Unless you’re a cat, chances are you don’t like mice. Mice are a nuisance to deal with because of the damage they cause, the diseases they can spread, and because they’re small little creatures that seem to always be one step ahead of the people trying to catch them. Now you may be asking yourself, why do mice live in homes?

Mice love invading peoples’ houses because they are driven by their survival instinct to always look for food and shelter. Living outside has many inherent dangers for these furry rodents, ranging from snakes to cats to humans to even the weather.  Living inside, though, often means unlimited food, no predators except humans, and comfortable living conditions. So for a mouse, living in someone’s home where a lot of its work is done for it seems like a better deal than the outdoors.

While it’s true the mouse is simply looking out for itself, it is not advisable to leave a mouse population within your home unchecked. Mice can be very destructive in groups with their constant gnawing and potential for disease spreading. So if you are aware of mice in your home, here are a few steps to follow to get rid of them.

The first step is to keep your house as clean as possible. This means throwing out and vacuuming any bits of food lying around, sealing any trashcans, and cleaning places like counter tops, sinks, and kitchen floors. This step is important to prevent the mice population from growing much larger.

The next step is to start setting up traps all around your house in places that appear mouse-friendly. Areas like cracks or small holes in the walls, dark corners in your home, and crevices are great places to keep these traps. Make sure you remember where you keep your traps though! The best types of traps are the ones that trap the mice in place. Glue traps, snap traps, and similar traps are good for this, as they keep the mouse in place for disposal. Traps that poison the mouse are not recommended, as these poisons can take time to work. Poisoned mice may retreat back to the hard to reach areas before they die, resulting in smelly carcasses in places where cleanup may be difficult.

While mice may be just living their life with no intention of harming others, the fact remains that they are sometimes dangerous rodents. Their feces and saliva may contain viruses and bacteria so it is vital to exterminate any mouse infestation.

If you have followed these steps and still need help getting rid of these pests, consider using TalkLocal to find a pest control company for you. TalkLocal is a free service that will connect you with top-quality, pest control companies in your neighborhood within minutes. Just enter in your specific problem, location and availability, and up to three companies will call YOU directly, saving you the time and stress of finding one yourself.

Having your own garden or tomato plant can provide you with enough of the vegetables to last you all season.  You can enjoy perfectly ripened, all natural tomatoes whenever you want.  There is no hassle of worrying about whether or not they were sprayed with pesticide.  But sometimes bugs will attack your plants and snack on the tomatoes before you can.  This can be very annoying especially since the bugs attack all the bulbs at once leaving not one for you to enjoy.  But fear not, there is a way to stop these bugs in an all natural way. Read on to learn how to keep bugs from eating tomato plants in your garden.

Potential Solutions

1)   Spice Spray

The way to make a spice rack spray is as easy as it sounds.  Take every single thing you have on your spice rack and some other smelly ingredients and throw them together. Onions, peppers, bay leaves, garlic, paprika, and anything with a strong scent works.  Put a spoon or two of each into a pot of water.  Steep this concoction for a few minutes and allow it time to cool.  Strain everything and put it into a spray bottle.  You can also add a few drops of dish detergent if it is your prerogative, but this is not recommended because the detergent could burn the tomatoes.  The stinkier the mixture the better. You will have to reapply the solution after every rain or watering.

2)   DIPEL

Bacillus Thuringiensis also known as DIPEL is a pest control spray used by organic farmers all around the globe.  This solution contains a highly effective repellant against a wide variety of bugs.  Caterpillars, moths, butterflies, and other pests stand no chance against this industrial strength spray.  This solution works as a biological control.  The bug must first ingest it and then it will die three to five days later.  Sunlight does break the compound up so repeat spraying after a few days.  This should take care of your bug problem.

Continuing Problems

If you still have problems with bugs attacking your tomato plants, you should seek professional help.  Use TalkLocal to be put in contact with reliable local businesses.  You don’t have to do any work! Simply input your problem and availability to talk to help within minutes.

Cockroaches aren’t just disgusting; they actually pose a significant health risk to the homeowner because they can carry serious diseases. Even the cleanest homes are susceptible to a roach infestation due to the fact that cockroaches are able to disperse fully throughout the community under the many conditions.

