Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite: How To Protect Your Home Against Unwanted Guests - Guest Post By Audrey Taylor

Though the occasional visit from an insect or two isn’t anything to worry about, they are definitely considered as unwanted guests. In some cases, they are only bugging you, but that might not be all they do. If they make themselves at home, they can damage your home, like termites, or they can negatively affect the health of your family. There is no quick solution that will last forever, but with a set of rules, your household will remain bug-free and not at the expense of your health.

Below there are some crucial steps to take if you want the pests out of your home.

Keep the house clean

Keeping the bugs out of your home is just one more reason to maintain a clean and organized home. If it is possible, tidy the table and dishes straight away after every meal. Vacuum and clean behind and under every piece of furniture as almost any nook and cranny can be a good breeding ground.

Seal your leftovers in plastic containers and store in the fridge and make sure all household supplies like flour and sugar are well protected from the vermin. Also, make sure that the disposed of food is closed so that the bugs cannot reach it.

Keep the house in check

During the regular cleaning inspections of your house and surrounding features check for possible changes and occurrences of insects. Ants tend to scout first, so seeing one is not a problem as long as their friends don’t tag along. If you live in a house and you have a wood supply store it away from the house to minimize the risk of bugs doing inside your home.

Also, regularly check all water features, like fountains but also pipes and drainages. If you have leaks, mend them or call a plumber as a small amount of water leaking can escalate to a big bug problem. Your roof, attic or basement can be pleasant options for the unwanted critters unless you beat them to it. Make sure they are thoroughly insulated and check on them as often as possible.

Seal all the cracks

No matter how much you clean your house and how much you check your home for possible bug infestations, as long as you don’t seal up your home there will always be a bug that will get in. Primarily check around all doors and windows and close up all the gaps you see. This is also a solution that will make your home better insulated, and so it will be more energy-efficient and cost-effective.

Keep the doors and windows closed and put up some screens

As a home isn’t a vacuum, and it shouldn’t be one, the critters can always come through entrances you use all the time. The obvious solution is to always close the doors behind you, but you also need to let air in and out, don’t you? Putting up some retractable fly screens can save you from the pests but also allow you to breathe in the fresh air. Unlike the old-fashioned ones, you can take the screens away, when they aren’t needed.

Pesticides or herbs

To top it all up you can always go for pesticides, but there are other options which are safer to use around your family and pets, which are more environmentally-friendly and which are also quite useful in repelling bugs. Herbs, either as plants or part of DIY combos, and other products can be completely safe and easy to use. You can clean your counters with vinegar and/or grow some lemongrass in the garden to repel flies and other bugs.

Make small pouches filled with herbs like mint and lavender and hang them in your wardrobe. Your clothes will smell great and be free of moths.

You can also make your own aromatic combination to keep the bugs away. Some of them are quite simple, like the one in which you just cut a lemon in half and insert a few strands of clove into the middle. It smells great to humans but bugs can’t stand them.

Protecting your home is much easier than it might seem. Your home doesn’t have to be completely shut away from the world or without any sign of dirt. Actually, all you need is the right amount of protection. Keep your house orderly and clean and prevent access to food. While you are cleaning check for any possible bug ingress and close all possible ways of entering your house. Put up screens on your doors and windows and look up different herbs you can plant or which you can buy and put around your house to drive them away. With these few hacks, your unwelcome guests will be driving home in no time.

Audrey Taylor was born in San Francisco, and moved to Adelaide at the age of five. Marketer researcher and social media manager on hold, full - time mommy of a cheerful two-year-old. Graduated from Queensford college, worked in a couple of marketing agencies across Australia, eager to learn more about business and share her experiences. Traveled across Europe. Her hobbies include: home decor, fashion, travel, music, old movies. You can find Audrey on Twitter. 

*All photos via Pexels. Header, 1, 2, 3.

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