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What are the Best Tips for do-It-Yourself Pest Control?

Anna T.
Anna T.

The best tips for do-it-yourself pest control tend to vary depending on the type of pest a person wants to get rid of. Most people who say they want to get rid of pests are typically referring to either insects or rodents. In general, do-it-yourself pest control for insects may be possible with the use of store-bought insecticides and preventative measures. Problems with rodents may be dealt with by using traps or poisons. Before a person uses insecticides, traps, or other types of poisons for getting rid of insects or rodents in his home, he should think about where he is going to use the products so that no unintentional harm will come to any small children or pets.

Almost every lawn and garden center or major discount store will carry a product designed to help people deal with almost any type of insect problem imaginable. There are insecticides that will get rid of fleas, roaches, and fruit flies, as well as spiders and scorpions. All of these products are not created equally, and a person will probably have to go through a trial and error process to find the product that works best. In addition to the use of insecticides, preventative measures might also be very useful for keeping bug populations down. If fleas are a problem, indoor animals should always be treated with flea killers at least once a month, and roaches might be kept to a minimum if a person keeps her kitchen and bathroom areas very clean because those are the rooms roaches tend to inhabit the most.

Fruit flies.
Fruit flies.

Do-it-yourself pest control for rodents may be handled a little differently than insect problems. For rats and other rodents that often find their way indoors, a person might need to set out several traps. There are both humane and non-humane animal traps available, but animals that are captured in the humane traps and then released may find their way right back into a person's home if he doesn't make an effort to find where they are entering. Rodent problems may be prevented if all holes outside a person's home that are large enough for a small animal to fit through are sealed up. Many stores additionally carry poison that can be set out in places where evidence of rodent activity has been discovered.

Ants surrounding a piece of food.
Ants surrounding a piece of food.

It is possible to save lots of money with do-it-yourself pest control, which is likely why many people opt for it over hiring a pest control professional. In the event that this type of pest control is ineffective, it might be necessary to call a pest control professional to deal with the problem. Sometimes pests cannot be dealt with successfully by people who have no training in the pest control field. The most important aspect of do-it-yourself pest control is safety. People who have children or indoor animals need to be incredibly careful of where they place their traps and poisons.

Discussion Comments

Fa5t3r

@pleonasm - There are plenty of pests where you can effectively control them yourself, but I agree that it's important to keep welfare in mind. It's not right to set traps for rats that could maim them but not kill them and keep them suffering for a long period of time, for example.

You also have to make absolutely sure that your rodent or insect pest control isn't going to harm any other animals, beneficial insects or even children in the neighborhood. Consider all the consequences.

pleonasm

@Mor - That's good do it yourself pest control if you just need a temporary solution, but for a permanent one you'd really need to take care of the fleas on the animal and all the animal's bedding as well. The problem with fleas is that it's so easy for an animal to get reinfected, and most homemade solutions don't last very long.

I'm a big advocate for trying to be natural, but fleas can be extremely irritating for animals and people alike, so I actually think the controls offered by vets are probably the best option.

Mor

When I was younger and would occasionally go and stay with my grandparents for a few days, I would be driven mad by the fact that they had fleas in the carpet.

My grandmother thought that you could get rid of them simply by vacuuming regularly, but she never actually did anything to treat them on her cat, except to give it a flea collar, which wasn't enough.

I got sick of getting bitten and I was too polite to complain about it (especially as my grandmother would have been mortified) so I did a bit of research and discovered that fleas hate mint and it can be used as a kind of home pest control.

After that I would just scatter some fresh, crushed mint leaves all over the floor of my room and I didn't have to worry about getting bitten any more.

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