Seven Pest Control Tips For The New Year

Start the New Year with a clean and pest-free home by adopting essential pest control tips shared by Rentokil Singapore. Besides removing the unwanted cartons, books, newspapers, be sure to clean the upholsteries and remove unnecessary items from the kitchens and cabinets. Here are the seven tips you can adopt while performing your spring-cleaning to welcome another brand-new year.

Clear away books, newspapers and cartons

We tend to ignore and forget stash of papers and cartons that are lying in the storeroom or even in the study room or living hall. Books and magazines are either scattered around the home, displaying neatly on the bookshelves or kept in cartons and racks in the storage area. While some might leave as memories, the disadvantage of keeping them behind may not worth the memento. For example, termites feed on cellulose materials including cardboard, books and paper and in fact, they are not letting off any wooden furniture and structure.

Cockroaches eat anything from organic to non-organic including the most unexpected food choices including waste, hair and books, including the binding and glue. It also offers hiding opportunities for them especially when it is warm, quiet and cozy. Not just cockroaches, clutter and piles allow most pests to hide and breed, including rats and ants that go unnoticed unless we spring-clean and remove their habitats.

Booklice is another common pest associated with books, newspapers and even paintings, not because booklice feed on books. However, they are attracted to the humidity in your home. The moisture, mold and fungi develops over time without housekeeping. Booklice are tiny black dotty pests that hops around. One way to deal with them is to install a dehumidifier and control the high humidity level.

Read also: Find out the five uncommon pests that you may find in your home

Engage professional landscaping service

Unkempt garden and front car pouch not only do not look appealing as you welcome guests in the New Year invite but it promotes a series of home challenges and issues. Firstly, poorly maintained gardens especially with high vegetation and receptacles allow mosquitoes to breed and attract adult mosquitoes to the vicinity. Trim those grass and shrubs, while cluttering mosquito-breeding sources as a form of dengue prevention.

Secondly, proper landscaping keeps the greenery clean and tidy, and prevents pest from hiding in the shady and cool corner including rats and snakes. Clean environment allows pest detection and visibility easily and takes quick and proactive pest eradication efforts. For example, rat burrows detected allow us to engage in rat control promptly, and apply protective barriers, trapping and digitalised rat detection effectively.

Thirdly, termite infestation starts from rotten wood, decomposed greens and infested trees and branches that spread quickly to the home, especially if there is close connection and linked up from these spaces to the internal home. Termite treatment is one way to enhance the barrier from the underground and prevention from termite colonies spreading to the home that feeds on wooden structures 24/7 daily.

Do mini home renovation and repairs

Spruce up your home as we start afresh. Take the opportunity to enhance the interior and aesthetics, since we spend more time at home. Examples may include adapting to the new work norm, spending time with family or inviting friends and family for a safe gathering. However, renovation and repairs will fix structure integrity issues, one of the reasons that attracts pests in your home. For instance, there may be cracks and crevices that degenerate over time or because of heat expansion. Plumbing and pipes may turn defective that leaks and spills water. Moisture attracts pests if ventilation to reduce moisture and humidity level is not working. This causes pest problems to start. Take the opportunity to have them fixed and sealed to prevent pest entries and harbourage.

Steam clean upholstery and furniture

Particularly, to remove dust mites and any allergens that may trigger an allergy, it is helpful to steam clean and have clean furniture, bedding and curtains for better air quality. This is especially so for a year of untouched dust accumulation and non-maintenance for over a year. However, steam cleaning with heat can also potentially remove any possible bed bugs crawling around. This allows us to detect any presence of bed bugs better. While steam cleaning is not a bed bug control, however, it is one way to prevent bed bugs from manifesting. Meanwhile, if you suspect your home has a bed bug infestation, it is best to contact a pest control specialist. Bed bug spread can turn serious and escalate into a serious infestation if not taken care of.

Call for a pest control inspection

It is not easy to spot and detect pest signs and even more difficult to perform pest identification. Firstly, some pest infestations are not obvious or easy to recognise. For example, mud tubes, frass, droppings or even their distinctive smell that we may think is just odour. Secondly, pests such as termites are secretive pests that live underground and hence finding them around may be less possible. Thirdly, there are nocturnal pests that only surface at night to search for food. These pests include cockroaches, rats and bed bugs. Spotting them can be a lot harder unless we take notice of their infestation signs. Scratch and smear rats caused by rats, bloodstains or dark spots left by bed bugs and droppings or egg cases from cockroaches are some examples.

