How to Avoid a Pest Infestation in Your Home

We all like to keep our homes clean and tidy for the health and safety of our families. Yet, it’s often what’s lurking beyond the surface that can do the most damage. We’re talking about common household pests, including termites, cockroaches, spiders, ants, ticks, and more. While some may be plain annoying, others have the potential to spread disease or affect the structural integrity of your home.

Pest control is highly effective at removing and controlling an infestation in your residence. As the saying goes, however, “prevention is better than cure”. Therefore, the best way to avoid this problem is by keeping the critters out of your home entirely.

If you don’t know where to begin, don’t fret. Here are our 7 top tips for preventing a pest infestation in your home.

1. Seal cracks and gaps around windows

Windows act as a common entry point for many types of pests, as it provides direct access between the inside and outside of the home. Closely examine each of your external windows, paying attention to any cracks or gaps. If you spot a crack or gap, no matter how small, use a sealant to close it up.

If you notice any tears in your windscreen, now would also be a great time to repair these. The less potential entry points for pests, the better!

2. Lower door seals that prevent pests entering

The exterior doors within your home should also be closely examined, as pests may be able to enter your home through the gap underneath. Pay particular attention to the garage entry door (including roller doors) and your home’s front door.

If these doors don’t already have seals, add them in to close the space between the bottom of the door and the floor beneath it. Alternatively, if your doors already have seals, consider lowering them to keep crawling pests out.

3. Avoid ceiling downlights that have a large gap between the bulb and light component

Many homeowners might not know this, but ceiling downlights—particularly older models—have a large gap between the light bulb and light component. This gives pests plenty of space to set up a colony within your roof, thus making it hard for you to find them.

It also allows pests direct access from your roof void into your ceiling, where they can cause all sorts of havoc. A termite infestation, for example, could eat away at the beams, resulting in a costly repair bill. Thankfully, most new LED downlights are now completely sealed to avoid this exact problem.

4. Regularly empty bins

Your food scraps provide a smorgasbord to pests such as cockroaches, flies, and rodents. Therefore, we advise you to regularly empty the bins in your home—especially those within your kitchen. Along with frequently emptying your bins, ensure your rubbish is being kept in receptacles with tight-fitting lids and intact seals to prevent pests being able to crawl inside. Additionally, try to wash and sanitise your bins often, as this can remove spills or other bug-attracting residue.

5. Don’t leave dog food exposed within the home

While some dogs chow down on their food within seconds, others like to leave theirs within their bowl to ‘graze on’ throughout the day. Leaving pet food sitting around like this can attract pests into your home and give them something to feed on. Additionally, take careful notice of how and where you store your pet’s food. Ensure the food is fully sealed and inaccessible to even the tiniest of bugs. Secure cannisters or containers are great for pet food storage.

6. Improve general cleanliness and tidiness

Pests thrive in a dirty and damp atmosphere, so maintaining a clean and tidy home is also vital. Dirt, dust, grime, and food particles can attract and provide critters with a food source, so aim to keep these at a bare minimum. Try to eliminate clutter too, as this can provide pests with the perfect hiding spots.

Just some of the key tasks to undertake regularly include:

• Wiping down kitchen surfaces
• Mopping up excess moisture from bathrooms
• Dusting surfaces
• Vacuuming food crumbs from the floor, chairs, and lounge

7. Schedule pest control treatment each year

Often, a pest infestation can go unnoticed, or even be more serious than you first think. This is because pests are experts at hiding in areas we can’t see, including within the cavities of your walls, floor, or ceiling.

A pest infestation might start small, but it can quickly become out-of-hand within just days. Take this termite infestation in the video below, for example.

What started as a mound of termites the size of a tennis ball, quickly became a mound larger than the size of a football just 4-5 days later.

The homeowner had no reason to suspect a termite infestation before this, as there were no signs of termites or termite-related damage to the lower level of the house. After a thorough inspection by our professional pest control team, we discovered the termite’s entry points which allowed them access to the property’s ceiling beams.

Pest-Ex Pest Management provides innovative, safe, and effective pest control to the South East Queensland region. Plus, we offer same-day on-site service to treat your pest problems as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Worried about a pest infestation in your home or business? Give our friendly team a call today or book online.