Affordable Pest Control Tips and Tricks for Every Household

Lets face it, nobody wants creepy crawlies running around their home. Just the thought of spiders, ants or cockroaches spreading germs around the home is enough to make anyone cringe.

There’s a range of pest prevention tips for homeowners that can reduce the likelihood of unwanted pests all year round, at little to no cost at all.

Let’s jump right into it.

• Rubber door stops – One of the easiest ways is the rubber door stops. You can buy these from most local hardware stores. They’ll prevent pests and vermin getting into the property, beneath doorways which often act as entry points.
• Remove vegetation – Vegetation against the wall edge of your home is one of the most common causes of infestations. Pests such as ants, termites, cockroaches and spiders gain entry to the property because they’ll use the vegetation as a bridge straight into the home. Overhanging trees either up against the house or touching the guttering can allow snakes easy access also. Be sure to remove any vegetation away from the property.
• Vegetable gardens – One of the other things, thirdly, are veggie gardens against the wall edge. As professional pest controllers, we often see people build vegetable gardens right up against the wall edge of their homes. This becomes an immediate problem for two reasons. Firstly, they’re watering their plants every day, which attracts termites due to the moisture, and secondly, the vegetable gardens have been positioned in a way that often covers weep holes in the brickwork. Once this happens, termites have immediate access to the internal structure of your home, and can cause a considerable amount of damage. So be sure to keep vegetable gardens well away from the home.

Eco friendly pest control

Eco friendly pest control is a huge gimmick in the pest control industry as its often used simply as a means of acquiring customers. What home owners need to understand is that pest control is a whole lot different than it used to be. We’re not using organophosphate chemicals anymore, which are toxic, have strong odours and can cause poisoning. The products we use nowadays are completely safe to use within aged care facilities, restaurants and childcare centers. They have no smell whatsoever and are less toxic than table salt.

The dosages are very low also. If we’re spraying a product that’s a pesticide, it might contain less than 0.4% of actual product. The dosages are very weak compared to what they used to be with the pesticides designed to effect insects only.

Pest control safety tips.

If homeowners are buying pest control products or they’ve got products around the house, storage is really important. For instance, if they have rat baits, cockroach baits, or even general pest control products such as fly spray, it’s really important that they keep those stored safely. Up high, in a locked cupboard preferably away from your children, and most importantly pets is always best.

Also, we often recommend home owners go for a walk down to the local park, or head out briefly while the treatment is being performed. This isn’t necessary but it can give make our job easier and give the home owner peace of mind.

Considerations for DIY pest control.

The first thing that comes to mind here are rodent baits.

Rodent baits that are available at most retail outlets contain a much lower dosage of the active ingredient which is designed to kill the pest. This leads to a potential problem which is known in the industry as “second kill”.

Home owners, without knowing will often place the baits in the roof, the mice and rats eat the bait, and because the product is so weak it can take a week for product to take affect. During this time the pest becomes dazed and confused, and is much more likely to be caught and eaten by other animals – such as dogs and cats. This then leads to pets becoming affected or even dying as a result.

Another issue we see are home owners buying these wall mount pest control things that project pesticides into the air. That’s even more dangerous than the pesticides we apply, because they’re applied as a fine mist directly to the intended surface.

Wall mounted units are essentially spraying chemicals directly into the air that homeowners, children and pets are actively breathing.

Money saving pest control tips.

Regular pest and termite inspections, can save you money in the long term.

Home owners can save an enormous amount of money if they catch a problem early, as opposed to finding considerable damaged caused after years of an otherwise undetected infestation.

So regular maintenance and upkeep is a way of saving money because you’re not going to be subjected to the huge expenses of an infestation – especially if it’s termite damage.

Silverfish

Silverfish are commonly found in your clothes drawer, or wardrobe.

Mothballs can deter them, but they won’t prevent or fix an infestation. Silverfish will normally breed in the roof void so when we perform a treatment, we use a dusting machine which penetrates the roof cavity and down into the wall cavities, which fixes the problem entirely.

Wasps

Wasps can be very difficult. With wasps they’re an airborne pest, so you have two types – mud builders, and nest builders that often build on the underside of the properties eaves.

The only way to control wasps is purely treat as they appear. We spray the affected areas, ensuring that the house is sealed, then once the wasps are eliminated, we remove the nest.

There is a product available called “Wasp Freeze” which homeowners can do themselves however the likelihood of them being stung is high.

Bees

Bee control has changed a lot over the years. Ten years ago if you had bee problem, you could call in any pest control company who would apply pesticides and essentially kill them off.

Now, with changes in the environmental law, bees are a protected species and they must be removed by a professional bee keeper.

Bee keepers will position a box outside the property with a queen in it. All the bees are naturally attracted to the box, in which case the the bee keeper will simply relocate the bees without extermination.

Rodents

Rodents are common, obviously, in the winter months. The best prevention for rodents are to simply eliminate any potential entry points into the home. Through door stops, holes, cracks in the floor seam, or gaps in the brick work, or even garage doors that don’t close properly.

Regular baiting is also common, but what we usually recommend are lockable, plastic, weather proof baiting stations. An average home will have two to three stations around or under the house with a lockable lid. These are a very safe and effective way of preventing unwanted rodent infestations.

Birds

It’s difficult to control birds in terms of treatments.

Property owners will occasionally use bird spikes to stop birds nesting in certain areas of their homes. Netting often placed on the underside of roofing structures and cavities is also an effective way of preventing birds from occupying areas such as verandas, balconies or even large storage sheds.

Possums

Possums are a protected species so the any removal methods must be performed by a licensed professional.

Relocation here is key.

What we always recommend is that homeowners call a local wildlife centre. A lot of them offer free possum relocation services – catch and release. If you’ve got a possum and you don’t want to pay for a professional pest control service, a lot of local wild life centres will perform the removal and relocation of unwanted possums for you.

Termites

Firstly homeowners should not be attempting to perform treatment themselves or take the threat of a potential termite infestation lightly. We have seen entire homes demolished due to termite damage which has left the property owner devastated.

Secondly, regular termite inspections are crucial, regardless of the age of the property or if the property has been constructed with a physical termite barrier. That barrier might have a 20 or 50 year guarantee, but that guarantee is subject to regular termite inspections each year

70% of homes in Australia don’t have adequate protection so regular inspections are a must.

For most homes, the best form of prevention will be either a chemical full perimeter barrier or a termite baiting system, but it depends on the construction type of the house. The recommended treatment type will depend if it’s a sloping block, or a flat block with a flat slab, or a raised home.

In terms of prevention, the main is to ensure the following –

• Remove gardens up against the property that cover weep holes
• Be mindful of renovating – have a professional pest control technician advise you what you should do and what to avoid when laying concrete, adding extensions, renovating bathrooms and building decks
• Remove any timber or old furniture that might be stored under or around the home
• Repair any leaky piping or faulty plumbing that’s producing high moisture areas, especially against the side of the property – this includes hot water systems

Interested in working with us?

Pest-Ex have been servicing Southeast Queensland for more than a decade. We service all areas of Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Logan and Tweed Heads. With more than 7,000 satisfied customers, it pays to work with professionals who provide the very best in pest control.

Give us a call today for your free quote.