Pest Control Coverage: How to Keep Bugs Out of Your House

Summer is swiftly approaching, and many of us are enjoying the warming temperatures, longer days, and humid air. But our parks and pools aren’t the only things coming to life. Gnats, mosquitoes, ants, and other pesky insects are also out in full force. If you’re not careful, you’ll spend your summer chasing these pests from your kitchen.

Fortunately, knowing how to keep insects away from the house is simple enough. Here are some of our best household pest control tips for this summer.

Top Five Pest Control Tips

1. Secure all possible entry points.

The best way to prevent pests is to block any spaces through which they can enter your home. Make sure all windows and doors—including doors to the basement and attic—are adequately sealed with weather stripping. Inspect all screens and patch any tears.

Perform a careful check of your home to look for any other possible entrance points. These could include small openings near baseboards or vents, gaps around pipes in the basement or under cabinets, or spaces where mounted fixtures meet the wall, ceiling, or floor. Most openings can be filled in with a bit of caulk. Larger spaces may call for some steel wool as well.

2. Keep your home tidy.

Clutter and garbage create an ideal environment for many kinds of insects. Never leave garbage, especially food scraps, in the open for too long. Take out the trash every day, and use trash bins with lids. Wipe down counters, tables, cooktops, and other surfaces with appropriate cleaners after cooking and meals. Don’t let dirty dishes accumulate in the kitchen sink.

It’s also wise to keep clutter to a minimum. Stacks of papers, piles of clothes, and other neglected items can give cockroaches, spiders, and other creatures the perfect space to hide or lay eggs. You can further inhibit these insects from making themselves at home by dusting and vacuuming regularly. 

3. Store food appropriately.

Don’t give insects a reason to explore your kitchen. Store your food in the refrigerator or in sealed containers. While it may be commonplace to keep a bowl of fruit or dish of sugar on the kitchen counter, these will attract fruit flies and ants. Keep your fruit and veggies in the fridge or in sealed containers.

And don’t neglect your pantry and cabinets. A loosely closed bag of candy or other sweet snack can still attract pests even if it’s out of sight. Keep these sealed away as well.

Finally, consider that your pet’s food may be attractive to insects too. Keep your dog’s or cat’s food secure.

4. Stay dry.

Insects are also attracted to moisture. Cockroaches seek out water. Mosquitoes can breed in as little as an ounce of standing water. Keep your home inhospitable to insects by ensuring there are no leaks in any of your pipes or beneath your sinks. Wipe down the kitchen sink with a cloth or paper towel if water tends to pool there. 

Be mindful of water outside your home as well. Brush away puddles on your porch, deck, and walkway after a heavy rain. Ensure your lawn has adequate drainage so rainwater doesn’t leave puddles that take days to evaporate. Check that wheelbarrows and other items around your lawn aren’t collecting water.

5. Be vigilant.

If bugs do find their way inside your home, it’s important to nip the problem in the bud. A few cockroaches can become an infestation before you know it. Don’t let things get out of hand.

Periodically check your basement, attic, cabinets, and other dark spaces for signs of insects. If you do spot any bugs, try to determine where they are coming from. Set appropriate traps, whether store-bought or homemade. 

Does Home Warranty Cover Pest Control?

Try as you might, sometimes the bugs do get the best of you. Some infestations require more than a few well-placed traps around your home. 

Professional pest control services can be pricey, however. An initial consultation with a pest control expert can easily exceed $100. Warranty coverage is one way to protect yourself from this expense, as a pest control warranty cost is less than what the average person would spend in total on extermination services.

Liberty Home Guard does offer the option of adding pest control home warranty coverage to your policy. Our pest control warranty coverage protects you from ants, cockroaches, silverfish, moths, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, earwigs, crickets, and wasps.

Ridding your home of tiny pests doesn’t need to break the bank. When home remedies fall short, you can be assured that Liberty Home Guard will have you covered. To learn more about our pest control coverage or home warranties in general, reach out to our team. Call (866)-834-5570.