How to Clear Your Home of Mozzies, Ants and Other Creepy Crawlies
Know where household pests like to hang out and how to keep them from making themselves at home in your residence
The old adage, “Prevention is better than cure”, of course applies to keeping household pests at bay. Mosquito nets may look romantic, but we all know what they’re really for! Proper housekeeping aside, what can you do to make sure your home is free of pests?
Mosquitoes
Mozzies don’t just leave annoying itchy bites, we’re more than familiar with types that can transmit dangerous diseases like dengue fever, Chikungunya fever, malaria, and elephantiasis. Even animals are at risk – mosquitoes can give dogs heartworm.
As repetitive as it sounds – and we probably know it by heart – do the 5-step mozzie wipeout drilled into us by the NEA (especially during the dengue-prone months of June to October):
Mozzies don’t just leave annoying itchy bites, we’re more than familiar with types that can transmit dangerous diseases like dengue fever, Chikungunya fever, malaria, and elephantiasis. Even animals are at risk – mosquitoes can give dogs heartworm.
As repetitive as it sounds – and we probably know it by heart – do the 5-step mozzie wipeout drilled into us by the NEA (especially during the dengue-prone months of June to October):
- Tip out all containers – vases, pails, etc. – to avoid collection of stagnant water.
- Change water in vases on alternate days to prevent it from stagnating. Mozzies need stagnant water on which to drop their eggs and multiply.
- Drain flower pot plates on alternate days. Scrub the surfaces to remove mosquito eggs, which can stick like glue. Dried out mosquito eggs can survive for up to six months.
- Loosen hardened soil to allow better water permeability for your potted plants and flowers; and again, avoid stagnant water from pooling.
- Clear roof gutters and window ledges of debris such as dried leaves, and apply anti-mosquito (Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis or BTI) insecticide monthly.
Additionally:
- Cover any stored water to prevent mozzies from breeding.
- Increase indoor ventilation, i.e. open your windows as mosquitoes are hampered by the breeze.
- Light citronella candles, which are mozzie-repelling.
- Grow mozzie-fighting plants such as lemongrass and marigolds.
Ants
Even when you don’t leave sweet food out in the open, and immediately clean up food crumbs, ants can invade your home (they seem to particularly like gardens and old houses). More nuisance than danger, these insects can do harm with the germs they carry and the painful bites some species inflict (looking at you, fire ants).
Ants use trees and shrub branches to access your home, so make sure that these are kept away from the walls of your house. They nest in wall cracks and crevices, as well as in the ground, so patch up those cracks. Don’t flood their garden nests out by overwatering (or else they’ll look for a new home… which would be yours).
Even when you don’t leave sweet food out in the open, and immediately clean up food crumbs, ants can invade your home (they seem to particularly like gardens and old houses). More nuisance than danger, these insects can do harm with the germs they carry and the painful bites some species inflict (looking at you, fire ants).
Ants use trees and shrub branches to access your home, so make sure that these are kept away from the walls of your house. They nest in wall cracks and crevices, as well as in the ground, so patch up those cracks. Don’t flood their garden nests out by overwatering (or else they’ll look for a new home… which would be yours).
Cockroaches
These hardy creepy crawlies can carry and spread salmonella, dysentery and typhoid fever, and their shedding and faeces can contaminate food and damage household items. They can survive up to three months without food, and up to a month without water, and can live almost anywhere. Roaches like warm and moist places like kitchens and bathrooms – their most common hangouts are under the sink, behind pipes and in the shower drain.
If you spot droppings, egg cases, shedding or live cockroaches, vacuum and scrub the whole room with soap and water. Move heavy furniture away from walls or corners when doing so, to expose hiding places, and let the area dry thoroughly before moving furniture back.
These hardy creepy crawlies can carry and spread salmonella, dysentery and typhoid fever, and their shedding and faeces can contaminate food and damage household items. They can survive up to three months without food, and up to a month without water, and can live almost anywhere. Roaches like warm and moist places like kitchens and bathrooms – their most common hangouts are under the sink, behind pipes and in the shower drain.
If you spot droppings, egg cases, shedding or live cockroaches, vacuum and scrub the whole room with soap and water. Move heavy furniture away from walls or corners when doing so, to expose hiding places, and let the area dry thoroughly before moving furniture back.
Rodents
We don’t see much of rats and mice in residential areas, but they do frequent rubbish bins at hawker centres, coffeeshops and food courts. Occasionally, we read in the papers about infestations of rat or mice colonies in fields or construction sites. These rodents not only cause serious damage to household property by gnawing through things – fabrics and electrical wiring, for instance –and biting people; they can also transmit diseases such as leptospirosis, salmonella and typhus.
Older buildings tend to be more vulnerable to rodent invasions. Squalor attracts them much more easily.
Signs of rodent presence include droppings, gnawed items, a smell of urine or scurrying sounds behind walls, under floors or above ceilings. They nest in debris or piles of old boxes, clothes or books from storage areas or under stairwells, and feed on food waste and scraps.
We don’t see much of rats and mice in residential areas, but they do frequent rubbish bins at hawker centres, coffeeshops and food courts. Occasionally, we read in the papers about infestations of rat or mice colonies in fields or construction sites. These rodents not only cause serious damage to household property by gnawing through things – fabrics and electrical wiring, for instance –and biting people; they can also transmit diseases such as leptospirosis, salmonella and typhus.
Older buildings tend to be more vulnerable to rodent invasions. Squalor attracts them much more easily.
Signs of rodent presence include droppings, gnawed items, a smell of urine or scurrying sounds behind walls, under floors or above ceilings. They nest in debris or piles of old boxes, clothes or books from storage areas or under stairwells, and feed on food waste and scraps.
2. Take control
If your best housekeeping efforts are inadequate, shop for repellents, insecticides, baits or traps. A wide variety is available from major supermarkets and hardware/DIY stores.
If you don’t like the idea of chemicals in your home, you may consider using natural repellents instead: Lay mint leaves, cloves or coffee grounds around entry points or affected areas for ants; catnip, cucumber slices or garlic for cockroaches; and lemongrass plants for mosquitoes.
Wave goodbye to common pesky chemicals in your home
If your best housekeeping efforts are inadequate, shop for repellents, insecticides, baits or traps. A wide variety is available from major supermarkets and hardware/DIY stores.
If you don’t like the idea of chemicals in your home, you may consider using natural repellents instead: Lay mint leaves, cloves or coffee grounds around entry points or affected areas for ants; catnip, cucumber slices or garlic for cockroaches; and lemongrass plants for mosquitoes.
Wave goodbye to common pesky chemicals in your home
3. Call the experts
DIY not enough? It’s time to call in the pros. Look for a NEA-certified vector (pest) control operator to ensure that they only use registered pesticide and repellent products.
TELL US
How do you deal with household pests? Share in the Comments section.
DIY not enough? It’s time to call in the pros. Look for a NEA-certified vector (pest) control operator to ensure that they only use registered pesticide and repellent products.
TELL US
How do you deal with household pests? Share in the Comments section.
The most common household pests are mosquitoes (classified as flies in the National Environmental Agency (NEA)’s vector list), ants, cockroaches and rodents (mice and rats).
Knowing how and where they breed is the biggest step to keeping them away from your home.