Household Pest Control Tips

Household pest control is essential for the clean and smooth running of the family home. Little pests such as dust mites, bed bugs and woodworm can be a cause of untold misery for those whom they visit. This is why I’ve come up with an A-Z list of household pest control tips.

The list includes a little insight into the individual characteristics of each of the critters, as well as the most efficient way to rid your home of them.

Special consideration has been given in regards to the layout of these pages. I decided that due to the vast amount of information that is being brought to you that it would be a good idea to group the tips alphabetically.

As you peruse these pages you’ll notice a recurring theme running through them. This is in regards to good housekeeping, improved hygiene and sanitation. Generally you’ll need to take away certain elements of the pest’s habitat in order to make it less desirable for them to take up residence - usually they thrive in dark areas of high humidity with plenty of cracks, nooks and crannies to hide away in, therefore take this away and you’ll go a long way to winning the battle.

Additional methods can be undertaken in controlling the numbers of unwanted visitors into your household, such as ensuring that food scraps and residues are not left out, the premise here is that if there is no food for the pests to eat then they won’t go through the rigmarole of entering your premises.

A-D	E-F	G-M	N-Z

How do I reduce the humidity levels within my home?Luckily for you there are a number of ways in which this desired state can be achieved. Firstly, the purchasing of a decent dehumidifier can go along way to achieving your goal. These handy little machines will extract any excess moisture from the air and store it in a tank. If you use one of these on a regular basis you shouldn’t have a problem, well as long as you don’t forgot to empty its water storage container.

Your second option is basically in regards to your kitchen and bathroom; here steam which is produced from hot water will significantly increase the vapour and humidity within these rooms. In order to counteract this there are two options open to you; either have an extractor fan fitted in each of these rooms or just simply open the window or door to let the steam escape, however, to maintain your dignity I suggest that the second option should only be taken up when cooking food in the kitchen and not when you’re taking a shower or bath.

Finally, if you use the radiators in your home to dry your laundry you may need to rethink. As the laundry is drying water vapour will be released into the air, which, as you know will increase the humidity levels. Perhaps invest in a clothes dryer or use the washing line outside.

How do I reduce the pests’ food supply?
Here good housekeeping and homemaking practices should be adopted. You’ll need to ensure that food residues are cleared up from cupboards, attics and cellars. When you have finished preparing food, place the scraps in the bin rather than leaving them out for the pests to eat.

Another good household pest control tip is to make sure that food stuff which is to be used again, such as sugar, flour and rice are kept in metal or plastic containers and that perishable foods like fruit and vegetables be kept in the refrigerator.

The third thing you should look into with regards to household pest control is how best to store scraps of food. I recommend they be kept in a tight sealed dustbin which can’t be got at in anyway by small animals. If the dustbin can easily be knocked over then scavenging animals will rip open bin bags which will give household pest a free meal.

Finally, as some pests don’t feed on food scraps but instead like to munch through mould, mildew and rotting wood the humidity levels within your home will have to be controlled. This is down to the fact that humid and damp conditions increase the chances of mould and mildew forming and wood rotting.

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