Ah, spring. The weather is warming up, the sun is out, and you’re ready to enjoy the season. That is until you spot them: the common household pests.
It doesn’t take long for pests to get into your home once the weather is warm. You’re no longer protected by the chilly winds of winter.
We’re here to talk about what you can do when you identify common household bugs in your home. Read on to learn more.
1. Banish Gnats With a Simple Trap
Gnats are some of the most common household bugs, and they can be a real nuisance. You’re one piece of slightly too ripe fruit from the grocery store away from a full-on infestation.
Gnats are difficult to get rid of and they seem to multiply overnight. If you’re in a bind and you’re not ready to hire a professional to get rid of them, you can make a simple trap with supplies that you might already have at home.
The first version of this trap is the simplest. Take a shallow bowl and fill it with wine, beer, or vinegar. Add several drops of dish soap to the bowl and leave it out in your kitchen.
The flies will be attracted to the vinegar, wine, or beer so they’ll dive right in. The dish soap will trap them so they can’t get back out.
If the dish soap isn’t doing a good enough job trapping them, you have options.
First, you can cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Poke a few small holes in the plastic so gnats can get in, but they can’t get out.
If you don’t have plastic wrap, swap the bowl for a jar (with the liquid mixture). Roll a piece of paper into a funnel with a narrow opening and put the thinner side in the jar.
The gnats will be able to get in, but even the ones who evade the dish soap will have a hard time getting out.
Now your only problem will be disposing of your collection of flies and dish soap mixture! We recommend flushing it.
2. Keep Flies at Bay With Basil
If you’ve been looking for a good reason to start growing herbs on your windowsill, this is it. Basil isn’t only a great addition to your pasta dishes, it’s also a great fly deterrent.
Place basil in your kitchen if you’ve been attracting pesky flies. If you don’t have them indoors yet, place them outside around doors or windows that you use most often.
This is great for anyone who likes to keep their windows open during the spring and summer, but is also tired of those unwanted flying roommates.
3. Make Your Drains Squeaky Clean
Have you been noticing tiny bugs in your kitchen, but they don’t look quite like gnats? You might have drain flies.
Drain flies are similar to gnats and you can still use the vinegar trick to get rid of them, but they will keep coming back. It’s because of your drain.
If your drain is growing mold or if there’s any organic waste inside of it (such as rotting vegetables, no matter how small), drain flies are going to gather.
Keep your sink and drain clean and this won’t be a problem.
4. Bonus Drain Fly Tip: Boiling Water and Bleach
If you already have drain flies, how are you going to get rid of them?
There are a few potential methods, but the easiest (and cheapest) one is to use a combination of boiling water and bleach. This should be effective as long as you’re diligent.
Make a mixture of bleach and water (1:2) and pour it down the drain. While you’re doing this, put a bot of water on the stove to boil.
Once the water is boiling, remove it from the stove and pour it down the drain. This should kill any lurking drain flies.
You should do this at least every other day (if not every day) until you’re no longer seeing drain flies. You want to make sure that you’ve gotten rid of any eggs or larvae.
5. Throw Out or Seal Your Garbage
The pests are in your home because there’s something to eat in there. Flies and gnats want your organic waste and spiders want the flies and gnats. Get rid of the problem by removing their food source.
If you have an active bug problem, it might be in your best interest to take your garbage out every day. This might seem wasteful or excessive, but when you remove food sources, the bugs will dissipate almost immediately.
If this doesn’t work for you, get a garbage can with a heavy lid or a tight seal. This will make it more difficult for insects to get in.
6. Keep Your Old Coffee Grounds
Did you know that used coffee grounds can be an effective pest deterrent?
If you’ve found areas in your home where pests are getting in, place a small bowl or bag of coffee grounds there until you can block them. The pests won’t like the smell so they’ll be less likely to invade.
You can also sprinkle coffee grounds outdoors. Bonus: they’re good for your plants. You’ll be improving your garden while you deter pests!
7. When In Doubt: Hire a Pro
Sometimes no DIY remedies will work for your household pests. Certain pests, like bedbugs and termites, are hard to get rid of without professional help. Even common tiny household bugs will be difficult to remove when you have a serious infestation.
That’s when you know that it’s time to hire a pest control expert like fastactionpestcontrol.com. They’ll use all of the tools at their disposal to remove pests from your home and they can offer you professional pest prevention methods so you don’t run into this problem again.
Banish Those Common Household Bugs
Dealing with common household bugs is a pain, but these tips might help. Whether you’re making insect traps or making an active effort to keep your home cleaner, you’ll be able to get rid of those unwanted roommates in no time.
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