep bugs away that are drawn to bright colored homes, or have randomly swarmed through.
- Perimeter treatments can keep termites, ants, and other bugs from getting in close.
- Putting wire mesh at the bottom of downspouts will prevent rodents from gaining access to your roofline.
- Trim back branches that come close to your roof and put something sharp and pointy on wires that go from your house to the pole.
- Year-round scheduled visits from a professional pest company will keep you informed of insects that threaten your home and your family's health.
- Fixing outside spigot leaks, and filling in areas of your lawn where water sits, will reduce many insects.
- Use a caulking gun to seal gaps, cracks, and rotted holes.
- Inspect all screens, weather strips, and door sweeps.
There you have it. The most comprehensive pest prevention checklist on the web. Here's hoping 2015 will see you and your family pest free!