Simple Approaches That Work as Homemade Roach Pest Control:

Cockroaches look for the same things as us when choosing a home: a stable source of water, a stable source of food, and plenty of room/passages for flexibility.

Try getting rid of the sources of water/food in your house by sealing all the food and emptying out the faucets. Close the doors and block the gaps between idle furniture settings. A hungry/thirsty/annoyed cockroach will start looking for a new home.

You can try various traps to directly kill the roaches, too. The popular choices include poisoned bait and “sticky” traps. Needless to say, the traps will need to be placed near the roach nest to have the best effect.

Try to estimate/observe and deduct the location of the roach nest. This is generally done by sneaking around to the place where you suspect there is a roach nest at night (in the dark) and suddenly flooding the room with light and looking at where the roaches are scurrying off to.

Or you can just place a poisonous bait in the room somewhere, and see where the roach carcasses are found – a multitude of roach carcasses would indicate a high traffic of roaches around that area, meaning that the main nest is close by.

If possible, try to identify the exact type of cockroach that is infesting your place. Knowing the type of the roach will give you a hint regarding where the infestation might be in your house and the best bait to use for them.

Additional Help

If you feel like you need professional help on eradicating the roaches and advice on other roach pest control options, TalkLocal can help with finding the correct local experts in this case, saving you time and energy in what may be a stressful situation.

Ticks are a nuisance when you are hiking, camping, or just enjoying a barbeque outside. So whats the best bug spray for ticks?  A strong, but safe insect repellent is important for any outdoor adventure. We recommend Off! Deep Woods Sportsmen with 30% DEET. DEET blinds the tick’s olfactory receptors for 1-octen-3-ol, which can be found in human skin and breath. The higher the DEET concentration, the longer you can go without being bitten by ticks and other insects. However, no one should use a bug spray that contains more than 30% DEET as this chemical can be harmful to the skin. Furthermore, you should never use bug spray on broken skin because DEET is a chemical that can irritate the wound. When dealing with small children, use lower concentrations of DEET because their skin is more vulnerable and they may accidentally ingest some. Use stronger repellents for hiking and camping trips and weaker repellents for a short walk outside. Like sunscreen, the rule with bug spray is the use just as much as you need. This is especially important with bug spray because it can be harmful to humans in large amounts. Always wash off bug spray immediately after you are done with outdoor activities.

 You should take further steps to prevent ticks from biting you. Wear bug repellent clothing that has been treated with permethrin. It prevents ticks and other bugs from biting you through clothing.  Wear closed shoes and a hat. Cover up as much exposed skin as possible, especially on your legs; wear pants and tuck them into your shoes so that tick cannot crawl up them. You also want to check you entire body after going through woods or grassy areas. Also, check yourself again before entering your home. Bringing ticks inside is that last thing you want! If you need to contact a pest control service, TalkLocal can help you find help immediately.

It can be quite annoying when mice decide to move into your home. These cute, but unwelcome creatures, can carry diseases, chew through your wires, and leave messes everywhere. If you’re reading this article, chances are you have already encountered a mouse in your home. If so, try the following method to catch the unwelcome tenant. Then, take the necessary precautions to keep future mice from invading your territory.  Here are some tips, steps, and what you will need on how to get rid of mice humanely.

Catching Mice

Materials:

Cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper

Peanut butter

A cracker

Trashcan

Table

Long piece of cardboard (ramp for table)

1. Fold two vertical lines into the cardboard tube to flatten one side of it. The opening should look like a “D”. Make sure the flat part of the tube can lie flush against a surface.

2. Place a dab of peanut butter onto a small piece of the cracker.

3. Put the cracker inside one edge of the cardboard tube.

4. Place the cardboard tube halfway off of the table; the end with the cracker should be over the edge.

5. Place the trashcan under the overhanging cardboard tube.

6. Connect the long piece of cardboard to the table at an angle to form a ramp. Make sure the angle is not too steep or else the mouse will not be able to reach the food.

7. Stand back and wait. Once the mouse travels up the ramp and toward the food, the cardboard tube will topple over into the trashcan. Once the mouse is in captivity, you can release the mouse into the wild (at least a mile away from your home).

