Keeping Pests Away From Your Property Permanently

Sometimes, when we’re making updates to our home, it unveils a surprise or two! Any old home can find itself harboring a variety of pests. It’s important that, whether we are making updates to an old home, or we have just moved somewhere new, we deal with pests using a variety of tactics as well as many preventative measures. Let’s show you some of the best ways to combine your efforts so you can defend your home from pests.

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Check for Any Gaps or Cracks

Your home will have a variety of tiny openings, and pests can easily find their way through any of these, so you need to inspect or find any gaps and cracks, as well as seal broken windows or doors. This is one of the best ways to exert some sense of rodent control over your property.

When you check for missing roof shingles or gaps in your siding, all this can slowly paint a picture that your home is not unlike Swiss cheese, meaning that cheese-chasing rodents may not be far behind! 

Use Herbs and Scents to Deter Visitors

One of the best things we can do is to make our home repellents to pests. There are a number of things that we can do especially with regard to strong-smelling items. For example, citronella candles can provide a strong smell that keeps specific pests away. You can also make a concoction with white vinegar and peppermint or eucalyptus. 

If you start putting strong scents around the part of the property where pests are making an entrance, this will do a lot to keep them away. For example, if you’ve got a lot of spiders on the property, as useful as spiders are, an old wives’ tale where you slice up some onions in a bowl of water and place them where spiders enter your home can keep them away. 

Plugging Holes With the Right Materials

You can seal holes in your property with a number of methods that can make a massive difference. Caulk is one of those things that is a tried and tested tactic, but it’s important to remember that some pests can chew through it. 

But there are other things you can use, such as copper mesh. If you find a hole where pests are entering your property, you can put copper mesh into the hole with a screwdriver and fill the gaps with foam sealant, potentially keeping pests out permanently. 

Providing a Humane Way to Get Rid of Pests

We can easily start putting down poison all around our home if we see an influx of pests, but it will depend on the type of pests that are entering your property. We have to remember that pests are attracted to foodstuffs, and if you have a variety of animals that are constantly tipping your garbage cans over in the hunt for food, one of the best things you can do is to provide a food source that distracts them from your property. 

For example, if you set up a bird feeder, this is a great way to attract almost every animal in your yard. Make sure you set up the bird feeder as far away from your home as possible, and at the bottom end of the garden, which can give you insight as to why you’re getting pests on your property. However this method only works with small animals, and you may need to provide a constant supply of food. However, bird feeders are pretty easy to make. A lot of people use items like peanut butter, lard, and oats, which you can get super cheap from the store, but in doing this, you may find that you’ve got animals going for your plants. This is where wire cloches can make a massive difference. You can easily make your own wire cloche, which is a bell-shaped covering that you can cover your plants with. 

Keeping an Eye on Your Humidity Levels

If you are finding an influx of spiders in your property, you’ve got to look at the time of year you are in, especially as the temperatures drop resulting in spiders looking for a safe haven in your property, but you can get rid of spiders in spaces like your basement by checking the humidity levels. 

A 40% humidity level is the best way to keep spiders away from your property completely. If you are experiencing spider problems, you need to be vigilant for a few weeks, for example, by cleaning cobwebs away as soon as they appear and keeping window sills brushed clean, which will cause the population to die down eventually. 

Being More Hygienic in the Home

If you get an influx of pests on your property, garbage is the number one culprit, as it can attract roaches, rodents, and ants. You need to get into the habit of properly disposing of your trash and keeping your external areas clear of things like plant clippings, which is where you can use coffee grounds to keep house pests away. Many pests hate the smell of coffee grounds, and strategically sprinkling it in areas outside of your home where pests come in will do a lot. 

In addition, you need to be vigilant with your containers, especially if you’ve got pets in the home. Pet food needs to be stored safely, and you can either put them in sealed plastic containers or get rid of any food that’s been laying around for the entire day. 

There is a lot you need to consider when you are dealing with pests on the property. There is a wide variety of support, and in reality, if you want to get rid of pests completely, a combination of methods will work best. But it also is worth asking what pests are on the property. For example, spiders are very helpful, so you may want to allow maybe one or two in to get rid of the other pesky critters! But, for the most part, a combination of methods can do a lot.