A pest infestation can be a thorn in the side of any homeowner. At their worst, bug invasions cause damage to the walls and floors and can bring sickness into a household. Even when infestations aren’t an emergency, you should still get rid of them as quickly as possible.
Insects that have overrun a house should be handled immediately by a pest control company. However, when the infestation isn’t an emergency, there are steps that you can take to limit and remove their presence in your home.
Step One: Identifying the Pest
The removal method you choose for eliminating pests from your home will largely depend on which insects are causing the issue. Many different pests make their way into homes across the country, but in Tennessee and Alabama, a few show up more than others.
Ants
The most common bug infestation homeowners deal with are massive colonies of ants. In nature, ants survive by eating leaves, nectar, seeds, and smaller insects, but that doesn’t stop them from coming into your home the second they sense food.
One of the easiest ant-removal methods is cutting their food supply. Thoroughly sweeping and vacuuming up crumbs and removing all food from countertops can keep these pests from coming back.
Roaches
Like ants, roaches are most likely to invade homes with easy access to food sources. Unfortunately, that food source can be anything from a dying plant to a slightly filled trash can.
While roaches tend to enter the same homes that ants are attracted to, a roach infestation can have more severe health consequences. Breathing in cockroach waste can trigger symptoms of allergy and asthma.
One effective way to limit roach infestations is by removing accessible hiding spots. Since roaches prefer damp and narrow areas where they can comfortably hide, repairing any cracks or holes in your plumbing or kitchen walls can make your home inaccessible for pests.
Fleas
Fleas can be a nightmare for homeowners with pets.
Since these pests live primarily off animal blood, they settle into houses with cats and dogs. Unfortunately, their bites can cause itchiness and skin irritation and even bring diseases like flea-borne typhus.
While there is no easy home remedy to eliminate fleas, you can thoroughly vacuum and steam clean carpeted areas where fleas like to hide.
Step Two: Removing Any Entry Points
Even if you remove a large swarm of pests from an infested area, there is no guarantee that more won’t return the next day.
Insects like to enter homes from small cracks in the flooring and walls where they go undetected by humans. Identifying these potential access points and removing them can keep pests from coming into your home.
Step Three: Eliminating the Remaining Pests
Once you know what pests you are dealing with and have removed their ability to return, you can begin eliminating them from the infested areas.
The method you take to get rid of pests will vary depending on the situation. The standard options to keep infestations away are thoroughly cleaning your home and removing all potential food sources. However, if these procedures are ineffective, look at common pest control traps.
Before you lay out any pest traps, keep in mind that many of the standard options you’ll find contain toxic chemicals that could be harmful to humans and pets if ingested. If you have any young children or nosy animals, it is best to keep these traps out of their reach.
Once you know your family is safe, use your pest control products. The most common forms are sprays, traps, and repellants that either deter insects from entering your home or kill them once they leave.
These standard removal options can be adequate for small infestations, but they are not foolproof and will not always work.
Professional Infestation Removal from Ortex Termite & Pest Control
If you aren’t getting results from your pest treatments, handle the infestation the easy way! Call the team at Ortex Termite & Pest Control to take control of the job.
Our EPA-approved pest treatments will have any unwanted insects gone from your home with long-lasting and safe results.
Call Ortex Termite & Pest Control today for infestation removal at (931) 347-1929!
