6 Ways to Maintain a Pesticide-Free Home
Do you remember the uninvited squirrel guest we had squatting in our eaves back in May? She was not our first unwelcome occupant. Over the years, we have unwillingly provided lodging for mice, yellow jackets, wasps, ants, boxelder bugs, ladybugs, and the occasional bat. We have been able to evict the ants, boxelder bugs, ladybugs, and the occasional bats without outside intervention. However, those sneaky little rodents and any insect wielding a poison-filled stinger required professional assistance for removing them from the premises. Being the old hippie that I am, I look for organic, safe, and humane ways to rid our house of these annoying creatures so I can have peace of mind in a pest-free home that is also pesticide-free.
This post will explore 6 helpful tips for maintaining a pest- and pesticide-free home. It will also discuss the benefits of using chemical-free products and offer some resources if you wish to incorporate more environmentally safe methods into your Pest Control strategy.
1. Keep Your Home Clean
The first step in any successful pest-prevention plan is to keep your home as clean as possible. Vacuum and mop regularly to remove food particles, dust, and other debris that can attract pests. Check for cracks and crevices around doors or windows where pests can enter your home and seal off those points of entry. If keeping up with basic housecleaning duties is simply impossible with your busy schedule, consider hiring professionals from https://highlandparkhousekeeping.com/moving-out-cleaning-services-plano/ to help you out. Keeping your home clean is one of the best preventative measures you can take to keep most unwanted creatures out.
2. Use Natural Pest Repellents
If you are currently facing a pest problem, try using natural repellents like essential oils or diatomaceous earth in place of chemical pesticides. Many exterminator services, such as these az pest control services, use substances that are not toxic or harmful to humans or animals. When used correctly, these “green” products are just as effective as chemical-based repellents.
3. Landscape with Pest Repelling Plants
Certain types of plants deter many common household pests so you may consider landscaping with a few around your home to keep the critters away. Herbs like mint, sage, and lavender along with marigolds and citronella have proven to be effective pest repellents when planted around homes. These plants also have the extra benefit of surrounding your home with the pleasant aromas of your favorite flora.
4. Store and Seal Food Properly
Foods that are left out or stored improperly can attract pests so it is important to keep all of your dry goods sealed in airtight containers and your perishables in the refrigerator. Make sure that you are also storing your pet food properly with both kibble and canned foods secure in tightly sealed containers.
5. Utilize Preventative Strategies
Besides maintaining a clean house, there are a few other simple preventive measures you can take to keep your home pest-free. Do regular checks around the outside of your home for cracks that could provide entrance for pests and seal them when necessary. Remove any large overhanging branches which could give critters additional access to your home. Also look for any standing pools of water around your property which may attract breeding insects. Keeping your lawn properly manicured will inhibit pooling water as well as insect breeding. Remember that outside maintenance is just as important as inside maintenance for preventing pest problems.
6. Choose Humane Traps
If you ever hear the sounds of raccoons fighting on your property or notice mouse droppings in the back of a cupboard, you will definitely want to take immediate action for the removal of these animals. To remove larger pests such as rodents or raccoons, opt for humane traps instead of poison or glue traps. Humane traps will capture the animal without causing it any harm and it can be released into a safe area far from your home. Humane traps are highly effective for pest removal when done by a trained professional who is educated about the behaviors of common pests and can handle these wild creatures safely and with care.
Unfortunately, pests are a part of life. They are integral components of earth’s ecosystem. We need them in our world, but we don’t want them in our homes. So we have to find environmentally safe and humane methods for maintaining pest-free homes. Chemical based and other harmful pesticide products not only kill the pests, but they slowly kill us as well. With a bit of research, you can easily make the transition to an eco-friendly, pest- and pesticide-free lifestyle in your home.
Have you ever had unwanted critters take up residence in your house? How did you get rid of them?
Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee
Joining these Fabulous Link Parties.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.
8 Comments
Tricia
Thought I’d comment on this because we are dealing with bedbugs. My daughter said she gets a rash when she’s home from college and thinks it’s from bedbugs she saw at the beach house in august. Anyways, in the future going to keep suitcases up off floor etc. to prevent bringing any home. We were told that they can live for 3 months with no human contact. 😳
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
OMG, Tricia, I am so sorry to hear that! Parasitic bugs of any sort are one of my worst phobias! So she brought them home from a beach vacation? That is a terrible souvenir! Are you making progress getting rid of them? Please keep me posted on how it goes and what you had to do to get rid of them. Gah…now I’m all itchy!
xoxo
Shelbee
Marsha Banks
My mom was fanatical about flies! She hated them and had flyswatters all over the place. So, guess who else hates flies? That would be me! I’m always after Mike to keep the doors shut when it’s fly season! As for the larger critters, we have been fortunate in only having a few mice every once in a while but none since we moved almost eight years ago. I think that’s because we lived by a corn field then! I don’t spray insecticides because we need those honey bees, and they carry that stuff back to their hives. Lots of good tips here, Shelbee! Thanks!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Oh yuck, I hate flies, too, Marsha! Actually, I don’t like many bugs up close and personal but I do appreciate their role in our ecosystem! When I was in college, we lived in these nasty cockroach infested row homes owned by a slum lord who liked to take poor college student’s money! Hahaha. Our washer and dryer were in the basement and you had to turn on the lights at the top of the stairs and wait for the sound of scurrying cockroaches to stop before you dared to venture down there. They remained mostly in the basement and the landlord did have exterminators and pest treatment done every 6 months but I don’t think it could be controlled. There were probably 30 houses connected in a row! One time I saw a cockroach in the second floor bathroom. This bug was about the size of a golf ball and I screamed so loud my roommates thought I was being murdered. I threw a cleaning bucket over it to trap it but the bucket had a little pour spout that gave the roach an easy escape. OMG, what a scene…Me trying to catch and kill the darn thing! They are quick little buggers. That house was so gross. We had mushrooms that would sometimes grow from the base of the toilet, too! LOL
xoxo
Shelbee
Jennifer
These are great tips! Do you have any for fruit flies?? I’m struggling to get rid of them 😂
Jennifer
Curated by Jennifer
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
You could make a fruit fly trap using a sweet wine or apple cider vinegar. Just pour a small amount in a glass and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Then poke holes in the top. The fruit flies will be drawn to the sweet smell and will fly in but they can’t get out. You can then release them outdoors. If you add a little dish soap to it, they can no longer fly and will die in it. There are a bunch of different recipes for fruit fly traps online, too! I have found that washing bananas in particular when you bring them home from the grocery store drastically reduces fruit flies! Good luck with it and keep me posted.
xoxo
Shelbee
Joanne
Living right on the water we get TONS of wasps and mud wasp nests are often found all around our house and even under patio chairs at times. We’ve gotten pretty good at taking care of them ourselves. I’m fairly certain we have some critters in our attic since I’ve heard them these past couple of super cold nights but we have no good way to get up there so the exterminator is going to have lots of fun getting up there.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Oh yes, living near water definitely brings more critters inside! I used to work in a restaurant that was right on a river and we would get all sorts of critters, but the mice and snakes were the worst. If one was spotted by a patron all hell would break loose! Attic creatures are the worst. First of all, they always sound so much larger than they are! I thought that squirrel was at least the size of raccoon by the noise it made. And the yellow jacket nest we had in our attic was so loud, I couldn’t even imagine what the heck had taken up residence there. Now I know the sounds so I am more prepared to diagnose a critter problem! I hope you can easily and cheaply evict your attic guest!
xoxo
Shelbee