How to Keep Your Waycross Home Pest Free

1/30/2018 (Permalink)

We’ve found that keeping your home pest free is much easier than getting rid of them after they’ve moved in. Our approach to this is two-pronged. First, prevent them from entering your home, and second, use these cleaning tips to take away all their reasons for thinking it might be a good place to live.

Prevent Their Entry

Pests can enter your home through the smallest cracks, so the efforts you make to seal up the cracks in your home’s exterior will keep some of them out. Look for gaps around the pipes that enter your home and seal with expanding foam. Holes in window and door screens let insects in and you can repair or replace the screens.

Apply weatherstripping around door frames, and if there’s a visible gap between the base of the door and the floor, install a door sweep to keep them from crawling inside. Caulk around the window frames to prevent flying or crawling insects from gaining entry.

Eliminate Their Interest

Bugs won’t be as interested in your home if they can’t smell or otherwise sense food and water inside it. Even if you vacuum and sweep routinely, food has a way of accumulating under the appliances, in the carpet and between the furniture cushions. When we at SERVPRO of Waycross / Hinesville / Douglas provide cleaning services, we pay attention to the hidden places where crumbs often scatter.

Additionally, these cleaning tips can help you keep the bugs outside:

• Use a kitchen garbage can with a tight-fitting lid.

• Keep boxed or bagged food like cereal, flour, sugar, chips, crackers, or cookies in tightly covered tins and plastic or glass containers. You can also keep flour and sugar in the refrigerator.

• Rinse the dishes before loading the dishwasher and use the garbage disposal every day.

• Put your pets on a feeding schedule and remove and rinse their food dishes.

• Keep the drawers closed to prevent food crumbs from dropping inside.

• Move the appliances periodically to vacuum and scrub beneath them.

• Snacking and binging go together, and when you indulge, make sure everyone uses a plate and napkin to prevent food from spilling into the carpet or furniture.