7 Cleaning Tips for a Pest-Free Home
No one wants pests in their home. Many pests, including cockroaches and mice, spread disease. Pests can also contaminate food, leave a mess everywhere, and destroy your home. Clearly, a pest-free home is best.
As important as it is to keep pests out of your home, it can also be hard to remove them once they gain a foothold. Prevention is the key to pest control. Professional pest control companies are a good resource for pest prevention. Another great way to prevent pests from infesting your home is to keep it clean.
Below you will find the best cleaning tips for keeping your home pest-free. But first, we will discuss why cleaning is so important for pest control.
Why is cleaning important for pest control?
How will cleaning prevent pests? It is one of the most important things you can do to ensure pests do not enter your home. There are a few reasons why a clean home is so crucial for pest control.
- Many pests prefer hiding in clutter. A clean home has fewer hiding places.
- Cleaning regularly helps you keep tabs on your entire home. It should help you discover a pest infestation early.
- Most pests enter your home looking for food, water, and shelter. Cleaning deprives them of all three of these things.
- If you need to hire professional pest control services, a clean house provides the exterminator a blank slate from which to work. Their products and methods will likely be more effective in a clean house than in a dirty one.
Top cleaning tips for keeping your home free of pests.
Now that you know why cleaning is so important, it’s time to learn the best ways to clean to prevent pests.
Clean up the clutter.
Most important when you are cleaning your home as a form of pest control is decluttering. It is easy for boxes, knick-knacks, and other items to build up, especially in unused rooms and spaces. These dark, secluded areas are ideal spots for many pests. Spiders, rodents, cockroaches, and other insects all prefer making their homes in dark, quiet places. By keeping your home clutter-free, you will be depriving pests of the shelter they need.
De-cobweb your home.
Dusting is a crucial cleaning step in any home. However, for pest control, you should make sure to remove all cobwebs. This can be done with a dusting brush or a vacuum depending on the location of the cobweb.
Old cobwebs are an eyesore and immediately draw attention away from your cleaning efforts. And new cobwebs likely have spiders in them. You don’t want spiders living in your home. Removing the cobwebs will force the spiders out.
Spend extra time cleaning your kitchen.
As mentioned above, most pests are attracted to homes with easy food access. To make your home less appealing, spend extra time cleaning your pantry and kitchen. Using plastic containers to store loose dry goods will help keep rodents and cockroaches out. You should also vacuum or sweep all dropped food out of these locations. Pests are very good at finding food, even crumbs.
Vacuum up all crumbs.
That brings us to the next tip: don’t allow crumbs in your home. This can be a little challenging if you have pets or children. However, spending the extra time vacuuming up crumbs will be well worth it. Crumbs on the floor, counters, or in the sink every day will help keep your home less attractive to pests.
Attics and basements need to remain clean as well.
It is easy to forget about attics and basements. But these locations need to be cleaned regularly as well. Cleaning in your attic and basement can alert you to any leak or crack in these areas, which can attract pests. Many pests also prefer to live in attics and basements. By spending time cleaning these areas, you are more likely to notice a pest problem early.
Don’t forget the exterior.
Even if you keep your home spotless, pests may find their way in. Often this is because the exterior has been neglected. If you have a lot of piles of wood, brush, or debris near your home, that can attract pests. It is not that hard for the pests to go from your dirty exterior to your clean interior. Termites are especially bad about this. If you have woodpiles too near your home, your risk of a termite problem goes up significantly. Make sure the outside of your home is as clean as the inside.
Clean regularly.
Finally, we have our most general tip, and that is to clean regularly. You should do this anyway. However, cleaning regularly is important for pest control. Scheduling regular cleaning days will ensure that nothing gets out of hand. It also means your home will remain clean, hygienic, and sanitized. There is nothing less appealing to pests than that.