Repelling Mice

Peppermint Oil — Put a few drops of peppermint oil on a cotton ball. Place the cotton ball in entrance areas such as vents and doorways. The scent is too strong for mice and will repel them from your home. The scent also masks food odors that may be attracting the mice in the first place.

Kitty Litter — If you have a cat, place litter boxes by entrance areas. The smell of cat urine will also ward off mice.

Steel Wool — Seal holes around your gutters, vents, and doors with steel wool covered in caulk. If you use steel wool alone, mice can chew through it and suffer from internal bleeding. The caulk will protect the mice from hurting themselves as well as effectively seal your home.

If you’d like a pest control service to take care of the problem instead, TalkLocal can find you help immediately! Just submit a service request on the website and talk with a professional in minutes.

Having an infestation of ants in any part of your house can be irritating, and when they are all over your kitchen it can be even more so.  It seems like they come out of nowhere and it can be really hard to keep them out.  In order to prevent and/or eliminate ants in the kitchen, follow these few tips.

The first step to an ant-free kitchen is simple: keep your kitchen clean.  Avoid leaving any food out over night or for long periods of time during the day.  Any food that is left out should be in sealed containers at all times.  Make sure that any dirty dishes left in the sink have at least been rinsed to remove any leftover food bits, and wipe down all counters and surfaces.  You can try wiping surfaces down with a little bit of vinegar; the smell of the vinegar will repell ants.  Take out the trash and make sure the inside of your can is clean as well.

Once your kitchen is clean you will want to get rid of any ants already there.  There are numerous ant-killing insecticides out there but you may want to use something more natural in your kitchen to avoid getting any chemicals on your food, appliances, or silverware.  Filling an empty spray bottle with water and several table spoons of dish soap and spraying down any ants in sight can be used as an alternative to harsher poisons.  Wait a few minutes and use a paper towel to wipe up the water and the ants.

Your kitchen may be clear for now, but you still need to worry about the remaining ants in the nest.  You can put down commercial ant bait traps that contain poisonous food that ants will bring back to the rest of the colony.  There are several commercial ant traps that are available for this use.  You should also use an insecticide spray around the outside perimeter of your house at least once a month in order to prevent more ants from getting in.

After completing all of these steps, it is important to remember that it takes time to completely get rid of an ant infestation, even as long as a few weeks.  Be vigilant in keeping your kitchen clean, spraying any ants you see, and keeping ant bait traps around until those pesky insects stop popping up, and even afterwards.  If nothing you do seems to have an effect, you may want to hire a pest control expert.  Use TalkLocal to get in contact with a reliable local professional within minutes.  Simply enter a brief description of your problem, availability and location, and TalkLocal will connect you directly to someone who can help.

Stink bugs, (pictured above,) are some the most annoying pests that invade your home because of the pungent odor that they give off. The smell can be difficult to remove, and it also acts as a signal, notifying other stink bugs in the area that your house is a nice, warm, light place to hibernate for the winter. Because of this, once you get one, you are bound to get more. Getting rid of stink bugs can be difficult, especially because of the even stronger odor they release when crushed.

Preventing Stink Bugs

The best way to deal with stink bugs is to prevent them from entering your home in the first place. If you already have stink bugs, you can try these things to prevent getting any more. You should also keep these tips in mind future years.

1. Make sure you seal everything, especially towards the end of fall when the temperature begins to get cold. This is when stink bugs will be looking for a warm place to hibernate for the winter.

– Put screens on your windows and doors.

– Make sure your screens do not have any holes.

– Check for cracks around your windows, doors, utility pipes, and chimneys.

– Cover any cracks with boards or cement sealant.

2. Spray chemical repellents around your house.

– Spray outside of your house and the area around it with cypermethrin.

– Because of the toughness of the stink bugs’s skin, you may want to use a “spread sticker” to ensure that the chemicals work faster.

– You will need to use about 2-3 gallons of chemicals to effectively spray your house.

Getting Rid of Stink Bugs

If you already have stink bugs in your house, you are going to need a way to get rid of them. Remember, do not squish them, as this will let out a particularly unpleasant odor in your home that will be extremely difficult to remove.

