Keeping Your Home Bug-Free
Uninvited guests can put a damper on your enjoyment in the summertime. It’s much, much worse if those guests have several sets of legs. It doesn’t matter the type, bugs are probably the last thing that you want to deal with when you’re supposed to be relaxing at home. It can be hard to know where to start, because everyone has their own advice about how to get rid of insects.
Luckily for you, however, you have come to the right place. The experts at All American Pest want to start your summer off properly, with sound advice on how to handle bugs in different areas of the home — without the use of any harsh chemicals!
When shopping for, or displaying, fresh fruits and vegetables, the last thing you want is a side of fruit flies. But sometimes, it’s unavoidable. Try making a simple trap with vinegar and a paper funnel. You can catch a ton of flies; the fruit flies go in but they can’t get out.
It is also important to make sure any bugs in your kitchen aren’t getting invited by unattended treats. Make sure that you don’t leave cookies, crackers, or crumbs unwrapped and out. Those are bug magnets.
For even more targeted bug banishing, sprays that allow you to hit bugs directly are a great option throughout the home. This is particularly true of the kitchen, where they might show up regardless of your best efforts to keep food items up off the countertops and floors swept clean. A new generation of products have been developed by entomologists. The sprays’ active ingredients are powered by plant-based essential oils that target nervous system receptors vital to bugs, not people or pets. When sprayed on common pests like the German cockroach and the fruit fly, the bugs were knocked down fast.
Where there’s water, bugs will thrive, so it’s key to make sure you take care of leaks in places like the bathroom, where you might not always think to find insects. If you do spy a bug under the sink, don’t panic: make the most out of a deep-clean.
The first step is taking everything out of the sink cabinet and making sure it is clean and items are sealed up. Then line the bottom of the cabinet with vinyl tiles. Put it down so that it’s easy to wipe up and clean in the base of that cabinet. An already easy-to-clean space will make using any products you choose to add even more effective.
When it comes to keeping bugs out of bedrooms, the best defense is a good offense. Make sure the screens are in good shape. It only takes a small tear for bugs to get in, especially in the warm summer months when windows might be open more than usual.
If you’re seeing more bugs than you’d like, it might also be a good idea to try using a trap. There are several brands of flying insect traps that work without chemical insecticides—instead, they use multi-spectrum light technology and simulated body heat to lure and capture flying pests. The traps are actually more effective in the dark, so they’re a good option to get rid of bugs while you snooze, worry-free.
