House pests can be tough to get rid of. They will eventually cost you a lot of money to exterminate. The best way to avoid house pests is to keep your house clean and spotless. Some pests will invade your home because of small food crumbs that fall behind the cooker. All garbage should be disposed of as soon as possible. Before this, it should be locked in an airtight can. Also, you should block all cracks in walls, as well as other places around the house. These provide shelter to the pests. Some pests can be controlled by getting rid of water sources in and around the home.
There are many different types of house pests and most of these are interested in food. The five most common and troublesome types of house pests are the cockroaches, ants, mosquitoes, rodents, and flies.
Here are the top 5 house pests to look out for, and the necessary controls:
1. Cockroaches
Cockroaches are, by far, the most common house pests. These pests are not just a nuisance in the home; they can easily end up causing diseases. They carry bacteria and contaminate food with their waste and saliva. This will lead to diarrhea, food poisoning, in addition to staphylococcus infections. Breathing in dust that contains the waste or body parts of cockroaches can also lead to allergic reactions and asthma. Controlling cockroaches is not easy. They can even invade the best-kept homes, especially if they already found a home in a neighboring apartment. However, you can take steps to reduce the probability of getting the pests in your house.
First, you need to keep all your food tightly sealed for storage. This includes pet food. Also, you need to take out the trash on a regular basis. All cooking and eating utensils have to be cleaned. Any place where food crumbs might fall should also be cleaned regularly. Such places include the kitchen floor and the areas behind the fridge.
2. Ants
Ants might be small, but they are some of the most irritating house pests. Some common types of house ants are the Pharaoh ant, the thief ant and the carpenter ant. These pests live in cracks, crevices, debris piles and other moist places. They usually travel in set trails and are attracted to food crumbs.Ants can be hard to eliminate, but control is possible. The main thing you can do is to sanitize your home. Ants are always in search of food crumbs and are unlikely to invade your home if you try to keep it spotless. These pests will even invade your home if small particles of sugar are left sitting in the sink.
Another way to control these pests is by finding their nest and using any extermination products that are specifically meant for the type of ant in your home.
3. Mice and Rats
Most people jump when they see rats and mice in the house. This is justifiable, considering how dangerous these rodents can be. They carry disease, and some of these can lead to death. These diseases include Hantavirus, Listeria, Rat-Bite Fever, and Salmonellosis. Mice urine can cause allergies, and their droppings can even trigger the development of asthma.
In addition to this, mice and rats are known to eat a lot of your food. These rodents can easily finish your leftovers. Besides food, they can eat clothes, wooden materials, and parts of your house. Danger from electricity can also result when the rodents choose to chew on cables and wires. In fact, mice and rats lead to about 20 percent of house fires in the USA.
These pests can be controlled by getting rid of food and water sources, in addition to areas that can shelter the rodents.
4. Flies
Flies are particularly hated for the buzzing sound they make in an otherwise silent home. The health effects of these pests go far beyond the simple annoyance. House flies carry many diseases, including tuberculosis, typhoid, diarrhea, dysentery, and many other food-borne types. Flies hang around garbage, human waste, and dirty places where they feed. The same pests will come to your home and leave their waste on your food, and that is how they spread diseases.
Some types of flies thrive in outdoor habitats but will visit your home once in a while, and these are quite hard to control. Some practices can help to reduce the flies that regularly visit your home considerably. First, you can repair broken windows and doors. Also, don’t leave pools of water in or out of your house as these will attract them. Most importantly, keep your trash can locked tightly at all times.
5. Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are probably the most dangerous of house pests as they infect about a million people every year through the transmission of malaria.The pests transmit several other diseases, including yellow fever, dengue fever, and the West Nile virus. Zika virus is another serious disease transmitted by mosquitoes. It had been declared a national emergency after leading to developmental issues in many newborn babies.The West Nile virus is also common in the USA. It causes inflammation of the brain and affects the central nervous system. People who get infected with the disease don’t normally show severe symptoms but instead, develop immunity to the condition.
Mosquitoes breed in stationary water pools, so you can control them by getting rid of these puddles. You can also consider using chemicals that are meant to control them. The same chemicals can be used on the vegetation around your home.
Many different pests can invade your house, and these can be very hard to control. Pests eat your food, cause discomfort in the home, and transmit deadly diseases. Tolerating these creatures in your home is unhealthy. Follow the tips given in this article to reduce the chances of getting a pest infestation in your house. In case they eventually infest your home, you can try getting rid of them yourself or, even better, contact pest control services to eliminate them successfully.
