The Essential Pest Control Supplies and Methods You Should Use for Your Home

Pests like cluttered homes. They are full of dark places to hide, to spin webs, and to invade and make their own. From bedbugs to spiders to mice, all pests will do well inside a home that is full of stuff. Cluttered homes don’t necessarily attract pests, but they do make it harder to get rid of them.

An infestation of a pest can be stressful.  While you should always call an exterminator for extreme cases of infestation, or if you do not know how to safely get the pests out of your home, such as with bats, prevention is never a bad strategy.  Keep your home tidy and as clutter-free as possible.

You do not have to keep an extensive collection of pest control supplies in your home. Some pests, such as spiders, hate the smell of cedar wood, citrus, and white vinegar. Placing cedar blocks or chips in the corners of the rooms of your house and under furniture is an easy, and relatively inexpensive, prevention method. Dropping a few drops of essential citrus oil on window ledges and doorways, or filling a spray bottle with half white vinegar and half water and spraying the same spots will also deter spiders from coming into your home, or going near the off-putting smells. The bonus of cedar and citrus is that they smell pleasant to humans. If using the vinegar method, be careful not to spray your furniture or wallpaper, as it may stain.

Decluttering your garage and vacuuming and dusting your home frequently are also great prevention techniques to keep cockroaches, insects, and spiders away. Fixing loose sliding doors, windows or roof shingles eliminates easy bug entrances, while patching up any holes or gaps and covering vents are effective at keeping mice and bats outside where they belong.

Keeping pet food in airtight containers and moving your compost to the freezer if you can’t put it outside daily will prevent rats, mice, insects, and spiders looking for a meal of insects, from appearing in your kitchen and pantry.

For quick pest control solutions, keep empty spray bottles, or purchase a green, eco-friendly insect repellent; these are both good pest control supplies to keep on hand.

Depending on the pest, you will need to buy some pest control supplies. If you are noticing small blood stains on your sheets and you or members of your family are waking up with bug bites, you will need professional bedbug treatment to effectively eliminate them, but you should also purchase bedbug mattress covers. These are special, protective covers designed to go under your bedsheets. They will trap any bedbugs that are alive and will prevent new bedbugs from getting to your mattress. Be sure to wash your sheets in very hot water, and dry on high heat. This will kill any bedbugs on your bedding.

Diatomaceous earth, also known as bedbug powder, is another specific pest control supply to have on hand for bedbugs and many other pests, including silverfish, ants, and fleas.  When insects come in contact with diatomaceous earth, it dissolves the waxy coating on their exoskeleton and causes them to dehydrate.  And it is perfectly safe around humans and pets.

If you are noticing a lot of spiders in your basement, putting a humidifier in your basement to keep the humidity level at 40%, and sweeping up new cobwebs every time they appear, will significantly lower your spider population.

If the infestation is extreme, or if you feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable at handling pest control yourself, it is best to contact an exterminator. Professional exterminators will have clean, environmentally friendly pest control supplies and humane pest removal methods. Some exterminators will guarantee their work and come back if the pests reappear soon after they do their job. Look for pest control experts who use quality and safe pest control supplies, as some chemicals can be harmful if breathed in, especially for small children and pets.