How to Keep Insects Away this Summer

There are many kinds of insects that proliferate in our province, especially in the summer months. In order to avoid having call an exterminator to perform pest control measures, we suggest that homeowners learn a bit about common insects in the Vancouver and Victoria, BC areas to keep summer insects away. Three common pests found in British Columbia are cockroaches, flies and termites.

Cockroaches

Although you certainly don’t want to invite them into your home, cockroaches are impressive insects. They’ve been around for thousands of years and are famous for their ability to survive in extremely harsh conditions. As they’re flat and largely nocturnal, they can be difficult to spot. They prefer dark, humid habitats and tend to hide in unlit cracks and crevices during the day.

Because they’re so difficult to get rid of, the best way to combat cockroaches is to avoid an infestation in the first place. The easiest way to do this is to keep your home very clean to deprive them of food sources. Limit your food consumption and preparation to as few rooms as possible and always clean up after you’ve eaten. You should also regularly mop your kitchen floors to eliminate any remaining food residues.

Flies
Like cockroaches, flies have adapted extremely well to the human world. There are so many kinds that it would be impossible to list them all here. They can live in wet or dry environments and eat pretty much anything that’s decaying or liquifying.

Also like cockroaches, the best way to avoid flies is to keep your home very clean. If they don’t have any food to eat, they won’t bother sticking around. If you can’t avoid flies in your home, there are a number of different flytraps available on the market, including electric fly killers.

Termites
According to the Electronic Atlas of the Wildlife of British Columbia, there are about 2,000 different species of termite. They live in extremely complex colonies and many varieties can potentially damage a home. Termites are known for eating wood and have symbiotic microbes in their guts to break it down for consumption.

To keep your home termite free, be careful to keep the wood in your home as dry as possible, and don’t allow it to touch the soil (if you have wood siding, for instance). Similarly, if you have firewood in your backyard, don’t pile it up beside the house itself. Moving firewood from place to place (and rotting firewood in particular) is a great way to relocate not only termites but bugs of all kinds into your home.

What to do if you have an infestation
Sometimes, even when preventive measures are taken, infestations happen. If you’d like to learn more about pest control methods or need the help of an exterminator to get pests out of your home in the Vancouver, Victoria, or anywhere in the lower mainland of BC, contact us at Pest Detective today.