Eco-Friendly Tips to Eliminate Pests at Home

Home pest control can, and in fact should, be done in an eco-friendly way. Gone are the days when you could grab a can of spray and chase pests around the kitchen squirting liquid toxicity with abandon. This is considered very bad form nowadays. If Greenpeace hears about it, well you don't want to be home when they show up.

Eco-friendly pest control is very different than the old days. It requires more than just point and spray. You have to use your brain. You don't have any problem with that, right? Here's how to start. Take a slow walk around your house. Look at everything carefully and pay attention to the details. Look for every crack or crevice, even if they're small. Mice can fit through very small holes and a termite can fit through a tiny crack.

Now that you've been around the house, you know where the problems are. Your mission is to caulk up every last opening. Yes, ever single one. Any opening you leave will be an invitation to one pest or another to set up housekeeping. Before you know it their kids, friends and relatives are visiting and you have a serious problem. You can prevent it, though. Caulk up every little opening.

Use the expanding foam sold in hardware stores for larger opening. Broken window screens should be repaired or replaced. Check the outside doors to ensure the weather stripping is in good repair. Add a door sweep under the door if there's a gap. Take a hard look at how close the trees and shrubs are to the house. If they're close, trim them back. The little critters will take full advantage of such a highway if you let 'em.

When you finish, take a break with your favorite cool liquid. Now repeat the process inside the house. Inspect from floor to ceiling in every room. Seal up every little opening with caulk. Why? To provide a double barrier like the oil tankers do. If pests get through one barrier, they're met with another. Then mark your calendar to re-inspect and touch up the caulk in 6 months. Repeat every six months.

The first time is the worst. From now on the inspection and caulk touch up is a breeze. If every homeowner followed this procedure, many pest control companies feel like the Maytag repair man waiting for a problem to occur. But most homeowners won't go to the trouble. The professionals know this is the way to go. Some of the best pest control companies will actually follow this procedure, or require you to do it. This is very smart pest control. The best way to eliminate pests from your home is to simply not let them in to begin with. Remember, every 6 months.

The next step is to clean the inside of the house - thoroughly. There may have been critters already inside when you double sealed the house. The point is to remove anything the pests might use as food or water, and eliminate anyplace they might want to hide. We want those little critters to get good and hungry. We'll serve up baits later. Don't forget to vacuum. If you have a machine with a hose and wand you can do inside cabinets, under the sofa and in the corners where the cob webs are. You know the ones, you've seen them. Vacuum everywhere. Check all faucets for leaks and repair them immediately. We want 'em thirsty too.

Now think back, what was the last pest you saw, or felt in your house? Ants? Roaches? Fleas? Those are the big 3, but there are others. Whichever pest is was, do a little research. Read up on them. Google them. Eco-friendly pest control requires you to use something much more powerful than traditional pesticides. It requires you to use your brain. But you need information. You need to get to know your enemy.

If you have followed along and will follow the above steps, you'll take an enormous step toward eliminating pests in your home without using any pesticides at all. But this is just a beginning, Eco-friendly pest control is a huge topic and one article can't cover it. Future articles will include how ancient people dealt with pests before pesticides existed, pest ID, baits and much more.

About the Author

Florida Bug Inspectors is a leading Tampa pest control company with over 25 years experience solving tough pest control problems. If you have flea, roach, ant, termite control problems, contact Florida Bug Inspectors.