Your home is your sanctuary, so it makes sense that you want to protect it. You might think of protecting your space in terms of security, but what about the urban pests that could potentially ruin it?
Various rodents, insects, and other creatures are capable of causing structural damage, creating fire hazards, and spreading disease. It’s important to know what the most common urban pests are and how to deal with them.
1. Rats and Mice
Forget about the antics of every lovable cartoon rat and mouse you’ve seen. In real life, these rodents are among the most destructive urban pests that can invade your home.
They will make holes in your walls, chew furniture to create nests, and scavenge for food in your kitchen cupboards and trash cans. While going about their activities, rats and mice leave hair, urine, and droppings all over the place, and to make matters worse, their thousands of droppings contain harmful bacteria and viruses that can spread to humans, such as salmonella. Their destructive habits can also cause structural damage to your home. Rats and mice can damage and contaminate insulation, and chew through wiring, creating a fire hazard.
A few tips for preventing rat and mice infestations include keeping your kitchen clean, disposing of garbage regularly, ensuring there’s no clutter, and keeping your garden neat.
2. Ants
While ants shouldn’t cause structural damage to your home unless you’ve had a massive infestation for years, they can be a nuisance. Especially if they get into your food.
If you find a trail of ants in your home, leave ant bait along it, and scattered around the entrance to their colony. Leave the bait there for an extended period of time, as it may take a while for the bait to reach the queen. Get the opinion of a pest control professional if you cannot eradicate them.
3. Flies
While the occasional fly isn’t anything to be concerned about, a few flies can become a big problem. They lay their eggs in decaying moist organic materials such as grass clippings, trash, and animal feces, and those eggs can mature to adulthood in a week.
Flies carry and spread diseases such as salmonella, E. coli, cholera, and typhoid fever. You can take steps to control and eliminate the problem by clearing out your trash cans regularly, cleaning up animal feces in your yard, making sure you don’t leave food, fruit, vegetables, or leftovers out for long, and installing nets and flyscreens on your windows and doors.
4. Bed Bugs
Bed bugs won’t cause structural damage to your home or spread diseases, but they will affect your quality of life. They invade mattresses and bedding, soft furniture, and clothing, and they feed on the blood of humans and animals. Their bites can even cause allergic reactions. There’s also the possibility of developing a secondary infection from the bite reaction.
If you have a bed bug problem, get rid of them by cleaning your bedroom, getting rid of clutter, and moving your bed away from the walls and furniture. Washing your bedding and putting it in a hot dryer for 30 minutes, and vacuuming mattress sides, seams, and box springs, as well as furniture, floors, windows, and molding daily, helps too.
5. Fleas
Fleas are usually associated with pets such as dogs and cats, but you don’t need to have a pet to have a flea problem. A problem can develop if the previous occupant had pets and didn’t clean thoroughly before moving, or if other pests such as mice or rats have entered your home.
Like bed bugs, fleas won’t cause structural damage, but their bites could lead to swelling, a rash, or hives.
If you have seen fleas in your home, clean the areas you saw them in thoroughly, and any areas where your pet spends time. Vacuum the carpet and furniture and dispose of the vacuum bag outside. If you need some extra oomph, use a flea-killing spray.
6. Wasps
Wasps are scary urban pests for a variety of reasons. For starters, they’re often aggressively territorial. This can be a big problem if they build their nests under awnings and roofs, or inside walls. Apart from the structural damage they cause by chewing through wallboards and ceilings, they will sting anyone who provokes them or comes too close to their nests. Their stings are incredibly painful, and they may cause allergic reactions.
There are various methods you can use to get rid of wasps. You can use wasp traps and hang them away from your outdoor living areas in your yard. Or, you can purchase a wasp nest spray with a nozzle. Alternatively, call in the professionals.
7. Cockroaches
Cockroaches aren’t known for causing structural damage, but they can spread bacteria such as salmonella. Their shed skin and feces contain allergens and pathogens that can trigger allergies and asthma. To make matters worse, cockroaches are always on the lookout for food sources, and they have no problem vomiting or defecating on the food they find.
If you have cockroaches in your home, use glue traps to identify problem areas, and then place bait stations in those areas. You can also caulk entry points, such as gaps in window and door seals, worn weather stripping, and between walls or tiles.
8. Termites
Wood-eating termites are one of the most destructive of all urban pests, and even the best home or landlord insurance policies generally won’t cover the damage they cause as it’s considered preventable. Fortunately, termites are easy to spot as they leave little holes and piles of wood dust, so you can deal with them quickly.
In addition to eating through your walls, doors, and window frames, termites eat books and other paper, as well as insulation. They can also damage water filtration systems and swimming pool liners. Calling in a professional to deal with an infestation is usually best, as they can eradicate them completely.
9. Spiders
A couple of spiders around the house isn’t too much of a problem, as they can control other common urban pests. However, some spider species in the US are poisonous, and their bites can cause pain, injury, or be fatal.
If you want to get rid of spiders in your home, start by vacuuming regularly, especially in sheltered places such as the backs of cupboards, under worktops, and behind and under furniture. Remove any webs you find, and fill in gaps around pipework, under doors, and in walls.
10. Bees
Bees are one of the most important insects on the planet, but they can be a problem if a colony decides to share your home. As many as 30,000 bees can create a hive of wax, honey, and propolis within your walls or other spaces in your home.
If bees move in, don’t try to get rid of them with insecticide. Even if you manage to kill the bees, the hive will still need to be removed, as it could leak and attract other pests such as insects, rats, and mice. The best option is to call an expert who can remove the entire colony and the hive.
Conclusion
Keeping your home clean and clutter-free is all part of pest control. But even if your home is pristine, sometimes these common pests can become a problem. Use this guide to address the issues, and if in doubt, contact a professional who can eliminate an infestation.
