Having the peace of mind that comes with a pest-free home is attainable and well within the realm of possibility, even if you’ve struggled with pests in the past. It may seem overwhelming to have to keep everything spotless to prevent pests from taking up residence in your home. However, it’s best to keep your home clean to deter pests rather than spending money to replace the walls, wires and personal belongings they destroy.

Taking the time and effort needed to maintain a clean home is well worth the investment, as pests can cause danger or disease to you or your loved ones. In this article, we’ll provide you with eight cleaning tips for pest prevention.

1. Watch Out for Standing Water

Although the tip of preventing standing water in or around your home is not the first one people think of to prevent pests, it’s a very important tip to remember because pests of all sizes need a water source to survive. Don’t let standing water sit around your home or on your property, as it could attract unwanted guests.

Water sources can be anything from a birdbath to a leaky pipe to pooled up water after washing your car. To ensure that you’re in the best situation after a rainstorm, check that your gutters and downspouts aren’t worn out or won’t cause water to pool or leak into your home. Other sources of water to watch out for include shower water staying on the floor — which means your shower doesn’t drain well — or water leaking from your dishwasher, fridge or other appliances.

2. Maintain The Grounds Around Your Home

Another tip for pest control is to keep your home’s grounds clean. Proper yard care will prevent pests and improve your home’s curb appeal. Ticks, roaches and ants will all find the vegetation around your home a friendly environment if it’s not maintained. Whether that’s cutting the grass, getting rid of dead plants or removing fallen leaves in the fall, pests will not feel welcome. It’s important they don’t find a home in your yard because that could lead them to explore the inside of your home.

If you have firewood at your home for an indoor fireplace or a firepit in your backyard, don’t put the woodpile near your home. Stacks of firewood can feel like a mansion to many pests, such as earwigs, centipedes, crickets, beetles, cockroaches and termites. To keep them in the woodpile and not in your home, keep your firewood at least twenty feet away from your home.

3. Empty the Trash

A high-traffic area that humans and pests consider to be their main food source is the kitchen, which is why you should not give pests the opportunity to sit down to a meal. One of the most important tips to keep a pest-free home is to empty the trash regularly.

The trash is many pests’ favorite attraction as it’s filled with smelly foods waiting for them to eat. Ants, cockroaches, flies and other unwanted insects will use your trash as their own all-you-can-eat buffet, so you should empty it frequently. Once you do put the trash in the dumpster, make sure to replace the dumpster’s lid, or else rodents, birds, squirrels and other animals will be able to rummage through your trash.

4. Eliminate Food Sources

The biggest cleaning tip we could give you for pest prevention is to eliminate food sources pests enjoy. Consider your kitchen for a moment — assess what the counters look like, the floor, the fruit basket on your island counter or anything else that frequents your kitchen space. Having crumbs or pieces of food on your counters or floors is like putting out a welcome sign to pests of all kinds to come inside your home.

If you have a fruit basket, know that having fruit or other produce that’s past its prime is a good way to attract fruit flies, house flies, ants and other critters. Aside from keeping your floors and counters free of foodstuff, it’s also important to keep food containers sealed and limit food to the kitchen. Keeping food out of the bedrooms or other rooms in the house will greatly limit the risk of finding pests all throughout your home.

5. Regularly Clean Your Homes

Making sure your kitchen is clean will help with maintaining a pest-free home, but it will have little benefit if the rest of your home is in disarray. You can be confident in your bug prevention efforts and greatly decrease the likelihood of invasive pests in your home if you regularly clean your entire home, such as seasonal fall and spring cleaning.

Part of your cleaning regime should be to check all the mattresses, couch cushions and other furniture in your home because cockroaches and bed bugs enjoy living in dark, warm places. Also check in pantries and other food storage areas for signs of pests, like droppings or tracks.

If you bring anything new into your home, even your suitcase after a vacation, it’s a good idea to wash your clothes before returning them to the dressers. Wash new bed sheets, blankets or clothes on a hot cycle, as that will be the most effective at killing pests and any eggs they may have laid. Additionally, vacuuming frequently and removing clutter throughout your home will prevent pests since they enjoy living in dirty and unkempt places.

6. Protect Your Pets Against Pests

If you have a four-legged friend or another pet, it’s a good idea to protect them and yourself against pests. You can do this by using flea and tick repellent with medication or collars. Furthermore, keep pet food in sealed containers and make sure your pets aren’t leaving a mess after they finish their breakfast or dinner. Consider giving your pets meal servings and removing their food bowl and the crumbs they make after their meal.

7. Perform Regular Home Inspections

Inspecting your home at least annually is a good way to keep an eye on your property and assess what areas may need attention, either now or in the future. Take the time to seal cracks and crevices to prevent ants, spiders and other pests from sneaking inside. It’s also a good idea to fix broken windows and window screens.

Taking an assessment of the interior of your home is also equally important. Spend time in areas where pests are most likely to live, such as the basement, attic, root cellar, laundry room, bathrooms, kitchen and garage.

8. Control Pests in Your Home With Pestech

Following these cleaning tips for pest control can help prevent pests from entering your home. Doing a regular inspection on your own will prevent a small pest problem from becoming a full-on invasion. However, yearly checkups and regular pest control maintenance from a pest control specialist can give you peace of mind.

If you have a pest problem, seek out a professional right away. The trained pest-control experts at Pestech can help keep your home free from pests all year long.

Contact us today to schedule your inspection!