Each spring, as warmer weather arrives, the encroachment of insects on your home might be something you think of as inevitable. Multiple types of ants, roaches, and flies are all common house pests that probably seem to multiply out of nowhere to invade your home, but there are ways to combat them. Keeping a clean house can go a long way in preventing bugs from getting cozy there, and there are a few simple cleaning strategies you can employ to make these unwelcome guests look elsewhere for food and nesting opportunities.
1. Store Food in Jars
Ants have powerful jaws that are capable of chewing through cardboard food containers, such as cereal boxes. Once they find a food source, they will invade in their hundreds and get into your cabinets and pantry. One was to deter ants is to store your cereal and other dry goods in glass jars with durable, screw-on lids. Not only will this prevent the ants from smelling available food, tightly-sealed jars can prevent them from getting at it.
Although these jars can prevent ants from infesting your food, it is a good idea to store the jars in a cupboard instead of the counter. This additional measure may prevent house flies from leaving behind germs on the surface of the glass as they try to access the food inside.
2. Keep Fruit Under a Cake Dish
You may love fruit like apples, peaches, and bananas at room temperature, but once spring comes, swarms of fruit flies may appear to enjoy them as well. While storing your fruit in the fridge is one solution, another is to keep it under a glass cake dish. This makes a wide array of fruit visually pleasing while keeping fruit and house flies from feasting on it. Make sure your dish has a firm seal, as small flies can crawl into the tiniest of cracks.
3. Sanitize Sinks and Food Prep Surfaces
Food prep areas can be a feeding area for bugs when they are not cleaned properly. One bug that might be particularly attracted to dirty countertops and dishes is the cockroach. These insects eat virtually anything and can multiply under your sinks and fridge before you even realize they are there. Because they can spread disease and cause health problems once they infest an area, they can be more dangerous than other types of pests.
Because roaches might reach your home via your home’s plumbing, keeping your sinks clean can also be an important factor in repelling them. Rinse coffee grounds down your kitchen sink to mask food odors and lock your drain plugs at night, as these pests are mostly nocturnal and will forage while you sleep.
4. Have Your Home’s Exterior Treated
The first line of defense against an insect invasion can be your home’s perimeter, so having it treated by a professional pest control company can turn troublesome pests away before they reach your door. Traps, baits, and chemical borders can assist your efforts to keep bugs away, and these professionals can give you additional advice about how to make your home unappealing to ants, roaches, and other insects that can infest in the thousands.
Living with insects is a fact of life, but you do not have to share your happy home with them. Keeping your home clean and cutting off food supplies and entrance routes closed can help keep bugs outdoors where they belong.
I like the idea of a clear cake dish. I always do the other tips. Thanks.
I grew up on the East Coast and keeping ants out of the house was always an issue. I have to say though that living on the West Coast is different and we just don’t have some of these issues except for the fruit flies that we seem to get every spring and fall.
I am going out to look for a clear cake dish. Such good ideas. Thank you
I also like the fruit under the cake dish. My husband sprays around the house on a regular basis. He HATES bugs so I don’t even have to remind him. I can do this because I don’t have children….. carpet tape comes off the roll with paper on one side of the sticky tape. I place a strip of that tape (paper side down) in front of doors where I suspect they are coming in. I can catch anything that crawls in. Then I know if any door is an issue.
Keep Fruit Under a Cake Dish is what I’ll do from now on. That’s a great tip.
Thank you for sharing these great tips. I like the idea of keeping fruit under a cake dish as the weather changes we tend to get fruit flies and I hate them.