Pest control is a necessity for people today, whether you are living in an apartment, bungalow or an individual house. Cities and even remote places are growing rapidly and hence we are getting exposed to more and more pest infestations. Even if you are not living in the outskirts of a city, which are more likely to attract pests as they are closer to the greenery (the natural habitat for pests). Still there is a potential threat that these pests might posses on the health and well being of your family.
How to do Pest Control in Apartments, Flats and House
Well pest problem is a common problem faced by all of us. For instance I spotted a giant spider in my bathrooms basin yesterday and since I already suffer from arachnophobia, it was like a terrible and shocking experience. Trust me it freaked the hell out of me. For that instant I somehow shooed it away, but they might be probably be hiding behind several other places and getting ready to give me a heart attack by suddenly appearing when I least expect them. I do pest control measures myself on a regular interval that helps me keep pests away. Generally most of these rodents, bugs and pests are subjected to climate and season changes and hence occasional pest control can be of great help.
Other errant pests and flies like cockroach, wasps, house flies, mosquitoes etc can also cause hell lots of damage to your health and hygiene. We often tend to ignore it, and try to deal with them in a temporary manner, but trust me you should not. Since it might lead into severe infestation later and cause great damage to your health as well as your goods.
So how do we go about doing effective pest control? Can’t we get rid of the easily or should we call a pest control agencies every now and then? In this post, I am trying to explain everything from start to end and hope you will understand a lot about these pests and bugs as you read through this post.
So are you ready? Let dive in.
Probable causes and symptoms of pest problem
The most common reason that attracts flies, pests and rodents to your home is unhygienic practices that you follow in your daily routine like leaving dirty dishes or food lying around here and there.
Leaving your litter bins with wet wastes is another such reason that attracts cockroaches and other pests to your kitchen.
Leaving clutters is also a potential reason to attract spiders, rats and other pests to your house. Especially the clutter piling up in your garage or unattended wares in your store room, hidden cobwebs in your bathroom etc, which we often ignore.
If you are living in close and congested area, pest problem are most likely to happen because you are probably sharing your walls with several other buildings. Hence even if you are extra cautious to make sure that you follow hygienic practices and keep your premises clean to avoid pest infestation, but your neighbor might not be that much hygienic and the pests might climb from your neighbor’s wall to your kitchen or bathroom. Hence you should keep vigilance and avoid wasting your efforts to keep them away.
Pest Control for prevention of pests
Prevention is always better than cure, this saying holds true with regard to pest control also. There are several techniques that you can apply to prevent these bugs from coming.
Inspect the corners and walls for any possible crevices, or holes, to forbid their access and cover up all the possible passages by covering them up using caulk or other such adhesive materials to prevent them from entering your premises.
Be extra cautious when you see neighbors moving out, as the pests might see your premises as an easy catch and try to invade it when the next door unit is vacated or fumigated. Certain preventive measures can be taken to keep them out of your home.
Avoid clutter at all costs. A cluttered area is a natural hiding place for pests
Don’t wait until tomorrow to pack up or discard food you enjoyed today and keep your sinks free of dirty dishes and clean them regularly.
Take your trash out to the garbage dumpster regularly without any delay. Keep snack bags clipped shut.
Promptly wipe up messes and spills on countertops and floors. Ask your domestic maid to maintain the hygienic practices to keep the pests away. Consider hiring a cleaning service to visit at least every other week to avoid pest infestations.
Check for crumbs and wrappers that may get hidden under sofa cushions or bedspreads after having snacks. It attracts and ants and other pests there.
Avoid making your garage an old junkyard by removing old unwanted wares from there and try keep it clean. Since these are the most common bad habits of ours which significantly increase the chance of severe pest infestations.
You need an effective pest control or pest removal plan and it may include Traps, Chemicals or pesticides that can be used to kill them and keep them away for longer period of time.
But while choosing an insecticide or pesticide you should be aware of certain aspects such as:
Safety
Make sure that your family members are safe while you make an attempt to drive the insects out. Check whether the pesticides contain any chemicals to which some one from your family is allergic to, restrain yourself from using such pesticides. The best option is to hire a professional pest control company who are experts in dealing with any kind of pest related problems.
Longevity of the pesticides
How long their effect lasts): While buying a pesticide get adequate information about how long they are supposed to work or how frequently you have to apply them and for how long. It’s better to use techniques that can ensure long term results for your pest control efforts.
Use of appropriate pesticides
You should always use pesticide which is best suited for the specific pest problem you are having. Pay proper attention while buying a pesticides or chemicals, closely read the instructions and other relative factors that determines whether the pesticide will work or not.
Use of natural remedies for pest control
It is always a better idea to use eco friendly and natural remedies to get rid of pests which are not only safe but also effective to a certain extent. Enough of chemicals and when you can get similar results using natural ingredients, it would be wise to choose them anytime. But remember, it also depends on the infestation because if the problem is deep, natural remedies may not give that kind of results that you expect to get from pest control.
Effective remedies for pest control in your apartment and home
As you know, pests are smart enough to hide in dirt, dark and moist places and hence when you keep your surroundings clean and dry and moisture free, you can prevent them to a good extent. Here are some other remedies that may add value in your pest control efforts.
Soap solution for pest control
Fill a spray bottle with a solution of water and two tablespoon of dishwashing liquid. Shake the container a little and your natural pesticide is ready to use. Unleash the spray on the pests such as wasps, ants, flies and other flying insects. Soap spray dries the exoskeleton of insects with soft bodies and kills them instantly.
Smoke for pest control
For mosquitoes you can also try burning old coconut peels, the smoke coming from burning it will act as a mosquito repellent. Usually smoke is considered to be a good repellent for mosquito and house flies and you can add some kind of fragrance or dhoop to get good aroma.
Garlic solution for pest control
Pests hate garlic. Leave a few cloves of garlic under the sink or where pests like to roam freely and they will not dare to visit that place again.
Borax solution for cockroach removal
Fill an empty squirt bottle with Borax and sprinkle along baseboards and corners to prevent cockroaches to roam in that area.
Spider removal
You can sprinkle phenyl on them but beware that these eight legged freaks will start running here and there (even thinking about them gives me jitters) but eventually they will die. Just keep safe distance from them if you are like me. I usually ask someone else to kill them.
Pest control for ant removal
Cayenne pepper and cucumber peels are popular ant repellents; you can try using them to prevent them from coming.
Only problem with most of these techniques is that they are all temporary solutions and might not be effective on a permanent basis.
Summary
You can stick to all these tips to get rid of them but if there is a severe pest infestation then do consider to hire pest control service to eradicate pest. No matters what please do not ignore the pest problem, quickly attain to them and deal with them before it turn into a more severe affair.
Pest control companies can also help you in keeping these pests away from your house, but at the end of the day, responsibilities lies on yourself to keep your surrounding clean and keep these pests away from your flat or apartment after a professional pest treatment by an agency.
How do you keep your house free from pests? Do you do pest control yourself or book an agency for pest removal services?
