A pest infestation can feel like a never-ending nightmare. The pests might even appear to be doubling or tripling in numbers, regardless of your efforts. If you are in this situation, peruse this article to get some advice as to how to eliminate them.

Make sure that your house is sealed at all times so that the bugs from the outside cannot get in. You can place a rubber barrier under your doormat, which is a common entryway of bugs from the outside. This will help to seal your house so that bugs cannot come in and disrupt you.

If you have a brown recluse spider infestation, control it using sticky traps. This particular species of poisonous spider likes to make its nest in very deep parts of your home, which means killing them with chemicals is problematic. However, during the night, they come out to find food. You can catch them with traps strategically placed behind furnishings and along the walls.

If you are living in a multi-unit building, any form of individual pest control measures that you take will be ineffective. This is because those pests can travel from one apartment unit to another. To get rid of the bugs completely, your whole building needs to be treated at one time.

Remember that as much as your houseplants might bring life to your home, some of that life might be pests. If you suspect that they are infested with aphids, spray your houseplants regularly with a solution of soap and water. That should be enough to manage the pest problem without exposing your plants and home to insecticides.

Remove full garbage from the home immediately. Garbage left sitting around for too long is one of the main reasons for pest invasions into a home. The minute your garbage is full (or even if it isn’t but it’s been out for awhile), remove it from your living area and place it in the proper receptacle for pick up.

When placing bushes around your home, be sure to place them no closer than one foot out from the home’s perimeter. Despite your best efforts, a variety of insects and pests will live in the bushes surrounding your home. Placing it closer will bring the bugs to you inside.

If you live on a farm and have a problem with mice, or even rats, consider getting a couple outdoor cats to provide natural pest control. Make sure the cats have not been declawed, and have access to every part of the outdoor buildings. Make sure to provide food and water to the cats because they will still catch mice even if they are not hungry.

If you’re using mulch, don’t mulch all the way to the side of your home. Leave a gap about half a foot in length between the mulch and your outdoor wall. This will give you (or any exterminator) a better ability to see if any pests (like termites) are crawling from the mulch onto your outdoor wall.

It is best to store your food in air-tight containers. Many dry foods come in bags and boxes, and insects can very easily get inside of them. Your dry goods need to be kept in sealed bins. Plastic containers are very good. They keep a tight seal and maintain the food’s freshness.

One of the biggest sources of pests entering your home is the type of mulch you use on the outside garden beds. If you are using wood chips, termites are attracted to this and will get inside your home from it being in close proximity. Use rocks and stone in your garden instead to eliminate this problem.

Have you discovered a mouse hole? Try cutting up small steel wood pieces and putting them into this hole. The mice or rats will eat it and they’ll end up dying. To keep out rodents, patch the holes with a mix of steel wool and wood putty.

Seal any leaks. Whether you’re dealing with ants or other pests, one way to stop them is by sealing off an entry point. For smaller pests, a tiny amount of silicone caulk can accomplish this. If you’re dealing with rats or mice, you need to stuff some steel wool into that hole, then cover it up using wire mesh.

Check your home for moist areas in the structure if you have carpenter ants. Carpenter ants are very attracted to moisture, so if you begin to have a problem with them, chances are that you have a leak somewhere. Once you find and solve that problem, the carpenter ants will move on naturally.

Throwing pests out of a home is not any fun. Sometimes it takes weeks, months, years or decades to eradicate them. Use the tips here to get rid of those pests, once and for all. You will be able to relax in your pest-free house.

Pests Getting You Down? Use These Tips! was originally published on Spring