House Cleaning Tips to Prevent Pest Infestation

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Pests can enter your home easily since they only need tiny cracks or openings to crawl through and invade your house. In fact, rodents such as mice only need a hole the size of a pencil to enter your home. The germs and droppings rats and mice leave behind certainly can wreak havoc in your house. These pests also carry many disease-causing germs hence cleaning up your house entails more than just sweeping or scrubbing the floor.

It is important for homeowners to adopt proactive pest management strategies for their house cleaning. This involves looking out for signs that may indicate a pest infestation in their homes. Pest control companies can assist homeowners to conduct a thorough home inspection to identify early signs of an infestation. Here are some common signs of a pest infestation and house cleaning tips that you need to do after an infestation:

Common pest infestation signs

While pests can infest almost all areas of your home, there are some parts that are particularly more attractive to these invaders. Some of these areas include the kitchen, bedrooms and storage spaces, which need extra attention during cleaning.

The kitchen is normally the main suspect since stored food items, dirty dishes, hidden crumbs can attract a variety of pests such as rodents, ants, meal moths and cockroaches. Bedrooms may not be infested that regularly but are also a potential site of infestation for some kinds of pests like bedbugs. Cluttered storage spaces and other infrequently used areas such as closets, basements, attics and garages offer a perfect environment for pests to hide and grow.

It can be quite easy to overlook some common signs of a pest infestation in your home since they can be subtle. However, some of the warning alerts that you need to check for cleaning your house include:

1. Damaged food packaging – Gnawed, shredded or scratched food packaging are an indicator that some pests may have tampered with your stored food items. In case you find such evidence, it is advisable to throw away all affected items. All clean pantry goods should be transferred into airtight glass or plastic containers to avert the possibility of future infestations.

2. Nesting materials – You may find shredded pieces of cloth fabric or paper as you clean your house. This is a clear sign that there could be rodents or other kinds of larger pests nesting in your home.

3. Droppings – Pests such as rodents and cockroaches are extremely clever in hiding hence their droppings will often be found in concealed locations such as under appliances, behind boxes and other nooks where light rarely reaches. Poke deep into these areas as you clean and look out for rodent pellets and urine stains or any other sign of a pest invasion. Call a pest control professional who can assist you handle the cleanup.

4. Piles of sawdust or unusual holes – Termites, carpenter ants and other wood-destroying insects can cause serious structural damage to your home, but they are extremely hard to detect early. If you find a powdery residue or small piles of sawdust, near woodwork such as furniture or windowsills, it could indicate that wood-destroying pests have invaded your home. You can also look out for other signs of wood-destroying insects in your home which include wavy or blistered wood, mud tubes, loose trim and sagging floors. If you find these early warnings, contact a pest control service before these pests cause irreparable damage to your home.

5. Signs of body parts – If you find insect carcasses or shed wings in multiple locations around your home as you clean, you could be staring at a possible infestation.

House dust mite - Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus6. Dried blood spots – Bed bugs are scary bloodsucking pests that leave behind feces that may appear as tiny dried blood flecks on walls, bedding and furniture, especially in the bedroom. Once you notice such spots, call a pest management company immediately to inspect your home for these annoying pests.

Practical tips for pest control

Success of pest control treatment depends on many factors such as the correct identification of pests, specific pesticide usage, experienced personnel, quality of the services, etc. Here are some practical tips for pest control that will undoubtedly help you eradicate these exasperating bugs:

  • Identify the type of pests – To get rid of harmful species, it is very essential to know the type of infestation you have in your home. Some vermin such as termites, cockroaches or mice are easily identified, but others are not. Identifying the right type will help you choose the right method to deal with them. Consult a professional as you can better identify the problem and select the correct treatment.
  • Install physical barriers – The best way to control vermin is to create physical barriers, traps and clogs to prevent pests from entering your home. The installation of networks and window screens is also useful to prevent mosquitoes and other insects from entering your home.
  • Try organic pest control – Another way to keep insects and other pests away is to choose natural pest control. There are many organic bio-pesticides available in the market or better you can make on your own. There are natural pest prevention ingredients such as: Neem oil pesticide (mixture of neem oil and soap), garlic pesticide, Chilli pepper pesticide (mixture of chili, pepper, solvent), nicotine (extracted from bulk tobacco), iron phosphate (mineral toxic to snails and slugs), etc. These give you a better starting point for making your self-made version of homemade insecticide.
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  • Try some home remedies – It is the most human and safest control method that can repel various vermin. Peppermint oil, catnip tea solution, the boric acid powder can avoid it. But make sure the herbs or chemicals you use are especially suitable for the insects you want to kill.
  • Seek professional help – The perfect way for homeowners to ensure that disease-causing insects stay away from home is to call a pest control specialist who use various special tools and baits to deal with these annoying natural enemies. They have a variety of pest control treatments available to prevent the growth of rodents and pests. They are better equipped to fumigate their home and get rid of insects. Always ask questions, since a genuine company will be happy to answer your questions, after all, you must be informed of what is going to be done in your home or business.

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Arnold Aegis is a guest blogger who has contributed this expert opinion.

Image source: Reardon Associates

5 COMMENTS

  1. Great article. It’s more useful and informative. This is something new for me. I like it. Thanks for sharing your information.

  2. I really appreciate your advice to try and find a professional that can correctly help you identify the right type of bug that is in your house, and more importantly how to correctly eradicate it. My wife and I recently moved into a new house, and I know that my wife would be terrified to find any mice in our house. If we do start to notice signs of any pests in our house, I will be sure to consult a professional immediately to try and isolate what type of pest it is!

  3. Hey, this is the most helpful article found i was looking for, you have provided great information and very well detailed and explained on how to prevent pest with home remedies, This help is really great and thanks for sharing.

  4. Thanks for sharing this information regarding pest control. I really found this very interesting. And you blog also helps to control pest and all above tips are also very helpful to control pest.

  5. Hi buddy,
    I just read your blog. Really amazing house cleaning tips. Great work, thanks for sharing your awesome blog.

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