Saturday, May 22nd, 2010
Ants
- Ants may be coming inside your home for food or shelter.
- Insecticides are good for controlling an area for a short period of time.
- Bait is best in most cases. Ants will take the food back to the queen. When she dies from the bait, the colony will die with her.
Bees, Wasps, Hornets
- Spray insecticides (like RAID) are best defense against nesting flying pests.
- Spray the nest at night or around dawn. This insures that the population is at the nest. Also, you’ll be less likely to be stung as they’re less aggressive at these times.
- Remove the nest when after everything has been sprayed.
Earwigs
- Earwigs like moist places.
- Eliminate moist areas around the home’s foundation, crawl spaces and entry points using chalk or salt.
- Insecticides will help around the foundation of the house.
- They’re attracted to light like most bugs. Dimming or removing outdoor lighting may help thin the population.
Flies
- Sanitation is the best defense against most flies.
- Put away any food that is out.
- Clean all counters and floors of food and debris.
- Throw out the garbage.
- Keep lids on garbage cans that are inside.
- Fly paper does indeed help control the population, but won’t eliminate the problem.
Rodents, mice, or rats
- Own a female cat. They’ll hunt and kill the mice for you without help from you.
- Place mouse traps in areas you’ve seen the rodent previously.
- Use peanut butter or cheese to bait traps.
- If problem is large, use poison bait to quickly reduce the population.
Termites
- Your best bet is to call an exterminator, pronto.
General
- Be careful with poisonous baits with pets or children around the house.
- Remove any food sources pests may have access to by putting all food into containers and cleaning up any crumbs or mess on the counters or floor.
- Insecticides generally repel bugs rather than kill them. Despite this, they’re still helpful when it comes to pest control.
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Saturday, May 22nd, 2010
There are several things that need to be done before an exterminator visits your home. These things are important to do in advance because it makes the exterminator’s job easier. As a result, be sure to do the following things before an exterminator comes to your home.
- If you can, have an example of the pest that you want exterminated handy to show to the exterminator. This helps the exterminator decide which products and pest removal options to use in your home. If you are afraid to have a physical example handy, use a picture instead.
- Pick up any trash or debris that might be on the floor. This will make it easier for the exterminator to spray inside the house. It also makes it easier for the exterminator to move around inside your home.
- Sweep around any areas that are going to be sprayed. A dirty floor is almost impossible to spray properly. As a result, be sure to sweep around any areas that are going to be sprayed. This will make it easier for the chemicals to do their job properly.
- Throw away or put away any food that’s not inside a container. This is important because most sprays that are used to kill pests can end up inside open food containers. This makes the food inside the containers uneatable. As a result, it’s vital that you don’t leave food out prior to the exterminator’s visit.
- Put away any household chemicals that might interact with the products that are used to kill pests. Many household chemicals don’t interact well with the products that are used to kill pests. As a result, be sure to put away household cleaners, detergents and bleach products. This will prevent any unwanted chemical interactions from occurring.
- Finally, Keep your pets away from the areas that are going to be sprayed. Most pets are very sensitive to the chemicals that are used to kill pests. As a result, keep your pets away from any areas that are going to be sprayed to protect them from inhaling any of the chemicals that were sprayed in the house.
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