1. Suck up the stink bugs with your vacuum.

– Make sure you seal the bag immediately after vacuuming the stink bugs.

– Make sure you do not crush them until you have gotten the bag far away from you home.

2. Contact a pest control professional.

– If there are too many stink bugs, or you just don’t want or don’t have time to deal with them, you can contact a pest control professional to get rid of the stink bugs for you.

– Use TalkLocal to be put in contact with high quality pest control professionals in your area that are available when you need them.

If you’re experiencing a pest/insect problem in your living space, instead of forking over a big chunk of cash for a pest control professional or exterminator, you may be considering a cheaper alternative: foggers. The use of a fogger is a method of pest control where a machine releases mists of pesticides into the air, and can be very powerful in eliminating insects or other pests. But, there are considerable drawbacks and dangers associated with using a fogger. Read on to learn the dangers of pest control foggers.

Firstly, the mists produced by a fogging machine are effective in exterminating only those pests which are exposed in the open. Those which reside in the nooks, crannies and cracks in your home will most likely not be reached by a fogger.

In addition, the chemicals used by foggers can damage furniture and fabrics in your home, and even more important, they can pose dangerous health risks to you, your family, and your pets if not administered correctly. The insecticides used by foggers can also be very flammable, and are very risky to use near open pilot flames or around other open flames.

If you are experienced enough to use one, or if your pest problem is not too pervasive, you can search among various vendors online (Amazon, for example) for foggers that range in cost from $100-$400. This, depending on the size of your home, can be considerably less than hiring an exterminator.

If you don’t want to risk the dangers of using a fogger on your own, or if your pest problem is too large for a fogger to be effective, try locating a pest control expert in your area through TalkLocal. TalkLocal is a free service that will connect you to  top-quality, reliable exterminators in your neighborhood within minutes. Just submit a service request online with your location, availability and problem, and TalkLocal will contact professionals who will then call YOU directly. It’s simple, free, and fast.

Ants can be a huge problem in any home. These pesky insects can invade any place in your home, whether it be in the kitchen, bathroom, or bedroom.  There are a myriad of different products available for dealing with home ant infestations, the most common being poisoned bait traps and pesticide spray.  The problem with these solutions is that they often make use of harmful chemicals and poisons that you might not want to use in your home.  Leaving poison ant traps around can be dangerous for children or pets that might find them interesting, and it is never a good idea to use poison sprays in places like the kitchen that are full of food.  Have no fear though; if poison and artificial chemicals are not for you, there are also many natural ways to kill ants in the home.

Preventative Measures

One common cause of ants is messy counter tops or kitchen floors.  Ants are attracted by the smells of food so it is important not to leave food lying out and to clean up any messes.  Wiping surfaces down with a little bit of vinegar helps to keep ants away because they do not like the smell and it interferes with their ability to navigate.  Doing this regularly is a great way to maintain an ant-free kitchen.  There are many other smells that ants find repulsive, including bay leaves, cloves, cayenne pepper, and garlic.  You can try placing these natural repellents at the entry points where ants are getting into your home or in closets and cupboards you want to keep ant-free.  Talcum powder can also work as a natural ant repellent.

Natural Ant Traps

If you want something that will actually kill ants rather than just keep them away, you can make your own natural, poison-free ant traps with just a few simple ingredients.  All you need to do is mix borax powder, which is available in the laundry detergent aisle, and some ordinary jelly together in a small shallow container that ants will be able to get into, such as a soda bottle cap. They are small and easy to place unobtrusively around your house.  Once you have thoroughly mixed the borax and jelly and filled your containers, leave your homemade ant traps out wherever the ants appear.  Ants will be attracted to the jelly, but the borax will cause problems in their digestive system that will eventually kill them.

If you have tried all this and are still having ant problems, then it might be time to get in contact with a professional exterminator.  There are many exterminators who specialize in pesticide-free pest removal; you can use TalkLocal to find a local professional who can cater to your needs.  Simply enter your location, availability, and a description of your problem and TalkLocal will connect you in minutes to someone who can help.