Top Tips To Bug-Proof Your Home
Insects in your home can not only be super annoying but can create very unsanitary conditions as well. Some insects like fleas, mosquitos and ticks can carry dangerous diseases that can harm your pets. Humans can also be harmed from painful stings that come from bees, wasps and scorpions. Even the common cockroach can contribute to asthma attacks and allergies.
Bug proofing your home can feel like a never-ending battle but by understanding what attracts bugs, you can make changes to bug-proof your home and keep them away for good.
Read on to find out our top 10 tips to bug-proof your home!
1. Seal Your Doors
If you examine your doorways, you might notice a few unsealed gaps which makes an easy entrance for annoying insects. To stop this from happening, try installing a sturdy steel or aluminium threshold under the door. If you want more protection on top of this, combine this with a door sweep, which you can find at your local hardware store. A sweep is a cheap device that helps to cover gaps between a threshold and the door bottom. Choose nylon over vinyl or neoprene brush sweeps as they offer the best protection against bugs. Add weatherstripping or door-seal kits to the perimeter of the frame to stop insects from entering along the sides and top of the door. Use a clear caulk to seal the joint where the door frame meets the wall and the bottom of the frame, where it meets the ground.
2. Add Screens
Summer can be the worst time of the year for bugs to invade your home because this is when we tend to leave our doors and windows open for natural ventilation. By installing screens to all of your doors and windows, you can still enjoy the fresh air without the annoyance and stress of bugs entering your home. Choose a 20-mesh or finer screen to keep out most common household insects. Make sure there are no holes in your screen as bugs don’t need a lot of room to crawl through!
3. Maintain Your Yard
Mosquitos are a common annoying pest found in people’s yards. They need a water supply in order to breed, so getting rid of any pooled water in your yard will help eliminate them. Look for the areas where water tends to collect or build up. Aerating the lawn will allow the water to naturally absorb into the soil. Poor drainage can be another problem and is usually related to the slope of your yard. You could try adding dirt to fill or correct it yourself, of have a professional do it. It’s also important to keep leaves, grass clippings and debris free from gutters and drains so they operate effectively. Keep your pool properly chlorinated and filtered and change the water in any fountains or birdbaths regularly to stop mosquito eggs from hatching in them.
4. Repair Cracks
Sealing cracks on your home’s exterior can be one of the best ways to bug-proof your home. Examine the outside of your home with a careful eye and look for any openings, you’ll be surprised at just how many you may find. Use mortar or cement to patch foundations, masonry walls and damaged brocks. Replace any rotting wood and repair any damaged sections of siding or cladding. Don’t forget your roofline, where bees and wasps build their nests. If you have gaps or holes in the fascia board, you may find stinging insects inside your home.
5. Cover Large Openings
To fill larger holes in your home’s exterior, such as chimney or roof vents, use fine wire mesh (often called hardwire cloth). Fine wire mesh comes in rolls that can be stapled over large holes to keep out not only bugs, but also larger pests like mice and possums which carry fleas, ticks and other insects into the home.
6. De-Clutter Your Home
A cluttered home, as well as unprotected food and water sources, attracts bugs and gives them a breeding ground. Insects can reproduce in huge numbers under hidden piles of junk and cluttered cupboards, so keep clutter to a minimum. Make sure you store all food in airtight containers or in the refrigerator when needed and try to only consume food in one area of the home, and wipe up crumbs and spills as quickly as possible. Pet food can also be tempting for ants and cockroaches, so put it away after mealtimes.
7. Store Trash Properly
The rubbish in your home is extremely inviting to bugs, insects and other pests, so making sure your trash is properly stored and handled is critical. Keep food scraps and rubbish that came from the kitchen in the kitchen bin and not in other trash bins throughout the house. This should be stored in a can with a lid and emptied every night. Exterior cans should have self-closing lids and tight seals to keep any bugs out. All bins inside and outside, including recycling bins should be cleaned and sanitized regularly.
8. Keep Foundations Clear
By keeping your home’s foundations clean and protected, you can stop infestation of bugs. The foundations are one of the most common entry spots for bugs because they are the closest part of the house to the ground. You can create more difficulty for insects such as termites, fleas, ants, and spiders that like to live in wet conditions, by keeping moisture away from your foundations. Don’t tempt termites by leaving piles of wood, leaves or grass clippings near the foundations. Be sure to check gaps and siding joint, and the up under the bottom row of siding or trim for gaps or poor connections and use trim, caulk or foam to fill in the space. Use may also decide to opt for chemical insecticides or termicides to treat your foundation. If you’d like a more natural solution that won’t harm your pets or family members, try placing boric acid or diatomaceous Earth at the foundation base.
9. Encourage Natural Predators
One of the easiest ways to stop insects from entering your home is to rely on their natural predators, such as birds and bats. Bats eat most bugs including wasps, flies, spiders, mosquitoes and even scorpions. By providing birds with trees or bushes, where they can establish nests, and a fresh water supply (making sure to change it often), you can encourage them to stop your insect and bug infestation. Encourage bats by installing a bat house or roost in your yard. If you are hesitant in letting bats into your yard, remember that they sleep during the day and only fly at night, which means you won’t likely be bothered by them while they get rid of unwanted bugs that crawl into your home.
10. Seal Around Pipe Penetrations
If you’ve had to deal with utility installation, you probably have had holes drilled through the exterior of your home. A careful installer may have added sealants or caulk around the lines on your homes interior, but what about the exterior? Insects and bugs can crawl their way through large gaps that surround pipe penetrations in your walls. Check the outside of your home for any openings. They may be located at ground level or along the roof line. Don’t forget to check around outdoor faucets and electrical outlets. To fill small gaps, you can use pipe sealants or caulk. Use expandable polyurethane foam for larger openings. Copper mesh or steel wool is sometimes also used as a base layer behind the foam to deter insects that are still able to get through.
