Do Your Own Pest Control

How To Get Rid of Cockroaches

2009-05-07T03:06:00.000-07:00

Cockroaches are one of the most ancient of all the world's pests. It is estimated that they have existed for 300 Million years and in that they have had no need to evolve in all those years. They are virtually the same today as they were 300 Million years ago!

Once you've seen roaches in your home or apartment, odds are there are many more out of view. You can begin an active stance against the roach by getting rid of those who have made their presence known to you.

When embarking on your journey to eradicate cockroaches, try the following strategies:

1. sprinkling a small amount of boric acid where you've seen roaches travel through your home. The roach will poison themselves by ingesting the acid during their regular grooming routine. Be sure to sprinkle in dark, damp areas, too, like under bathroom and kitchen sinks, behind washers and dryers, and around the refrigerator, and behind appliances. Note: The ingestion of boric acid is also toxic to humans. Do not use in areas where small children or animals play, sleep, or eat.

2. You can make your own insecticide by mixing equal parts of baking soda and powdered sugar and setting up a mock bait plate for the roaches. After mixing your sugar and soda, eave the mixture in a shallow dish where roaches have been seen or are known to travel. The combination of sugar and soda is lethal to the cockroach.

3. Roaches hate the taste of bay leaves. You can naturally and safely keep most roaches at bay by placing the leaves anywhere you've seen roaches moving. Using bay leaves is a great way to keep roaches out of the rooms and play area of children.

4. Don't water the roaches! Cockroaches can survive for months without eating, but they need a daily source of water to thrive. Never leave water in the sink, in dirty dishes, or other areas of the house. Check other sources of water as well, such as leaky plumbing, under-refrigerator dampness, and concrete sweating. Wipe all traces of water from the sink after you've done the dishes and wipe down the bath area after use, as well.

5. Clean, clean, clean! Cockroaches naturally gravitate toward areas which are littered with cockroach droppings. Use a detergent or disinfectant to thoroughly clean the area and deter a re-infestation. On concrete floors and walls, you can use a mixture of bleach and water to disinfect the area. Other services can be cleaned with everyday cleansers or antibacterial soaps and scrubs.

For more information check out the following website for diy pest control strategies.

Silverfish Info

2009-03-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

Some quick silverfish tips:

Silverfish are small primitive insects that are found in dark, damp, warm places throughout our homes. They prefer starchy materials such as cereals, wallpaper and book bindings as food but in large populations they may do damage to cotton and linen fabrics.

For more info check out kill silverfish.

How To Get Rid Of Silverfish

2009-02-27T13:29:00.000-08:00

Silverfish are a common problem in millions of homes around the world, particularly in North America, Europe, and Australia. Silverfish are small, wingless insects that have existed for hundreds of millions of years. They are often confused with firebrats, which are similar insects with only small differences in diet and appearance.

Silverfish are a common household pest because they can easily find refuge and a source of food in older buildings. They commonly live in the walls and roofs and access the living areas of home through small cracks in the way.

Here is a more comprehensive list of a silverfish's diet:

Silverfish - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "The favorite food of silverfish is any matter that contains starch or polysaccharides, such as dextrin in adhesives. These include glue, book bindings, paper, photos, sugar, hair, and dandruff. Silverfish can also cause damage to books, tapestries, and textiles. Silverfish will commonly graze in and around showers, baths, and sinks on the cellulose present in many shampoos, shaving foams and so on. Apart from these cases, the damage caused by silverfish is negligible and they have no direct effect on human health beyond psychological distress to those who are frightened or disgusted by their appearance, or to those whose books have been destroyed by the creatures. Other substances that may be eaten include cotton, linen, silk and synthetic fibers, and dead insects or even its own exuvia (moulted exoskeleton)."

Silverfish can be very difficult to eradicate, even with professional pest control services. Because silverfish live in walls and roofs, it can be very difficult to poison them with pesticides because those areas are inaccessible.

For a complete step by step guide on how to eradicate silverfish from the living areas of your home, there is no better guide than the one written by Bob Haskins. For more information on getting that guide, see his site on silverfish.

Here is another great resource for how to get rid of silverfish.

How To Get Rid of Bed Bugs

2009-02-26T11:29:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you've all heard the common goodnight verse: "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." It's probably more real than you think! Bed Bugs feed on the blood of humans (and other warm blooded animals) while they sleep in their beds at night. They cause itchy, irritating rashes on the skin.

Bed bugs are a very common problem in America and around the world. In fact, the number of bed bug complaints in recent years has skyrocketed. New York residents, especially, have been under siege: the number of complaints received has skyrocketed from 62 in 2005 to 366 in 2006 and 119 landlords were hit with violations. These number continued to climb in the years to follow.

Bed bugs can be very difficult to eradicate. Here is some advice from www.howtodothings.com:

"Getting Rid of Bed Bugs-Once an infestation has occurred, patience and persistence is the key to ridding the area of bed bugs. It isn't enough to clean the mattresses and launder the sheets. Furniture should be overturned and cleaned. Carpeting, wood molding, door jambs, picture frames, and closets should be inspected as well. Bed bugs can hide behind loose wallpaper, in the crevices between carpets and walls, behind outlet covers, and inside light fixtures, smoke detectors, and even clocks. Removable, washable items can be laundered in very hot water. For those areas or items which can not be laundered, smaller items can be wrapped in plastic and set in a hot place or in direct sunlight. The key is to raise the temperature to at least 120 degrees Fahrenheit for several hours to kill the eggs and the bugs. Vacuuming and steam cleaning may also be done, but any bags or canisters should be thrown away or emptied outside of the area immediately to prevent another infestation. The best method of removing bed bugs, however, is through a professionally handled treatment"

For more information on how to get rid of bed bugs, try a seach in google for "get rid of bed bugs."

Welcome to Do Your Own Pest Control

2009-02-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the brand new Do Your Own Pest Control blog! My name is Daniel Francis and I have created this website to share tips and tricks for how to do your own pest control.

I have been a pest control expert for the past 15 years. In that time I have learned many terrific strategies that can be used to control pests in the garden and home.

Some of the strategies I will be sharing with you on this website are great because they employ natural pest control methods - in other words, chemical and pesticide-free strategies! In many cases it's not recommended to use chemicals or pesticides if you live in a home with children or pets. This blog will recommend those strategies where ever possible.

We will also recommend other websites where possible, such as the DIY Pest Control organization.

So please bookmark this blog and contact me if there are any specific pests you would like to eradicate.

Enjoy!

Daniel Francis