If you’ve had a friend who’s had a pest problem in the past, you know how damaging and expensive it can become. With this in mind, it’s important that you do your best to prevent pest problem areas in your home. From drains to kitchen cupboards, there are many things you can do to prevent bugs and rodents from entering your home.

To help you keep pesky rodents and insects out of your home, we have put together these 10 awesome pest prevention tips:

1. Always Look for Leaks

Leaks coming from your gutter or other water sources attract animals, insects, and other pests. By keeping an eye out for any leaks, you can quickly correct them, and prevent moist areas that will attract infestations to your home.

2. Secure Your Foundation Vents

You should always ensure that your foundation vents are operating correctly, and that they are properly secured. Keeping moisture out of your foundation is necessary for keeping out beetles, spiders, and other bugs. If you need to, invest in a plastic vapor barrier to reduce the amount of moisture build up in your foundation.

3. Prevent Standing Water

Standing water is not only bad for your home’s durability, but it attracts unwanted insects. In fact, many insects may even lay eggs in these unsightly puddles of water. For standing water in your crawlspace or foundation, installing a French drain and pump can be helpful in getting rid of excess water.

4. Keep Pet Food Contained

Your pets are not the only animals who appreciate the well-balanced nutrition of their food. If you have a messy dog, or you simply leave your pets food open and uncontained, you will attract everything from rodents to beetles. To keep from attracting unwanted guests, get an airtight container to seal your pet’s food in.

5. Avoid Stacking Building Materials Against Your Foundation

Firewood and other building materials may look cool when stacked next to your foundation, but this setup poses a serious pest infestation risk. These woods and materials actually provide a food source for many different insects. If you want to avoid attracting them, keeping this material from the foundation of your home is essential.

6. Store Your Food Properly

Your pet’s food is not the only attractive food source for rodents and insects. Everything from bananas to bread is attractive to fruit flies, maggots, and other pests. Never leave food in an easy to access area, and seal them in airtight fridges or containers when possible. Additionally, never leave modeling bread lying about, as you will attract insects in no time.

7. Inspect Plant Life Before Purchasing

Bringing in an infested plant into your home is the quickest way to gain a pest problem. Cacti and trees are the biggest offenders, but you should inspect every plant, no matter how innocent they may look. By doing this, you will save yourself costly pest elimination fees in the future. An infestation caused by foreign plant life tends to be one of the worst you can have.

8. Door Sweeps and Window Screens are a Must

Insects or rodents will always try to make it in your home from time to time. To avoid many from getting in, you need to secure every potential entrance to your home, no matter how small. For windows, you need to invest in screens that will stop bugs in their track. Doors, on the other hand, will be well served by a quality door sweep.

9. Keep Your Chimney Secure

The chimney is another area that will quickly attract insects, and rodents in particular. Having a screen that will let smoke escape, but that will not let pests enter, is a necessity. If you leave your chimney wide open, your other pest prevention efforts will be mostly pointless.

10. Avoid Unnecessary Clutter

Finally, you should simply avoid as much clutter in your home as possible. Whether it is organic food, or materials you are simply unaware are attractive to insects, the material in the clutter could potentially lead to frustrating pest problems. Also, avoiding the clutter will simply allow you to have a more beautiful home.

Now that you know how to prevent pests from entering your home, you can rest easier about the status of your living area. However, you should always be prepared in the case that your prevention efforts are not enough. When you find you have an infestation, you need to contact a pest control professional immediately. The sooner you contact them, the easier it will be to solve your home’s issues.

Need help finding a qualified professional in your area? Check out the Pest Control section at Fast Contractor Leads. We have been helping people find quality contracting help for years. Simply enter your zip code and you will be on your way to a pest free home!