Finally, pests can look similar or display confusing habitats. For instance, termites and carpenter ants that are connected with wood with similar body shape and outlook.

Organise a clean and clutter-free kitchen

We can be guilty of a messy and disorganised kitchen. These include unfinished food lying around, bottles, bags and jars of food and abundance of appliances and tools that sometimes we do not even use. For convenience, we tend to leave most things on the kitchen cabinet or tabletops. This leads to them piling up instead of being in the cabinet shelves. Not only these clutters allow common household pests like cockroaches and ants to hide around them, but help themselves with those food supplies that they like. These include sugar, cereals, nuts, cakes, biscuits and jam.

Pay more attention to keeping the kitchen clean and pest-free. It is a common pest hot spot compared to other spaces within your home. This includes clearing away unwanted containers or appliances that are not needed, installing kitchen organisers and shelves for proper storages and purchasing some air-tight containers and zip bags to store food correctly.

Read also: Adopt the eight organising tips for pest-free kitchen

Protect your home from pest infestation

If you have not done any pest prevention measures, this is the best time to incorporate these measures in your spring cleaning regime. This aids to integrate and complete your current pest control solutions.

• Maintain consistent and ongoing housekeeping activities, or perhaps engage in domestic cleaning services
• Ensure your garbage bins have secured lids, lay a plastic liner to hold the waste and secure them before disposing
• Fix pest repelling screen on windows, door frames and balcony sliding doors to prevent flying pests’ entries
• Ensure adequate and proper proofing elements in the home, especially on grease traps, manholes and door gaps
• Especially for homes located in a dengue cluster, have both indoor and outdoor mosquito traps to prevent yourself from getting mosquito bites
• Keep home surfaces free from water spills by wiping them dry. Use a hand towel and place water-absorbent mat to trap excess water.
• Use of natural repellents and deterring ingredients may help to divert pests away
• Take note of items that you brought in from outdoor activities as pests may hitch on them
• Avoid using recycled items that may be infested with termites or bed bugs or have bugs crawling on them

Continue to guard against Dengue and COVID

Housekeeping, home rejuvenation and keeping place sanitised and pest-free is one way to start your New Year safe and sound. However, it is not the time to let loose of the pandemic COVID 19 that hit globally. Additionally, we should also focus on the consistent large number of dengue cases in Singapore.

There is still dengue clusters island wide in Singapore

There should be no lapse in your mosquito control programme as mosquitoes’ travels and there is still vast mosquito breeding happening around in Singapore. This means, mozzies can return to your environment at any time for their blood meal and given their ability to track your presence with their receptors. In addition, daily habits may attract mosquitoes more given the warm weather. These includes our presence working from home, mosquitoes’ active time of the day, and lactic acid produced from our body due to the heat and perspiration. Hence, continue to adopt diligent mosquito prevention habits, and remain vigilant against dengue fever. Here is a list of prevention summary to adopt:

• Use a repellent spray or patch to deter mosquitoes away when outdoors
• Spray citronella and lemongrass to repel mozzies within your home
• Check for mosquito breeding and clear away any standing water
• Trim and maintain your greenery and plants to avoid mosquito attraction
• Wear light coloured apparels as mosquitoes favour dark colour clothing
• Keep your body temperature cool and wipe off any perspiration

Maintain COVID-19 virus protection

The COVID-19 cases in Singapore have been well maintained and consistently in the low number of cases range. However, we should not lose sight and vigilance. Instead, we should protect ourselves against the transmission of these harmful viruses. Firstly, to be mindful of the COVID-19 symptoms and diligently adhering to the COVID-19 regulatory compliance. Secondly, continue to observe optimal hand hygiene by washing your hands regularly and use a hand sanitizer for additional protection. Thirdly, continue to apply social distancing and choose the contactless pest control to limit interaction and reduce the risk of cross contamination.

Finally, consider engaging pest control company whom are specialised in surface sanitisation and disinfection to eliminate pathogens that transmit diseases including the Influenza and Coronavirus. It can eliminate 99.99% of bacteria and viruses while withstanding the daily cleaning of your home. This helps keep the environment protected from virus transmission.

Call Rentokil at (65) 6347 8138 for pest control services today.