Like it or not, bugs love your home for the same reasons that you do. It’s warm and cozy and it has access to food and water. Opportunistic pests are simply in search of a place where they can hunker down and your home likely fits the bill.

But the last thing that you want is for your home to be a hang-out spot for creepy crawlies like spiders, centipedes, and millipedes. You deserve to feel confident that you’re not sharing your home with a bunch of unwanted guests.

For that reason, you likely want to know how to keep bugs away from your house.

Pests gain access in a variety of ways, but if you’re armed with the right solutions, you can easily fight back. 

Just like with your favorite sports team, the key to a winning pest prevention program is a good offense blended with a solid defense. Kingstowne Pest Defense’s highly trained service specialists start with a thorough inspection of the exterior of your home to identify where pests may be living, and if there are any “weak spots” in your home’s pest defense shield.

How to Keep Bugs Out of Your House

First and foremost, there are some steps that you can take on your own that are part of the best ways to keep bugs out of your house.

Keep Your Landscape Tidy

A lot of the pests that eventually make their way into your home started out in your landscape. But you can make an effort to limit these pests with some good cultural  practices. 

Overgrown shrubs, tree limbs touching the home, or even tall grass that is overdue to be mowed all end up becoming places where pests hang out. And the more pests you have hanging around your home, the more likely the chance they’ll find their way inside.

We recommend trimming overgrown trees and shrubs at least three feet back from your home. It’s also important that you avoid using too much mulch (more than three inches) near the foundation because it can provide an ideal harborage for rodents, ants, cockroaches, and termites.

Keep Debris Out of the Yard and Food Stored Away

This point also has to do with discouraging pests from coming into your yard and making a home. Any trash or debris around the yard can become a hiding spot. Plus, food that is left out from parties or picnics absolutely becomes a pest attractor.

We also advise keeping pet food dishes and bird feeders inside when not in use outside. Or, with bird feeders, keep them high enough off the ground that they are not attracting bugs.

Also, be sure to keep tight-fitting lids on trash cans, as exposed garbage provides a convenient dinner buffet for rodents, flies, and nuisance wildlife

Seal All Cracks and Crevices

Even cracks as tiny as ⅛-inch wide can be the entryway for pests coming into your home. You want to make sure that any openings or cracks are patched or sealed. Even a garage door that is not properly touching the ground can become an entry point for pests. 

Be sure to eliminate openings around door frames and windows and replace torn screens that might give flying insects a clear flight path into your home.

Remove Standing Water and Clean Your Gutters

Since pests need water to survive, any standing water in your yard or gutters can attract pests like ants, cockroaches, and mosquitoes (the last of which also needs standing water for breeding purposes).

We always recommend keeping gutters clean since these areas can often become a breeding ground for pests. If you don’t want to do this service yourself (it can be cumbersome and dangerous), we do offer professional gutter cleaning.

Perimeter Pest Control is One of the Best Ways to Keep Bugs Out of Your House

While all of those points above will definitely play a role in keeping pests away, those practices should be used in conjunction with perimeter pest control. 

Perimeter pest control is a professional service that works by creating a barrier around your home. We often use the analogy of a “shield” to define perimeter pest control. With the application of a high-quality pest control product around your property, the idea is to push the pests away and protect your home.

But there’s more to it than just coming out and spraying. 

Good perimeter pest control should begin with a thorough assessment of your property in which “weak spots” are identified. These would be some of the things that we talked about above (like cracks and crevices or overgrown shrubs). A good pest control technician will make recommendations for practices that will help you keep pests away from your home. 

Then, a custom plan should be created. This will include the professional application of pest control products that are designed to keep pests out by forming a barrier. This is what you might think of as the “shield” protecting your home.

Once you have begun to address potential weak links and you have invested in professional perimeter pest control treatments, you should begin to see success in keeping the bugs away.

Investing in Effective Perimeter Pest Control in Alexandria, Arlington, and Springfield, VA

While a lot of companies offer perimeter pest control services, you want to make sure that you are choosing a company that is going to deliver success.

At Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape, we are committed to providing excellent customer service and effective results. 

Whereas we know a lot of companies get a bad rap for poor communication, that’s an area where we excel. You want a pest control company that will communicate what you need to know—but not one that you need to micromanage. For the most part, you probably want your pest control company to be “out of sight, out of mind.” You want to be able to trust that they’ll get the work done the way it needs to be. But if you reach out—they’re there.

We’re also serious about being proactive and helping you to take steps to prevent pests in the first place. We are constantly offering tips and making recommendations that will continue to set you up for long-term success. 

While there are a lot of companies that offer pest control services, we think you’ll find that there are very few that are truly honest, responsible, and comprehensively proactive. 

Unfortunately, a lot of companies are determined to sell you on the least number of visits just to get your business. They are just playing marketing games and don’t really care about solving your pest problem. 

They just care about their bottom line.

But we’re different. We’re in this industry because we care about making a difference.

If you’ve already noticed pests or you’re just looking to take steps to prevent them, we’re here to help! We can help you to understand how to keep bugs out of your house and deliver the peace of mind that you’ve been seeking. 

Learn more about hiring a pest control company for your home in Alexandria, Arlington, or Springfield, VA. Get started today and request a free Pest Defense quote and let us give you the royal treatment!