Pest control is not just an occasional task. It requires year-round attention and preparation to ensure that you’re protecting your home from the right types of insects. So, what does an effective home pest control strategy look like?

It starts with understanding which areas of your home, such as baseboards, cracks/crevices or underneath sinks, may see the most pest activity and proactively applying the right solutions based on the kinds of insects you can expect to visit.

There are several different ways that pests can enter the home from the outside. Some of the most common entry points where they may be able to find their way into our homes are doorways, windows, cracks/crevices or through our plumbing system.

Vulnerable home entry points like these are a good starting point for you to apply the appropriate pest prevention solutions to stay ahead of any unwanted visitors.

Depending on the time of the year, there may be an increased presence of certain species of insects, such as ants and boxelder bugs in the fall or spiders and ticks in the summer.

In the winter, cockroaches tend to appear more inside the home as they migrate away from the colder weather in masses, while the springtime tends to bring along an uptick in the number of ticks.

As a result, there may be certain strategies or products you want to use based on the pests that are in season.

By knowing what types of insects may invade your home, you can select the right products to help get rid of them or prevent them from entering your household spaces.

Pest treatment refers to taking a reactive approach to your home pest control. This usually happens when you unexpectedly see unwanted insects in your home throughout the year.

When the situation arises, you’ll want to ensure that you have all the right tools needed to keep any pest invasion at bay. You’ll also need to identify areas of your home that have been heavily affected and treat them as quickly as possible to prevent any further spread of those pests.

As far as your treatment options are concerned, you can opt to seek professional help or go the DIY (Do It Yourself) route by shopping for and applying pest control products yourself. With our Spectracide® Bug Stop® Home Barrier & One-Shot® Home Insect Control product lines, you can up your treatment game by killing pests through contact without leaving behind any lingering odors.

Another important aspect of prevention is understanding which areas of your home need preventative treatment vs. curative treatment throughout the year.

If you don’t have any major pest infestations, you can proactively treat your entire home in accordance with product label directions. If you want to take an extra step, you can apply a preventative or barrier treatment around the perimeter of your home to help keep insects from entering. With preventative treatment solutions, apply per label directions for appropriate re-treatment intervals.

Additionally, you could target the application of these solutions in different areas of your home where pests like to hide and are most likely to appear, such as basements, kitchens and bathrooms.

If you have an active pest infestation, you’ll need to apply curative treatment by directly spraying unwanted insects and/or their nests to control their spread within your home.

Trash and food waste around your home tend to attract unwanted insects while leaving a very unsavory smell. By taking out the trash more frequently and cleaning up those areas where waste is stored around the house, you’ll stop incentivizing pests wanting to enter your home.

As time goes on, more cracks and gaps will start to appear around the house, exposing those personal spaces to a potential insect invasion. Seal them as soon as they start popping up to protect the integrity of your home and keep those insects away.