Eradicating Pests In The House

This is one problem that we are always wary of. Our are is infested with termites. Most houses here have been attacked by termites which you can normally see in vacant lots. There is a big hive of termite in our extended garden (the 500-square meter vacant lot). The termites have the propensity of building a nest right in the tree. And although the tree does not die, the main trunk is disfigured by the termite's pathway.

Our house had been ravaged by termites many times already. The first time was the beams in the ceiling. The second time was the ceiling of the kitchen. And another attack was the cabinet in the stock room. We wonder how those termites could come inside. One friend suggested that we fumigate our entire house with the spray insecticide. We do it sometimes - spraying the nook and cranny including the ceiling corners and then the doors are closed for 1 hour, at least, so the insecticide could work its way in the interiors. However, we have dogs and even if we bring them out during the fumigation, there are particulates left behind.

Aside from the nagging wife and wayward husband, what kind of pests do you have in your home?

 

I have periodic problems with carpenter ants. I have to make sure any infested trees are trimmed and free of the eaves of my house as I have been told that the ants can jump short distances. (Who knew?) Now regarding your pests, I believe that there are nontoxic repellants or bombs that can be released in the home that will not harm your pets.

 

My dog, Pickles is a pest sometimes when he wakes me up too early to go out. If I didn't have Clark's Pest Control I would have lots of black widow spiders, probably some other things also like ants.

My main concern was the spiders though. I pay $75 every other month and they spray everywhere.

Another advantage is that I don't have to deal with the ugly black spider web things that would cover the stucco on my house on the outside. It was very hard to get off and I tried everything. To me that's almost more important than the creepy crawlers....but I didn't want my dog getting bit.

 

The building I live in has regular visits by a pest control service. There are mouse traps outside the building and they check each apartment for bugs and spray when necessary.

 

We had a problem with ants in the kitchen. They would make their way through the window. I sprayed my tried and true Avon Skin So Soft on the sill and haven't had a problem with them since.

Mice were another problem squeezing their way through holes I found under the back door outside. I've sealed those and keep glue traps around the landing area and in the kitchen.

I heard that lemon oil is good for preventing spiders from weaving their webs. I tried it on my mailbox and it worked.

We had a bat get in the house after moving in. I never dreamed of a bat getting in the house. I don't know if I shared that story but it was hilarious.

 

There are lots of ants and spiders here, as well as other insects and critters. I haven't really found anything that helps with the spiders, but I have used cinnamon to ward off the ants, with good success. Salt is said to help with fleas, and since fleas are also prevalent here, despite my cats being treated against them, apparently they jump in the house or come in on clothing. I've used baking soda in the carpet to help keep them out.

I've tried the ultrasonic gadgets in the past for rodents and other critters on the roof/in the attic, but haven't had much success. If anyone has a solution that I can do, similar to that, I'd like to hear about it. The landlord is no help with anything, and it has to be something I can do here from the inside, without spending a lot of money.

 

I wish I could help you, but you have certainly helped me. I did not know cinnamon could help with ants. I am going to try that one today.

 

I used this for sweet eating ants that always invade kitchens. they take it back to the nest and wipe it out. when they exit out they always show you where they come in. usually around windows. a little dab ill do ya

 

You're welcome, @Texas Beth, I hope it works for you. I have had issues with them off and on since moving to the area back in 1998 (spiders, as well), and finally found out the cinnamon works. I've tried many of the other bombs, sprays, traps, etc., and nothing seemed to work until I used the cinnamon. The carpet here is a color that hides cinnamon well anyway, so I just sprinkle a bunch of it all over, and also sweep it on the hard surface floors.

Just don't make the mistake I did before. My roots up front were pretty white and I didn't have any hair color on hand, so I decided to darken them slightly with cinnamon for a quick touch up...big mistake. I think of cinnamon as sweet, but that taught me that it's definitely a spice, and burned my scalp (not literally, it just felt that way), and I had to wash my hair very intensely to get it all out.

 

That's a big infestation to deal with Corie Henson. I'm sorry you have this.

When I owned the house I hated, I had tons of ants. When I sold it however, I had little termite damage. Someone told me ants eat termites. I don't know if this is true but if it is, thanks to the ants.

Even in the 60's my mother refused to use any pesticides and she loved to garden. I now realize she was ahead of her time.

I use all natural cleaners and do my best to avoid chemicals in my home. No ants in my apartment. Spiders, I scoop into a small box and take them outside. The house had Wolf Spiders. I have few spiders at the apartment.

 

The ants here are very tiny, about 1mm long, perhaps 1.5 at most. Thus, they can enter the house almost anywhere. We see what we believe are "scouts", one or two wandering about, but should those happen upon some unfortunate, watch out! These babies BITE like the dickens! In my garage, we had a 20 lb. plastic bucket of bird feed (seed). I discovered a line of literally thousands of these tiny ants, entering the bucket through a small crack in the hinged lid. Each one going away from the bucket was busily dragging a small bit of seed! The bucket now hangs from the overhead door frame, suspended two inches off the floor. No guarantee, though; in Missouri, the ants climbed down the string supporting our hummingbird feeder!

Once, I discovered hundreds in a kitchen cabinet. They were feasting on the over-drip on side of a bottle of olive oil! My wife's Mother, visiting a few years ago, came suddenly shrieking from her bedroom, something was biting her! She had taken some crackers to bed; it was covered with ants!

But, nastier still, are these:


Up to 2 inches long! Some females can fly across the room! They will eat most anything.

 

We are on the 5th floor and don't have any pests. We do have spiders from time to time - but I don't consider them to be pests. The occasional fly enters by one window and usually exits by another. We have a garage and a store in the underground part of the building and the caretaker places traps there - for mice I guess, though I've never seen any.

 

I had ants once, after I came home from a trip. I saw a long line going from my sliding door to the back yard all the way into my pantry and on to every shelf. Tired after the trip I had to clean my whole pantry.

After I did that I tried many of the solutions in the posts above and the only thing that worked is the Terro. I used the traps. I may not have had my dog at the time so I don't know how poisonous it is to pets.