Pest Control Tips - How to Keep your Home, yours

Pests can create problems in your home at any point throughout the year, once they're in your home they can prove difficult to remove. Pests, whether they're rodents, insects, squirrels or moles; they can cause heaps of damage to your home, wreak havoc with your sanity and create untold health problems. Pest problems unfortunately are occurrences that just happen, it's not necessarily a reflection of how clean your home or area is, but there are a number of steps you can take to help prevent problems from happening.

Our Top Tips

• Keep Tidy

Rats, mice and cockroaches love clutter. Keep your home and outside areas clean, and ensure pests have nowhere to hide and therefore breed. Regular vacuuming and dusting is very important to minimise risk of dust mites who live in carpets and soft furnishings. It's important to note that dust mites can irritate asthma and eczema, so if you are a sufferer this one is a top tip!

• Secure your Rubbish

Foxes, insects, rats and mice will get inside your bins as they rummage around your scraps, ensure you store rubbish in suitable containers and make sure lids are closed. Pests will continue coming back for more causing a real mess along the way if left to their own devices. It's also good practice to ensure your bins are cleaned regularly, flies will breed in waste left inside the bins therefore it's important to ensure they are kept clean by regular pressure washing.

• Block up Gaps

Ensure the exterior of your home is maintained, make sure any holes, gaps or cracks around pipes and walls are sealed. Pests will squeeze through the smallest of gaps and continue into your home. Also note that vents can be covered up using wire meshing.

• Don't Leave Food Out

It may seem like the obvious one, but don't leave any food out. It's more common in the summer months with households choosing to barbecue their food instead. After any outdoor cooking, ensure you have cleaned away all waste food, packaging and cutlery, these will attract pests. Use plastic containers in the kitchen and make sure food is sealed or put away properly. Pests are scavengers, they will find any food you leave for them.

• Keep Ventilated

Your home should be properly insulated, but at the same time it needs to be well ventilated. Keep it ventilated to prevent damp, and stop mites and fleas from multiplying. Ensure vents are clean and windows are opened regularly.

• Trim Branches and Trees

A common entry point for pest insects and animals is via overhanging trees or bushes that come into contact with your exterior walls. Ensure trees and bushes are trimmed regularly to prevent entry from pests.

• Keep Compost Covered

Rats love to burrow in compost, as do cockroaches. Ensure your compost is placed in a sealed container that doesn't also include food waste.

• Use Bird Feeders

Avoid simply throwing bread crusts or food across your back garden. Doing this will attract foxes, rodents and other pests, ideally you should use properly designed bird feeders which prevent pests from getting access.

• Maintain Your Roof

Ensure broken, rotting or missing roof tiles are fixed, leaving damaged roofs unmaintained will create easy access for pests such as squirrels and birds.

• Fix Plumbing Leaks

Damp can encourage some pests like silverfish which are normally found in kitchens, bathrooms and cellars, so plug up any leaks or hire a plumber to do it for you.

How we can help

The tips and advice mentioned previously are preventative measures. Should you find your home suffering from an infestation you should act to deal with the pest and ensure prompt removal. We at Hampshire Bird & Pest Solutions offer a free survey to establish which rodent or pest you have in and around your home. Once we have ascertained which pest is culprit, we will try to get to the source of entry to therefore eradicate further infestations and breaches. Once we know which pest we are dealing with we can discuss the various options that are available to you and deal with the problem in the most effective way possible.