We all know how to deal with a few ants here and a spider there, but what can you do if there is an infestation? Even more worrying is the question of what to do when the infestation isn’t even on your property, and you are still dealing with the bugs that come with it.
Here are a few steps that you can take to keep the pests at bay!
- Who Foots The Bill?
First, you need to establish who is responsible for what.
The bes way to sort this out without causing unnecessary conflict with your neighbors is to contact your real estate agent and body corporate. You can let them decide or you can use them as moderators to get your neighbor feeling proactive about the bug problem.
- What Method of Pest Control Suits the Scenario
If you and your neighbors get along well enough, you could consider splitting the bill on a pest control service to save on costs. Alternatively, if the bulk of the problem is not on your premises, you can employ small spot control like bug sprays and even seal off your home more securely with both physical and chemical barriers.
- Prevent Re-Infestation
Keep clean; to keep bugs at bay, regularly clean areas in the house where there might be food or mess, regularly wash your dishes, change rubbish bags, and keep tidy. Also store your food in airtight containers. Keeping the place clean will eliminate food sources, things that attract the bugs, and also places that they like to hide.
Hiding Places
Be aware of wet places; ensure that you don’t leave standing water sitting around and check cupboards in the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry. Wet and dark spaces are ideal places for bugs to hide and breed.
Yard maintenance is just as important for preventing infestations as keeping indoors in order. Things you can do around your yard to discourage bugs is; to sprinkle ant sand around where you find ants, keep the yard clear of piles of plant matter and building materials, regularly maintain your shed, keep the garden weeded and, if you have a crawlspace under your house, ensure it is dry and free of potential food sources for infestations.
Drainage channels should also be kept clear of leaves and other debris.
If you have a fountain or birdbath, you should change the water in them fortnightly in the warmer months to prevent mosquitoes breeding. If you find that your living plants have bugs on them, spraying some water with detergent on the plant and bugs will usually discourage them.
Garbage storage is another important thing to think about when controlling bug populations. You should always store garbage in a sealed bag or in a bin with a lid (if not both). Always wash recyclable goods that contained food or drink.
Finally, encouraging natural predators of insects and spiders to be in your yard will help you keep the bug population low and easy to manage. This is easy, you can attract birds by planting plants that are native to your area, installing feeders and bird baths, and planting trees and bushes that encourage nesting. Birds are not only insect eaters but they are beautiful to look at, and are a lovely sight for you to wake up to in the morning.
The golden rule in all of this is just to keep your home clean and tidy.
Most of these tips are things you will only need to do once or at least not too often. If you can manage even half of the things on this list, your home should stay relatively bug free!