The old saying “sleep tight, make sure the bed bugs don’t bite” might be the traditional thing to whisper to our little ones before their 7 pm bedtime. However, in another sense, perhaps a scary one, this is a saying which has become all-too true for some family homes around the country.
As every parent will tell you, raising a child is no small feat. If you’re doing it alone, the process has just been multiplied. It means, from time to time at least, things around the home can go into disrepair. Crumbs get pushed under the refrigerator, while the bin probably gets a little bit too full. We’re not generalizing here, and we’re by no means suggesting that all family homes are messy – but there will always be the odd occasion where the chores have run out of control and presented the above problem.
Unfortunately, we’re now not talking about the issue of good housekeeping. The above environment can present the perfect opportunity for a number of pests to make guest appearances; whether it’s cockroaches, mice, bed bugs or anything else. They thrive on leftover food and if there’s plenty of this leftover around your home, you’ve now got special guests. If you’re already at this stage, it may be time to call in the exterminator. However, if you’ve found this in time – read on…
By sticking to basic housekeeping principles, you can ensure that your children are sleeping with their teddy bear – and nothing else. Here are some of the easiest ways to prevent an infestation of pests, and keep your child safe at the same time.
Deal with spillages as a matter of urgency
Any parent will fondly recall the days of their children testing boundaries. It usually begins at the dinner table, with food quite often going flying as they see if mom or dad decides to pick it up.
With bed time approaching, it’s easy to leave this new floor pattern for another time. Instead, go against this advice and pick it up as a matter of urgency. Pests will sniff out this food in a flash and as it’s on floor level, the process begins even more quickly. Sweep it up, along with any other food that blights your floor.
Rinse and repeat for the counters
We may have blamed your little one in the previous section, but there’s only one person responsible for the upkeep of the counter and table tops – so make sure you stay on top of things. While most people assume that cockroaches are found crawling around open doorways, they can actually enter at any point of a home. In other words, don’t be surprised to see them peering around the coffee jar – aiming to sink their teeth (which happen to be in their stomach, for anyone interested) into that sticky patch of sauce that wasn’t wiped up.
The big pest attraction: the overflowing bin
This is probably one of the more obvious issues, with the trash being the prime source for a lot of pests. Outside in your yard, it’s crucial to seal all bags completely, whilst ensuring that the bin is sealed with a proper lid. The latter is particularly important and if your garbage isn’t protected by some sort of seal, it will probably attract cats, quickly followed by the pests that will delve into the holey-bin bags.
When it comes to the inside, it should hopefully go without saying that this is again a crucial issue to tackle. Make sure that food isn’t left to linger and subsequently rot, while if the bin comes remotely full it’s time to take action and remove the temptation for any awaiting pests.
Again, it’s a simple tip, and just revolves around good housekeeping. If you can stick to this, and all of the others that have been discussed for that matter, any potential pests will soon go knocking on someone else’s door and your little one can rest much easier at night.