Common Household Pests and How To Deal With Them

5 Common Household Pests & How To Deal With Them

You can make your home as inviting as you’d like for your guests by giving it a welcoming aura. However, there are certain visitors which should never, ever set foot (or a paw, a segmented leg, etc.) into your house under any circumstances.

We’re talking about household pests, of course. Not only are they capable of doing expensive damages to your home; they can also wreak havoc on your health and quality of life.

Keeping your home constantly spick and span is a good first step to ensure that it isn’t attractive to unwanted critters. But if you don’t immediately address the presence (or potential threat) of having pests, a comfortable domestic life won’t be a reality. 

Several factors can dictate why, how, where, and which pests you might be dealing with. For one, you could move into an older home that hasn’t been occupied in a while, or have a house in a location that’s conducive for certain pests to nest or seek food or warmth.  

The good news is that there are ways of confronting any pest issue using practical means. And if DIY methods aren’t cutting it, you can always turn to the professionals. 

Dealing With Household Pests

The most important thing you can do is to first identify the household pests you might have (or are in danger of having). The second most vital step involves knowing how to get rid of them.

Pinpointing certain things that could be pest-related is key. So first, seek out potential things that are attracting pests into your home in their search for food, shelter, warmth, or material for nesting/birthing.

It’s also good to assess certain parts of your home that might need extensive repair, cleaning, or replacement. Come up with a checklist of all parts of the home from roof to basement, and with all potential entry points and hints of their existence thoroughly investigated. 

For instance, allergy-inducing air ducts could mean the presence of mouse droppings, in which case getting the best air duct cleaning service in Ottawa would help. These professional cleaners are equipped with the proper tools and expertise to thoroughly sanitize vents and pipes.

Carefully inspect your garden or lawn, as well. Neglected grass, overgrown weeds, and poor soil conditions can prove to be attractive to certain insects and wildlife.

And if you suspect that your yard is housing pests, consider the services of the top lawn care companies in Ottawa. They can nip the bud (pun unintended) of potential pest problems by using precise insect control methods to make your garden unattractive to these pests. 

In the following sections, we’ll be taking a closer look at the most common household pests and how to deal with them.

1. Terminating the Termites

1. Terminating the Termites

There are no ifs and buts about it: termite control should be left to the experts.

There is no DIY way to effectively and permanently get rid of termites. Your best bet would be to get the services of the best exterminators in Ottawa because they have the proper equipment, experience, and know-how to do so.

It’s also vital to have your home assessed for termite infestation because they can cause serious damage to its structure. And if you have wooden furniture and major parts of your home, extensive inspection is a must to determine how intense the extermination process would be.

Termites can live underground which poses a big threat to the foundation of your home. Depending on how widespread the infestation is, you might have a one-time extermination process or a series of visits to ensure that all the termites are permanently gone.  

And to make sure no future termite infestations occur, you could consider applying a liquid termiticide to your house and surrounding properties. These treatments typically work on all types of termites and can get rid of entire colonies with several applications.

2. Not-So-Wild About Wildlife

2. Not-So-Wild About Wildlife
Photo by anne sch from Pexels

Let’s admit it — some wildlife like field mice, raccoons, squirrels, and bats can be quite cute. But the damage they can potentially do to your property is anything but adorable.

Rodents, in particular, can cause dozens of diseases with their droppings contaminating the very air you breathe. They can be the direct cause of several infections and illnesses that affect your lungs, kidney, liver, digestive system, lymph nodes, and brain.

They could also be the carriers of other pests like ticks and fleas which, in turn, could be the culprits for a slew of other diseases. Aside from that, gnawing, scratching, burrowing, defecating and other wildlife-related activities can ruin parts of your home (and your peace of mind).

So the bottom line is to eliminate the possibility of wildlife hanging around your home and property in the first place. Keeping your indoors, outdoors, and surroundings clean is already a good first step.

However, if you’re not down with the idea of trapping and getting rid of them yourself, go for the best pest control services in Ottawa, instead. Even better, go for companies that utilize humane removal methods that usually involve nature-friendly wildlife control, education, and relocation. 

3. Antagonizing the Ants

3. Antagonizing the Ants

Consider yourself lucky if you haven’t had your air conditioning or heating system suddenly short-circuit because ants got to them. Some types of ants like sheltering in seemingly empty cavities and chewing through the insulation that protects cables!

So yes, not only are they invasive, but ants can also be quite the fire hazards. There are things you can do to keep this nightmare scenario from happening, though.

Make sure there’s nothing that ants will find appealing as far as food and shelter are concerned. Keep your own food properly covered and put leftovers in airtight containers and inside your refrigerator.

It’s also a good idea to put the garbage cans and bins away from any parts of your home. Having one even inside your garage could provide an entry point for ants to your kitchen, pantry, or other places with warmth and potential sources of food.

Luckily, proper insulation can actually prevent ants from making nests out of your electric boxes and outlets, too. With this in mind, insulation services can ensure that your home is safe from both high energy costs and ant infestation.

4. Let Those Fleas Flee

4. Let Those Fleas Flee

If you have furry friends at home, there’s a big chance you could also get fleas. These critters can cause misery for you and your home’s other inhabitants on several levels.

For starters, they’re blood-sucking parasites that can cause skin infection, respiratory problems, and tapeworms on your poor pets. They can also bite you and cause infected wounds if you absentmindedly end up scratching them.

With this kind of scenario, preventive measures are preferable to expensive solutions. Keeping your pets clean and well-groomed is a good start, which is something that a good dog grooming service can do.

Vacuum, sweep, dust, and keep your home as unattractive to fleas as possible. Wash your beddings and clothes in hot water because fleas can be killed if they’re exposed to temperatures higher than 95°F.

Be extra mindful of spring and summer when your pets are likely to wander outside and pick up fleas from bushes, hedges, and from interacting with other animals.

And if fleas still make their nasty presence felt despite all of your precautions, it’s time to bring in the professionals. An exterminator firm can ensure that your flea problem will become a permanent thing of the past by using safe yet effective methods.

5. Bye-Bye, Bed Bugs!

5. Bye-Bye, Bed Bugs!

A big part of having a cozy home life is being able to sleep soundly every night. It also means lounging around in comfort on your upholstered seats at any time of the day.

But if said seats and mattresses have bed bugs in them, you can say goodbye to ever having uninterrupted sleep or rest. Bed bug bites are some of the most annoying things to ever go through.

The frustrating thing about bed bugs is that you can still get them even if you’re meticulous about vacuuming, dusting, wiping down all surfaces, and disinfecting everything regularly. People who visit your home could bring them from somewhere else.

Bed bug infestations should be stopped right away because their bites pose serious health risks. They can cause severe allergic reactions, respiratory issues from their shed skin and waste, and infections from scratching bites that turn into wounds.

So if you ever wake up to an unmistakable series of red, itchy bites, call the top bed bug exterminators in Ottawa ASAP before the situation gets worse.