Many insects, including roaches, try to get inside your home.
Whether you own or rent your home, you will probably be forced to deal with insect invasions at some point. Though summer months often see an increase in ant, fly and mosquito populations, some insects such as roaches may try to get inside to escape the cold during winter months. To keep these unwanted visitors from bothering you and your family, be proactive and prevent the insects from ever entering in the first place. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Kitchen Maintenance
1. Clean your kitchen of any food particles, crumbs and sticky material . Sweep or vacuum the floor. Mop floors to remove dried liquid or food residue.
2. Seal opened food in your pantry in plastic bags or air-tight plastic containers.
3. Wipe off all the counters with a damp sponge and an all-purpose cleaner. Insects are less likely to invade your kitchen if there are no food sources for them to readily eat.
Perimeter of House
4. Spray the outside baseboards of your home with a long-lasting insecticide. Apply the insecticide to the area just above where the outside walls of your home meet the ground. Use the spray around the entire perimeter of your home; do not skip any spots or the insects will seek out that area to gain entrance. A long-lasting insecticide, which can last several months, is readily available at garden-supply stores and home-improvement stores.
5. Seal cracks or holes in the outside walls of your home with silicone caulking material. Walk around your home's exterior and look for holes and cracks. Fill them in with the caulking material to prevent insects from entering.
6. Repair or replace any damaged screened doors or window screens.
Ant Control
7. Find all the ant hills located close to your home.
8. Place ant bait traps around the ant hills in your yard. Ants are one of the insects most likely to venture inside your home in search of food and water. Use outdoor ant bait traps that have spikes on the bottom, which allow you to drive them into the ground.
9. Allow the ants to feed off the bait traps, and the colony will die off in a few days.
Water Control
10. Remove standing water around your home. Mosquitoes and drain flies will breed in standing water, and the more there is around your home, the more likely that they will find a way in.
11. Check trash-can lids for standing water, and dump the water out.
12. Examine outdoor faucets for leaks, as the insects will breed in the puddles that form below the faucet. Repair leaky faucets.
13. Replace the water in birdbaths in your yard every two or three days to deter mosquitoes from laying eggs.
14. Dump out standing rain water that accumulates in your garden planters.
Yard Maintenance
15. Clean up pet feces daily in your yard. Flies are attracted to animal manure, and will lay eggs in it.
16. Keep lids on all outdoor trash cans at all times. Flies will lay eggs in your garbage, so do not give them the chance to get in your trash.
17.Clear any leaves that are next to your home. Rake the leaves up and bag them. Insects will make nests in piles of leaves, and are likely to find a way into your home if their nest is close by.
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