If you don't like pests setting up shop in your home, you might be interested in hiring a professional exterminator to help you with your problems. However, unless you understand the tools that they are working with, you might find yourself wondering what else you can do to curb issues. For example, if you don't mention that mosquito problem, your exterminator might not know to treat that water feature with a pesticide that targets larvae. My site explains different ways you can prepare for your professional pest control treatment, so that you aren't left with issues later down the road.
With spring just starting, it is also time for the neighborhood ants to make a return as well. If you struggled with keeping ants out of your home last spring and summer, here are a few things you can do ahead of time to help keep the ants at bay this year.
#1 Package Up Your Pet Food
Don't leave your pet food sitting out, open, in the bags that they came in. Just rolling up the top of the bag isn't enough to keep the ants away from your food. To ants, pet food is just food. To keep the ants away, you need to secure your pet's food just like you secure your own food.
For example, you should put your dog and cat's food inside of a sealed plastic container and your bird seed inside of a zip-lock bag. Just make sure that you put your pet's food inside of another, well-sealed container that ants will not be able to easily get into.
#2 Clean Up Your Pantry
Second, take some time to clean up your pantry. Get rid of all old or out of date food. Wipe down your shelves to get rid of crumbs that accumulate over time.
Make sure that all of your food is inside of sealed containers. For example, if you have an open bag of chips, put the chips inside of a large zip-lock bag. Or, if you have cereal, purchase plastic containers for all of your cereal to keep it sealed off. Sealing up all of your food will make it harder for ants to get to your food.
#3 Establish A Kitchen Cleaning Routine
Third, you need to establish a kitchen cleaning routine that will keep the ants at bay, and make sure that your entire family agrees to the new cleaning routine. Your new cleaning routine should include tasks such as wiping down the counters after making food, washing dishes after eating, taking out the trash every three days, etc.
#4 Create A Smell Barrier
There are certain scents that ants just can't stand. For example, ants really don't like the smell of vinegar; however, vinegar is a great cleaning product. Just mix a little vinegar and water in a spray bottle, and use it when you clean your kitchen. It will keep your kitchen clean and keep the ants away.
Another scent that ants can't stand is peppermint. You can mix water with essential peppermint oil, and spray it around your kitchen as well as around your windows and doors, areas where ants can get into your home. This will make your home smell fresh while warding off the local ant population. You can even leave cotton balls soaked in peppermint around your kitchen to keep ants away.
For more help combating an ant infestation, contact a pest control service online at a site like http://www.bugbusterssc.net.
Share11 April 2017
