Spiders, mosquitos, mice ….. How do you keep these pesky creatures out of your home!? Most experts encourage you to start on the exterior of your home to prevent pests from being on the inside of your home. Also, you don’t want anything appealing inside your home that attracts these pests.
You’ll want to keep your bushes and shrubs trimmed back so they are not touching your home. This eliminates that bridge for pests. Rock or stone is typically a more ideal ground cover if you are trying to minimize pests, rather than mulch.
Keep your windows and doors in check. Pests can enter through any small gap or crack, so be sure to repair rips or tears or cracks in windows and doors. Screen meshes should be at least 200 holes per square inch.
As I am always telling my kids, pick up your trash! Keep your entire outside area clean and free of anything that will attract pests, including standing water and trash. Or in our case, Popsicle sticks and actual food, or soda cans 🙂 Be sure your trash cans shut tightly to keep animals at bay.
Check gaps and cracks inside your home. Some commons spots are behind large appliances like the refrigerator and stove. Fill any cracks or gaps that you find.
Keep your trash cans away from your home, including recycling, to keep pests away from your home if they do show up. Also, a fun job for the kids : make sure your trash containers get cleaned frequently!
Store firewood away from your home. Little pesky pests like to hide in those spots. Speaking of firewood, if you have a bonfire going and the bugs are bad, throw on some fresh rosemary or sage. It’ll smell great, also!
Put your coffee grounds to good use! Most critters do not like the smell of coffee and will avoid the smell, so put those leftover grounds in areas where you think pests may be entering.
Be sure to check your attic, basement, and crawl spaces for animals. I had bats in the attic awhile back, and that was alot of fun to deal with! Be sure all points of entry are sealed up from the outside to try to help eliminate this from happening in your home.
Keep pet food in a container that seals tightly. I’ll never forget the time we moved the oven and found a stock-pile of dog food under it …… 🙂 The dog definitely didn’t put it there. Fun story.
Ants or fruit flies : head to this post to read more about that, as many people seems to struggle with these tiny beasts.
These are a few tips and tricks of the trade. Most importantly, keep in mind that even the cleanest houses deal with many of these issues, so don’t be too bothered. Just handle it quickly before it gets out of control.
Ready to build a home and start fresh? Reach out to LISA or BECCA if you have any issues on how to choose a Floor Plan or Design Build to build on your own lot or in one of our popular neighborhoods. Fill out a CUSTOMER WORKSHEET to get started today!!