Home repairs are often recognised as a potentially costly part of owning a home. However, there is something that many home owners forget to consider and that is household pests. Now I am not referring to anything human like in-laws, but something much smaller like termites, cockroaches, ants, spiders and rodents. Unlike in-laws who eventually leave on their own and usually pose no real harm to the house and you, the fore-mentioned insects and rodents do. Threats include structural damage (termites), disease and mess (cockroaches and rodents), and bites (ants and spiders).
There are ways to prevent some of the more common household pests that you can implement yourself before you decide that the problem is too big for you to handle alone.
Cockroaches: Keep all food stored in sealed containers. Clean the kitchen frequently and repair water leaks promptly. A drop of water is enough for one bug for a week. Seal off entry points like holes in the baseboards, in the kitchen cabinets, pipes, doors, and windows.
The health risks of these pests are the diseases that they carry. These include the likes of dysentery and Typhus. Another disgusting fact of cockroaches is that a single female can produce approximately 20,000 offspring in her short life span.
Rodents: Traps are not all that effective and pose a danger to young children and pets. Rodents are responsible for destroying billions of dollars each year in food and their chewing has caused fires. Depending on the breed, a pair can produce up to 15,000 babies in their lifespan. And this is on top of the fact that rat bites can transmit deadly diseases like rabies. Rodents are repelled by the smell of mint, camphor, and pint tar. Also having a cat or Terrier may help.
Ants: These become a big problem in the home when nests are disturbed. What starts the infestation indoors is poor housekeeping habits and your pet’s food bowl. Depending on the species, ants are capable of inflicting painful bites.
Ways to prevent home invasion include keeping the home as clean as possible, and monitoring the household plants. A way to protect the pet’s food bowl is to place the bowl in a tray of water. There are chemical ways to control ants but be warned, most of the time these contain poisonous chemicals.
Spiders: Depending on the species, have different ways of trapping their prey. Not all spiders are pests to the household but remember that all spiders are venomous to various degrees.
Finally Termites: These pests eat wood and cause extreme damage to your home. They eat 24 hours a day 7 days a week and are so slow about the damage that often times it goes unnoticed until it is really bad. To prevent this problem there are a few simple remedies to try; eliminate standing water, keep branches trimmed back, make sure the cracks in the bottom of your home are fixed and make sure your firewood and building material are away from your home.
In Sydney alone termites infest one in five homes resulting in costly repairs; and these rates are just increasing. So if you are considering selling your home you should have it inspected for these pests before putting it up on the market.
Often homeowners are able to deal with small to medium pest infestations on their own. However nothing beats the work of a professional. If you are serious about removing some of the threats posed by pests in your house, a simple phone call to an expert is all that is needed to help make your home a safer place to live.
f you’re concerned about any of these common pests and need some help exterminating them, you can contact Pink Pest Services for professional pest control in Sydney or call 
02 9529 5222
for immediate assistance.
