Florida Pests Can Be Prevented With A Good Spring Cleaning Of Your Home
Now that spring is here, and the weather is beginning to warm up here in the Tampa Bay area, that means home owners will be spending the next few weekends to get caught up on their spring cleaning needs. If this sounds like you, it is important to pay close attention to those areas that may attract pests to your home. Cleaning tasks such as wiping around the windows and shampooing the rugs if you have them are places to start. We've put together a useful room by room list of what to address in your home to keep pests at bay.
Keep These Areas Clean And Keep Pests To A Minimum
Kitchen
Ants, among other annoying pests, are known to frequent this area of your home because of easy access to food and water. They are easy to spot as they march single file through your home searching for crumbs left behind from dinner or sticky residue left over from spills. While many of us go out of our way to keep the kitchen clean, there are a few other tasks you can do to make this area of your home less attractive to any pests.
Go through your cabinets and pantry and pull out all the items. Discard any stale spices and dated staple items such as flour. These types of baking ingredients attract beetles, Indianmeal moths and, of course, ants. Wipe down the inside of your cabinets and replace any shelf paper you may use.
Next pull out your appliances as far as you can and vacuum and mop the floor area. You'll honestly be quite surprised at how much dirt, dust and crumbs you may find there, especially if you haven't cleaned this area in a while.
Lastly, give all the counters and floors a good scrubbing. Wash them with dishwashing liquid and warm water.
Bathrooms
Many pests such as silverfish and cockroaches are attracted to areas with a lot of moisture and home owners will often find them in bathrooms. Eliminating any source of water in the bathrooms is one of the best ways to prevent any kind of pest infestation, as both of these pests can easily survive a full week without any water. Be sure to wash and dry your shower curtain and liner and clean out your medicine cabinet. Next, while wiping down and cleaning under the sink, be sure to check for moisture issues and any leaky pipes.
Outdoors
Once your indoor spring cleaning list has been handled, check the outside of your home. Check for any damage that may have occurred over the winter months. Check the roof and repair any fascia or rotting roof shingles. Many insects are attracted to wood that may be starting to deteriorate. Be sure to clean out gutters and downspouts before the Florida storm season rolls in. You may also notice you need to repair screens and weather stripping at this time as well.
Of course it is important to address landscaping in order to keep Florida mosquitoes to a minimum. Be sure to trim bushes and branches so they are away from the house. Branches leaning against the house creates a bridge for bugs to access your home. Be sure to remove any rotting wood and keep mulch at least 15 inches away from your home's foundation, which can act as a magnet for termites.
The Bottom Line On Cleaning For Pest Prevention
The arrival of the warmer weather brings with it a renewed sense of energy and excitement for your home. Be sure top take advantage of this and create a healthy and safe environment for your family by preventing pests from entering and staying in your home. While you're at it, call Super D Pest Control at (727) 433-5310 and schedule a free consultation for a year round pest control plan that will add an additional layer of protection to your home.
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