6 Simple Home Pest-Control Solutions

If you live in an apartment, you might have to deal with home pest control at some point. The summer months can bring a steady string of ants and spiders into your home, and roaches can thrive no matter what time of year if they gain a foothold in your kitchen. Here are some simple tips to deal with these pests and more.

1. Remove Food Sources

The main reason that ants and roaches will find their way into your home is an obvious one: there’s food available. Make it a habit to keep your apartment clean, and to pick up any food spills immediately. If a pest can’t find something to eat, it has no reason to stick around in your apartment.

2. Plug Holes to Block Mice

Mice typically make their way indoors in the fall months, as it starts to get colder outside. Hoses and cords for dishwashers and other kitchen appliances are often placed out of sight, and mice can run back and forth through these. A bit of steel wool works good to plug these holes. Store any of your dried foods such as grains, flour, and cereals in hard plastic containers, so the mice can’t chew their way through them. You may have to set traps out for them once they get into your house, because it’s difficult to get them to leave. Poisoning mice in your home or apartment is not a good option, because they tend to die behind the walls and then rot, leaving a terrible smell behind.

3. Ant Traps

If you find a trail of ants making its way into your apartment, vacuum them up and spray the area with disinfectant. If you find the opening where they’re getting in, plug it up or have your landlord deal with it. An immediate fix is plug the hole with petroleum jelly or putty. If they keep getting in, you can purchase a small, simple ant trap that uses bait to lure them in.

4. Open Jar to Catch Cockroaches

These nasty bugs will show up in your kitchen one day, and it takes time to get rid of them. Squash any of them that you find out in the open, and then set up a simple roach trap to get rid of them. Here’s how to make a simple roach trap: Fill a glass jar with about two or three inches of soda or beer. Place it next to a wall or lean a ruler or stick against it, so they can crawl to the top of the jar. Once they fall in, they can’t get back out.

5. Remove Cobwebs

These take a little bit of time to get rid of, but if you’re diligent at cleaning your apartment, you can keep most of them out. Sweep up any cobwebs that you find in corners and out of the way places. If they can’t keep their webs built to catch bugs, you’ll eventually starve them out.

6. Citronella Candles to Prevent Mosquitoes

Burning citronella candles is an inexpensive way to keep mosquitoes out of your apartment. These bloodsuckers don’t like the smell of the candles, and it can effectively keep them away if you light one near your entry way.

With most pests, removing a food source diligent cleaning is the best way to keep them out of your apartment. Home pest control can be fairly simple, but it takes time to get rid of some of these little critters.