No one wants to share their home with “uninvited guests”, and on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast there are many common household pests that you don’t want invading your home. In this post we’ll be looking at the most prevalent creepy crawlies in the region and offering some DIY pest control tips to help keep your home critter-free.
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Termites (White Ants)
Cockroaches
Rodents
Spiders
Bed Bugs
Termites (White Ants)
Now while this pest might be rather shy and isn’t running around all over your food, it’s actually the pest that causes the biggest problems and can lead to very expensive repair bills. The best cure for termites is prevention, but if you do end up with termites, you’ll want to call in a professional.
Here is a quick list of some things you can do yourself to help stave off a termite infestation:
- Canola oil is found to be an effective natural insecticide against termites
- Sprinkle Diatomaceous Earth around the outside and beneath your house (if access is available)
- Garlic oil also has natural insecticide qualities that kills termites
- Flood the soil around your property
- Apply Aloe Vera gel to affected areas
- Nontoxic to humans, Boric Acid (Borax) can be sprinkled around the home to help prevent and eradicate termites
- White vinegar is another natural substance that’s also effective
- Keep wood and debris well away from your home
Cockroaches
Three species of cockroach infest Sunshine Coast homes:
- American
- Australian
- German
It’s a multicultural area when it comes to these very hardy pests. Cockroaches can breed in the thousands and they love covertly creeping around your house in the dark. So what can you do to kill off and prevent the invasion of cockroaches?
- Mix up a bait of baking soda and sugar and place it where you know cockroaches roam
- Use Boric Acid in dry areas by lightly sprinkling where roaches hang out. It’s an effective roach killer
- Place bay leaves in your pantry and under the kitchen sink. These won’t kill cockroaches, but they do help to repel them
- Another method of repelling roaches is both orange oil and lemon juice. Roaches don’t like citric acid and they’ll keep well away from it
- Apply a DIY home insecticide spray very carefully, one that’s kind to humans and pets
Rodents – Rats & Mice
In certain parts of India rats are revered. That’s not the case in Sunshine Coast households. None of us want rats and mice causing havoc in our homes. Not only can they spread diseases, rodents have a habit of destructive behaviour when they build nests and runs.
Some mice might look cute out in the wild, but not when you catch them digging into your food in the pantry. Yuck!
The most humane way of dealing with rodents is to trap them live, then release them far away from your house . If that doesn’t appeal to you, then let’s peek at a few home remedies for keeping these furry beasts at bay:
- Peppermint oil in cotton balls can be placed in cupboards and anywhere you suspect rodents might be hanging out. It won’t kill them, but it will repel rats and mice
- Store all food items in the refrigerator or hardy, air tight containers
- Block up any holes or possible entrance points to the house that you can find
- You could get yourself a cat, a natural predator of rodents
- Place onions in the pantry or beneath the kitchen sink. Again, the odour repels them
- Use the good old fashioned mouse trap or rat trap
Spiders
Even non-venomous spiders can be annoying, building webs in and around the house, and you definitely don’t want any dangerous spiders lurking in the cracks and corners, beneath furniture or crawling around on your bed at night.
You could go around killing every spider you see on sight, either by squashing them or spraying them with a can of insect spray, but there are also other methods of keeping them at bay:
- Fill a spray bottle with essential peppermint oil mixed with water and spray around your home. Spiders detest peppermint, just like rodents
- An alternative to the peppermint oil is to mix white vinegar with water and spray around the house with it
- Spiders also don’t like citric acid, so applying some orange or lemon in areas where spiders are likely to hang is an effective method of keeping them away
- Clean up all rubbish and debris outside the home, such as leaves, piles of wood and so on. This way spiders are less likely to find their way inside your house
Bed Bugs
These are nasty little blood sucking creatures of the night that only come out to feed when they think you’re asleep. These beasts are attracted to your body heat and the carbon dioxide you exhale. When they do bite you, you end up with very itchy red lumps that can take weeks to fade away.
So how do you get rid of these horrible little vampires?
Let’s look at a few things you can do, along with calling in a pest control expert who specialises in bed bug eradication:
- Apply Diatomaceous Earth on the floor near the legs of the bed and along the skirting boards. This kills bed bugs and is harmless to humans
- Strip your bed back, wash and vacuum everything (bed and room), then use a steam gun on the bed, on the floors and along the skirting boards. The steam will kill the bugs and their eggs
- Much like how the Diatomaceous Earth works, so too will baking soda. It essentially dehydrates the bed bugs and kills them off
- Mix up pepper, ginger and oregano oil with water, put in a spray bottle and spray all suspect areas
- Tee tree oil, lavender oil and peppermint oil are other effective bed bud repellents
The Wrap
It’s great if you can get rid of unwanted pests with home remedies and natural methods, but if infestations persists, be sure to call in your local pest control sunshine coast professional to take care of business.
If DIY doesn’t work for you, then ask Top Choice Pest Control for help with your pest problem in the Sunshine Coast.
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