If you ever sat down and had a conversation with a pest-control professional, they likely told you that the key to keeping your home as pest-free as possible is to keep it clean. Unfortunately, there are still ways that intruders can make themselves at home, even if you’ve never missed a quarterly pest control service.
Here’s how:
- Mice, bugs, and spiders can find entry points that you don’t see. Tiny cracks and crevices under the doors, holes for cables and pipes, and gaps around vents and window air conditioning units are all easy entries for creeping critters.
- Bedbugs can stow away on your luggage. Bedbugs are not just a concern at skeevy hotels. They can be found in retail stores, buses, movie theaters, planes, and just about anywhere people congregate and sit still. Even if these locations have quarterly pest control services, bugs can thrive since they have bodies to attach to and can move around with few hindrances.
- They come home in your groceries. You probably don’t want to think about this, but many of the fresh foods you buy at the grocery store, such as fruits, vegetables, and even some meats, have been left in the open air. You also don’t know how these items have been stored, even if they look pristine on the shelf. A few ways to avoid flies and other bugs are to skip produce that looks a bit too mature, wash food as soon as you get home, and throw items with maggots and bugs away as soon as possible.
- They are stealing your pet’s food. Scent is a powerful drive for animals, including mice, rats, and insects, such as ants and cockroaches. Each of these critters will do everything it takes to get a free meal, and that includes braving a standoff with your dog or cat.
- Rats can sneak in through the plumbing. Mice are typically a problem in the suburbs and rural areas. Rats, however, thrive in densely populated cities. If you live in a home or apartment in an urban area and see a rat, there is a good chance that it came in through the sewers. Cockroaches can also utilize your home’s pipes to get around mostly undetected.
While quarterly pest control services can significantly reduce the number of bugs, spiders, and rodents in your home, there are ways they can make their way in. If you have concerns that your home is not the safe haven you’d like it to be, talk with your pest control services provider for more insight on ways that you can further reduce unwelcome guests.
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