It’s summer and bugs like to partaaay in warm weather. If you have bugs in your home — as many households do and the majority worry about — there may be good reasons for this. Insects are resilient, strategic and way smarter than you may realize.
But before dealing with insect invasions, it’s helpful to understand what you’re up against. These surprising bug facts can help you better understand common opponents:
- Cockroaches have the capacity to memorize and learn — and they may just use those smarts to remember the layout and contents of your kitchen, including hiding spaces! But even without their heads, cockroaches are fairly formidable — decapitated, they can survive for weeks.
- Once an ant knows where food is located, it’ll leave a scented trail to guide others to the source. Ants help each other out in other ways, too. Certain ant species have been observed linking their bodies together to build ladders, chains, walls and even rafts that float in water.
- If your fly-swatting skills leave something to be desired, don’t feel bad. Flies can detect danger from all angles and can react four times faster than humans.
- Ninety-three percent of respondents said that they’re concerned with having bugs inside their home in a recent survey conducted by Zevo — a maker of bug killer sprays that are safe for use around people and pets when used as directed. Survey respondents also said they see more bugs in their homes as the weather warms. In another recent survey, more than eighty-five percent of people expressed some level of safety concern with using traditional insecticide sprays inside the home.
According to experts, you don’t have to trade one worry (bugs) for another (traditional bug sprays). So how should you deal with creeping, crawling and stinging invaders? Take a fresh approach to home insect control that you can feel good about with these safe extermination tips:
- Keep common entry points like doors, windows and garages closed. Need a cross-breeze? Install screens on doors and windows.
- Older adults tend to have clutter which attracts pests. Bugs tend to hide in piles of stuff like papers, boxes and clothing. Declutter your home to give pests the boot.
- Seal cracks around window and door frames, which are both entry points and hiding spaces for bugs.
- Don’t stack firewood or scrap wood next to your house — bugs love these havens.
- Avoid leaving food around after meals. Make a habit of prompt clean-ups.
For bugs you see, use a spray that doesn’t contain harsh chemicals, such as Zevo Instant Action Spray. Its active ingredients are essential oils that target nerve receptors active only in insects, so you (and your pets) don’t need to leave the room after spraying, as you would with traditional insecticide. Just spray on the roach, ant, fly, wasp or other pesky bug, and wipe up after use.
For the bugs you don’t see, use chemical-free traps in areas heavily trafficked by bugs. Those from Zevo, which plug into outlets around the home, use multi-spectrum light technology and a body heat attractant that mimic nature’s most primal powers of attraction. Try to reduce competing light around the traps. Though they work 24/7, flying insects will find the traps especially enticing at night.
Keep in mind, bugs are smart, but with some new strategies, you can safely outsmart them.