No matter how careful you are in cleaning your home and its surroundings, chances are you’ll still manage to find some pest occupying your space. Sharing your home with pests, be it a swarm of termites, a colony of ants or mischief of rats, can result in several health issues, including structural damages.

Pests like roaches, termites, rats, mice, etc., are attracted to many things. To solve the issue of pest infestation in your home, you need to figure out what these things are. And that is where this article becomes useful.

Below, we have highlighted 6 things attracting pests to your home. But before we look into that, let’s consider the dangers of pest infestation in your home.

Dangers of Pest Infestations to your Home.

Pest infestation is an issue that ought to be given full attention. But why are we advised to take quick action when we notice signs of pest infestation in our homes? Here are a few reasons.

1. Diseases

Pests like roaches, mosquitoes, and rats can mess up your beautiful home and make you very uncomfortable. But that is not all! Like other insects and rodents, these pests are also common carriers of diseases.

Insects can be vectors for diseases like Lyme, dengue fever, salmonella, malaria, etc. Mosquitoes, one of the most hated household pests, are sources of diseases like the West Nile virus or the Zika Virus. On the other hand, rodents can carry diseases like the plague, Hantavirus, and other dangerous diseases.

2. Allergies and venom

Pests aren’t only the carriers of diseases, they carry allergens too. The faeces of pests like cockroaches or rats can result in allergic reactions. Their shedding skin can also contaminate your indoor air.

Aside from roaches and rats, other allergy-causing pests are mosquitoes, kissing bugs, bedbugs, fleas, and spiders. Venomous spiders like the black widow and brown recluse spider possess venoms that can cause severe health issues to victims if left unattended.

What about bugs? Of course, they cause allergies too. Stings from bugs like bees, wasps, and hornets can result in serious and sometimes deadly allergic reactions in humans.

3. House damage

Aside from carrying allergens and diseases, pests can also cause structural damage to your home. They attack wooden structures, electrical components and a host of other building elements.

Insects like termites, carpenter ants, and wood-boring beetles are responsible for wood damage in the home. On the other hand, rodents like mice and rats are responsible for chewing on electrical wires, thus causing shorts that may ignite house fires.

If your home consists of any wooden structure, consider treating it for insects and pests that ravage woods. Not paying attention to a pest infestation can cause irreparable structural damages.

Things that Attract Pests Indoors.

Here are some things that attract pests to your home.  

1. Damp Basement

Having a wet basement may not seem like a big deal to you, especially if you lack insights into its implications. A wet basement doesn’t only affect your electrical fixtures like your furnaces or air conditioning; it may also act as the perfect breeding ground for all sorts of pests ranging from insects, rodents, snakes, and other unwanted critters.

A damp basement is often a result of several factors. Check the grading and downspouts around your home to ensure that rainwater isn’t being directed to the foundation. Also, look for likely sources of leaks like windows, walls, etc. If you find any, don’t hesitate to call in the professionals.

2. Blocked rain gutters

Rain gutters are channels designed to direct water away from your foundation. Often, especially during the end of falls, these channels become blocked, making it impossible for water to flow freely, thereby creating a breeding place for insects and snakes.

Clean your gutters often, especially during the spring, and after plants shed their leaves in the fall. Alternatively, you can consider installing gutter guards to tackle the cause of blocked gutters.

3. Dirty dishes

If you often leave dirty dishes unattended for hours or days, you’ll end up inviting pests like rodents and bugs. Dirty dishes are the perfect breeding place for all kinds of pests, especially spiders who don’t feed on household waste but insects.

To prevent these pests from invading your kitchen and contaminating your food, practice the habit of washing dishes after every meal. What if there is already an influx of pests, like spiders? In the case of spiders, you can consider calling in spider pest control in severe circumstances. While in the case of small insects, spray vinegar around your kitchen.

4. Trash and recyclables

Food remnants in trash cans attract bugs and rodents. They also serve as a cosy abode for these pests. To prevent pest infestation from food scraps, make it a habit to bag, seal, and store garbage properly. Ensure you wash recyclable. If you are still using the open-top curbside recycling container, consider switching to a closed container.

5. Poor Landscape Maintenance

An untidy landscape risks being infested by rodents, insects and other creatures, who might leverage any opportunity to sneak into your home.

While these animals are allowed to wander in their domain, you can prevent them from entering your home by prioritizing regular lawn maintenance. If perhaps, you are too busy to maintain your lawn, you can consider hiring professionals to handle this task for you.

6. General clutter

An untidy room, dirty toilet, or dusty laundry room are common hiding places for little critters. Clothes piled in a corner of your room or random boxes stashed in the attic or basement are an invitation for ants and other little pests like rats, mice, etc.

If you are fond of piling books and papers untidily, you may end up attracting silverfish and dust mites. Ensure you prioritize cleaning your house regularly to reduce pest infestation.

Conclusion

After investing so much money and effort in sprucing up your home, it is important that you implement the necessary measures to ensure that it is safe from pests. A pest infestation can damage your home and be hazardous to your health. Inspect your home carefully to ensure that it’s not breeding grounds for pests. If you are experiencing a severe pest infestation, don’t hesitate to call in pest control.

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