Your home is your sanctuary. You spend a lot of time decorating it just the way you want it and you don’t want to share it with bugs! Unfortunately, bugs don’t wait for an invitation. They just move right in and take over. The good news is, there are lots of ways that you can make your home, porch, and yard less inviting to bugs. We promise these ideas won’t take away from the beauty of your home. In fact, some of them can even add to your decor!
Home Decor
1. Seal Off Any Possible Entry Points into Your Home
Bugs can enter your home in a variety of ways. Every spring and fall, you should inspect your home to make sure their entry points are sealed off. Walk around the outside of your home and look for any cracks or crevices bugs could use to enter your home. Look for gaps around doors and window screens. Check to make sure the caulking is still in good shape anywhere that utility lines or pipes enter your home. Make sure window screens and screen doors are in good repair. Check your home’s foundation for any cracks that need to be sealed up.
Gaps around windows and doors can be filled in with weather stripping or caulking. If there are cracks in your home’s foundation, they can be filled with caulking, spray foam, or concrete. If there are holes or gaps around places where vents, utility lines, or pipes enter the house, seal them up with caulking. Remember, caulking can dry out and crack over time, so you will still need to check these areas regularly.
2. Make Your Bedroom Less Inviting to Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are no joke! Inspect your bedroom regularly for signs of bed bugs, especially if you live in an apartment or condo. You should also be careful not to bring them home with you when you travel because they can get into your luggage at a hotel and hitch a ride. Since bed bugs like to hide out in the corners and seams of mattresses and box springs, you can make your bed less inviting to them by keeping bed bug proof covers on your box spring, mattress, and pillows. The Manhattan exterminators and bug control experts at Broadway Exterminating report that bed bug infestations have become more and more common in recent years. They recommend calling in a pro at the first sign of bed bugs in your home.
Bedroom Less Inviting to Bed Bugs
3. Use Scented Candles and Essential Oils to Repel Bugs
There are so many beautiful scented candles and essential oil diffusers available now. Find some that complement your décor and get them in scents you enjoy but bugs don’t. Lavender, lemongrass, rose, geranium, bergamot, and eucalyptus are great scents for repelling most bugs. Citronella is a great choice, too, especially for out on the porch or patio.
4. Grow Plants That Repel Bugs
There are many plants that repel bugs, too. Try growing them in pretty planters around your exterior doors and on the porch or patio. You can plant them in the yard and flower beds, too, because many of them are quite beautiful. Marigolds, lavender, mints, lemon balm, basil, sage, and rosemary will all repel bugs and look gorgeous in your planters and flower beds.
Scented Candles to Repel Bugs
5. Add Fans to Your Seating Areas
Bugs don’t usually like to hang out in breezy areas, so adding fans to your seating areas can be a huge help. Ceiling fans are great and they come in a lot of decorator friendly options. Portable fans that oscillate are also perfect for this purpose, and they are coming out with a lot of new designs that will work in any décor.
6. Good Landscaping Maintenance Can Really Help
Bugs like to hide in vegetation, so having a well-maintained landscape is important for keeping bugs away. Mow your grass regularly to keep it nice and short. Walk around the exterior of your home and trim back any trees or bushes that are hanging over the roof or touching the sides of the house. It’s also important to keep the weeds pulled in your planters, flower beds, and garden.
Landscaping Maintenance
7. Eliminate Standing Water Around Your House
Standing water is like an open invitation for bugs, especially mosquitos. Be careful not to leave anything out in the yard that water can collect in. Also, make sure your gutters are kept free of debris so that they don’t become a bug breeding ground. If you have a birdbath or pond, use mosquito dunks to keep mosquitos from multiplying in them. Biological mosquito dunks are safe for wildlife, pets, and fish.
8. Put Up a Bat House and Add Some Bird Feeders
Bats are great for insect control. In fact, one bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquitos per hour. Putting up a bat house in your yard will encourage these bug-eating superheroes to hang around. Birds eat tons of insects, too. You can encourage more birds to visit your yard by adding a few bird feeders. Even better, bird feeders come in lots of cute styles that can really add to the appeal of your yard.
Bird Feeders
9. Be Proactive
Be proactive by having a pest control company come on a regular basis to do an inspection and treatment of your home and yard. If you are planning a backyard barbeque or outdoor get together, use a yard fogger to kill flies and mosquitos an hour or two before your guests arrive. There are a lot of natural bug treatments available now, so there’s no reason not to utilize these effective and safe methods.
10. Be Careful Not to Leave Attractants Around
Look around for things that could be attracting bugs to your home. Inside the house, make sure food is stored in bug safe containers. Take your trash out daily and don’t leave dirty dishes laying around. Outside of the home, be aware of where your trash cans are stored. Keep them as far away from seating areas as possible. It’s also a good idea to keep food covered when eating outside and be sure to clear dirty dishes right away when you’re done eating.
Utilizing these 10 easy DIY tips will keep the bugs away so that you can enjoy your home and yard this summer!
