To stop bugs from coming into your home you need to make your home unattractive to pests and make it difficult for them to maneuver around the home.
Outdoors, you can stop bugs from coming into your home by:
- Seal cracks or holes around doors entryways, floorboards, and windows
- Replace or repair the screens in windows and doors as well as vent screens around the house
- Eliminate plant bridges that pests can use to enter your home via tall vines, grass, shrubs, and trees
- Keep your lawn and ornamental plants well kept.
- Do not stack firewood on the side of the house, preferable stack it at least ten feet away
- Declutter your yard, removing piles of anything that pests can hide in
- Store kids’ toys and gardening containers and tools out of the elements where they won’t collect water that can attract pests
- Eliminate standing water. Change birdbaths, pet water bowls or kiddy play pools every day.
- Clean gutters and make sure your downspouts drain away from your house
Indoors you should sanitize and clean to keep pests away.
- Sweep or vacuum floors regularly or after any meal scraps fall on the floor
- Get tight-fitting lids for trash cans
- Wipe down all food prep and dining surfaces after each meal or snack
- Don’t leave dishes in the sink and clean food debris from the drain area of the sink
- Use hard plastic containers to store dry goods and pet food
- Repair or replace leaky faucets
- Declutter piles of toys, papers, clothes, or other areas that pests might hide
- Instead of cardboard boxes, use thick plastic totes or hard plastic boxes for attic and basement storage
- Make a habit of checking inside boxes and packages for pests
Pest prevention starts with daily habits you can pick up over time. Sealing entry points and maintaining the outside of your home as well as the inside is equally important. Despite your best efforts, sometimes bugs and animals still find their way inside. If you find yourself in this situation, call Hill Country Pest Control Kerrville.
