You open the drawer, and there it is: teeny little mice droppings. The scatter of ants. Or the “click, click, click” of roach feet as they make a mad dash for a hiding place.
If you’ve ever had to deal with pest infestations such as mice, ants or roaches, you know what a massive job it is to get rid of the problem.
My goal today is to help you avoid having to deal with those types of pest infestations. Living in the country, we have more than our fair share of mice, ants and other pests endowing our land with their not-so-enticing presence.
How do we –and how can you – keep them at bay, away from the home and securely outside? Here are some solid tips for ensuring your home gets and stays free of mice, ants and other pests.
Getting Rid of Pests
Get Organized
- The first step to eliminating pests is to get rid of clutter in your home and garage. Pests love clutter. The undisturbed, unorganized messes they find in homes and garages make an ideal breeding ground with which to increase numbers and increase headaches for home owners.
- Step two in getting organized is to store your things in plastic sealed containers. Well-sealed plastic containers keep your food and other belongings safe from hungry pests looking for a home because they can’t smell through or chew through the plastic to get to your goods.
- Step three in getting your home organized in a way that deters pests is to deep clean every counter, cupboard and drawers. Get rid of unneeded cardboard and paper. Wipe cupboards and drawers down with a cleaning solution. The less smells and clutter pests find, the less reason they have to stay and set up shop in your home.
Seal Your Home Properly
Another step in eliminating pests from your home begins with checking all doors, windows, walls and foundation areas for cracks and crevices.
Mice can fit through crevices as small as a quarter inch by flattening their flexible bone structures, so it’s important to leave no crack unsealed.
Making a thorough search of every potential entryway for pests and sealing those cracks and crevices will go a long way in ensuring pests don’t have an entry point into your home.
This includes repairing screens with holes in them and caulking cracks in your sidewalks.
Take Extra Measures
It never hurts to have outside help when working to eliminate pests from your home. Here are some extra measures that can help you keep your home pest-free.
Get a Cat
Cats do wonders in helping deter mice from hanging around your home and property. In our home in the country, we have both inside cats to keep mice from wandering in, and outdoor cats that take care of mice and other pests on the property.
Remove Outdoor Pest Havens
Firewood and mulch piles make wonderful homes for mice and other pests, so be sure to store your firewood and other piles at least 30 feet away from your home or garage.
Set Traps
Mouse traps and ant/roach traps set up in safe areas away from children and pets can help catch any pests that do happen to sneak into your home. Be sure to read labels carefully and keep these types of items far out of the reach of children and pets.
Use Natural Pest Deterrents
There are many natural, non-pesticide ways to get rid of bugs and other pests both in your garden and in your home. A quick Internet search will help you to learn what types of methods work best without necessarily being unhealthy or dangerous.
Get Help
If you’ve done everything you know how to do but are still struggling with pest problems, it may be time to get help. Contact a quality pest control and prevention company such as Watts Pest Control if you’re having trouble with mice, ants, roaches or any other type of household pests.
The sooner you start working to get a pest problem under control, the easier it will be to eliminate the problem. And as with all things, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Start preparing your home today to make it uninviting to unwanted pests such as mice, roaches and ants.
Have you ever had to deal with pest infestations? If so, what techniques worked for you?
Right now we are in Arizona, and packrats are a huge nuisance around here. I had no idea! They even got into our car and started chewing on some of the wires 🙁 UGH!
Okay, I’m TOTALLY embarrassed to admit that I had NO IDEA that a packrat was a real live animal until I just looked them up on Wikipedia!! Too weird!! We’ll have to hit Deacon up for some packrat deterrent tips. 🙂
I had no idea either, Laurie!
Isn’t that a hoot?
I thought Michelle was making a joke up there : ) We had to deal with mice once and bit fat ants (maybe carpenter ants?) for a few summers. Really good to know about clutter being a cause. We’ve been de-cluttering steadily, but we have a way to go. Another reason to keep at it.
LOL, so did I! I had no idea packrats were real animals. 🙂 Those carpenter ants are creepy. I know Grayson had to deal with them once -yuck!
We are also in the country in an old modular rental home. Usually, a single mousetrap in the laundry room kept the pests at bay. Then a mouse had the audacity to die somewhere in the ventilation system. ::sigh:: You’re totally right about clutter and deep cleaning. I’m really glad you posted this on the eve of spring cleaning season.
Ooooh, that’s the worst!!! We had one crawl up into the side of the insulation in our fridge one year and die. The smell was SO gross!!! It was the worst!
We have mice in our shed, but thankfully our house has been pest free (knock on wood). Last year a mice or mole…or something.. ate through our patio umbrella. 🙁
Yuck!! They are the worst. Glad you’ve been able to make sure your house stays mouse free! 🙂
Here in Phoenix it’s cockroaches. So so so many cockroaches. Our old apartment had them, though we were somewhat guilty on that account. We were both in such bad physical/mental places that dishes would pile up in the sink. Too inviting!
Now that we own a house, we pay for Orkin to come out once every two months. It’s $80 every time, but they’ll come back for free if you spot ones in between visits.
I wish our cats were interested in roaches. They’d watch disinteredly as the suckers traipsed past.
Yuckapoo. We had to deal with them on a trip to SC one time. They totally creep me out. They get so big down in the South!!
Yay! Thanks for the tips Laurie. Just this morning I saw two mice in the attic and they’re just scary. I am planning to set up traps. LOL
Yikes!!! Good luck, Jayson. Take care of the little suckers now!