Your House Belongs to You Not PestsPests can live anywhere—in apartments, houses, teepees, and trailers. They get into your home in boxes, bags, and even come in from beneath the doors. They manage to squeeze in through cracks as small as the thickness of a coin. Did you know that roaches can go without food for a whole month?

From the wide array of pests that can be seen in homes, here at Home Loan Advisor we find roaches to be the most persistent ones. They love to act as if they’re the owners and do their own thing – they’ll nibble at food, clothing, books, and almost anything they can manage to dig their vicious teeth into. They leave droppings all over and are known to be carriers of dysentery. So how does one get rid of roaches and other pests once and for all 

Eliminate food and water sources

When there’s water and food easily available, roaches treat it as an invitation. If you want to convey to pests that they’re not welcome, here are some things to keep in mind:

  • Keep the area around tubs, toilets, and sinks dry. Roaches can survive for only a week without drinking water. Make sure there’s no water standing at any place.
  • Clean up your kitchen well. Make sure there are no crumbs near the microwave, refrigerator, and stove.
  • Use a vacuum cleaner to clear corners and cabinet bases of scraps of food.
  • Use soap and water to clean the insides of cupboards and drawers.
  • Clean dirty dishes and put them away immediately.

Serious cases of roach infestation

If your house is spotlessly clean and dry, and pests (especially roaches!) still find it attractive, then it’s time for some hard-hitting measures. Here’s what you can do:

Traps: It’s a good idea to set up sticky traps in dark areas where roaches and mice generally gather, for example, below refrigerators and sinks, within cupboards, and behind the stoves. Traps work quickly. Check them regularly and toss when they’re full.

Bait: You can place bait stations which have stick-and-peel backs almost anywhere. They contain the active ingredient Fipronil which kills roaches by ingestion or touch. Roaches often share such bait with nest-mates and many of them get killed simultaneously. Make sure to change bait stations once in three months.

Home remedy: Create a mix of water, flour, and boric acid and place it in small containers behind cupboards and beneath stoves. This paralyzes roaches and eventually kills them. Take care that this mixture is kept away from children and pets.

Professional help: If all other efforts prove unsuccessful, consider getting professional help. Pest control company professionals are the best people to fight this war for you. Typically, exterminators use Cynoff WP to spray your house and they set bait stations. Make sure your aquarium stays protected from the spray. The exterminators will come back for further visits if your issue doesn’t get resolved in one instance.

They generally charge a fee ranging from $100 to $300 for the initial visit. This is followed by quarterly or monthly visits at about $50 each. Check out the guarantee offered by the company and ensure that the chemicals used are not harmful for your family and pets.

Home Loan Advisor can analyze your property, current market conditions, local market comps, and other variables in our proprietary algorithm as well as match you with potential lenders! To assist you in the refinancing process, you can get a free home value report from Neighborhood IQ and find out what your home is really worth.