Making your home less attractive to rodents and pests
Everyone dreams of having their own home, whether it is an apartment, house, townhouse or condo, but what happens when you have your dream home and you are infested with rodents and pests. We all know that they are out there, just waiting to come in and partake in your home. You have to be careful when you have rodents and pests come into your home because they bring bacteria and infectious diseases. Here are some tips and ideas on how you can keep your home less attractive to rodents and pests.
Start by keep your outdoor areas clean and free of debris. Keep your flower bed, mow strips and other areas clear from weeds and water and grass cut back. Keeping the weeds down will give fewer places for the rodents and pests to hide. Some rodents like to use the weeds and other types of clippings, such as grass, to build nests.
If you do come across a rodents nest, use gloves when disposing of it. This will help you protect yourself from diseases that rodents can carry. Many rodents like to hide in wood piles; put your wood pile somewhere away from your home, keeping the rodents away from your home. If you need to, put a rodent killer around your wood pile. If you have pets, make sure you read the labels of the poisons you are using.
|
|
Keep any water you use outdoors away from your home and clean. Standing water will attract insects, such as mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are not only pesky and leave itchy red bumps when they bite you, but they can also carry diseases such as the West Nile Virus that can cause who ever has been bit serious illness and even death.
Water also attracts bees and wasps. There are many bee traps that you can buy that you can hang from trees or higher places that will catch the bees and wasps. There are some ways you can make some traps at home, here are a few ideas that some people have tried. Take a pop bottle and cut off the top right where it gets smaller.
Take the part you cut off and put it upside down into the bottle, add a little sugar water and/or meat. This will attract most types of insects. Be sure to clean it out or put a new one out every couple of days. If you don't, it will start to attract insects such as mosquitoes, which use standing water as breeding ground.
If you still find yourself find insects and rodents inside your house, check your doors and windows. Insects can crawl thru tiny spaces that you have in your windows, doors and foundations. If you notice any cracks or openings in your doors, try some weather stripping to block the holes. For crack in your windows, you can try a clear caulking that will go on white, but will dry clear in about 30 minutes. If you have older windows that are singles pained or are enclosed with metal, look into getting new windows. This will help keep the insects out.
If you do own an older home, check under your siding that has been put on your house or in your brick. Rodents like to build nests in dark out of reach places. They are usually in the last possible place you will think they will be.
If you do find them under your siding, have a professional come out and look at the nest. Having a professional look into it will help you recover your costs of siding or products on your home.
