Looking to do some DIY Pest Control? Check out these tips.

There is a lot you can do to keep your home and yard from being a hangout for unwanted squatters. You can search the internet for a collection of tips and tricks, or check out a quick list that we put together right here!

Here is a list of things you can do:

  • Caulk your house – Go around the inside and outside of the house with a caulk gun. Fill in every hole and crevasse. Even the tiniest holes can allow in critters and insects.
  • Move the wood pile away from your house – Termites prefer a wooden highway, so don’t stack wood against the house. One infested log can be all they need to start eating your home.
  • Wipe counters and floors – Using a simple solution of peppermint castile soap and water can be enough to keep ants and roaches out. They don’t like soap, so simply staying clean gives them nothing to eat.
  • Spray vinegar and water – Spiders aren’t fans of vinegar. Spraying corners and cracks with vinegar and water can keep them out.
  • Plant away from the house – Plants and bushes are a great way for everything from rodents to carpenter ants to get into the house. Leave a gap between the plants and the house.
  • Beer is good – Put out saucers of beer to keep roaches away. They don’t like it, so they won’t go past or near it.
  • Coffee is good, too – Ants won’t cross a coffee line. Simply leave a line of it in the back of cabinets or entry points and the ants will stop in their tracks. You can also use equal parts borax and sugar. Put it in small jars with holes in the lids. The ants will go in, but they won’t come out.
  • Stop leaks – Leaky faucets give bugs a water supply. Turn off the water, and the insects are less likely to come around.
  • Put a lid on it – Everything from your trash cans to your dry food containers should have lids. Cardboard boxes and plastic containers just give mice bedding and a meal.
  • Cut branches – Branches that touch the house create an easy way for squirrels and other rodents to get onto and into the house.
  • Close the roof – Make sure roof vents are intact. Bats will find the smallest holes and move right in.
  • Bat houses – In your attic, bats are bad, but on your lawn, bats can keep the mosquito population down. Put up bat houses outside and the bats will eat the bugs in the air.
  • Put a cap on it – Make sure your chimney and vents have caps. Opossums, raccoons, rats, and mice love the shelter when they can get in.

Rather than having to use chemicals or violence to eliminate pests, there are lots of simple, non-toxic ways to make your home a less hospitable place for pests to show up. Each of the above ideas will only take you a small amount of time, but they could save you large dollars exterminator fees!