Rather than assume that your home is free from pest infestation, why don’t you conduct a quick check yourself to be sure of your assumption? And contrary to what you may believe, determining if your home is infested by pests isn't difficult or time-consuming. All you have to do is watch out for some telltale signs that indicate their presence. And what signs might that be?
Brace yourself! We have listed some below. If you see any of these signs, the chances are that your home is sheltering perky pests.
Causes of Pest Infestation
Nothing happens without a reason or cause. Whether it is climate change, rainfall, flooding, damaged roof, increased energy bill, and yeah, you can add pest infestation to the list. Like other annoying home problems, a pest infestation is usually a result of some factors. Here are some of them:
- Failure to organize your home: It's often easy to clean open areas and difficult to clean areas filled with clutters. Cluttered areas are like magnets; they attract all kinds of pests. And since you often neglect such areas when cleaning, the likelihood of infestation becomes high. Ensure you do away with clutters in your home to prevent pest infestation.
- Neglecting home maintenance: Home maintenance is necessary to keep your home in shape and prevent it from being at the mercy of ravenous pests. If you haven't been taking home maintenance seriously, ensure you start doing so from today. Failing to conduct regular home maintenance would allow pests to roam about your home, wreaking havoc on your precious property. While conducting home maintenance, ensure you inspect your:
- Roof
- HVAC
- Outdoor Walls
- Chimney
- Windows
- Ceilings
- Indoor Walls
Other common causes of pest infestation are:
- Food remains
- Age of your home
- Humidity
That said, here are some important signs to watch out for determining if you have a pest infestation problem or not.
1. Pests are messy
If you have rodents, cockroaches, mice, ants, or termites in your home, the chances are that they are enjoying themselves making a mess somewhere. Pests like bugs, rodents, spiders, and beetles fancy dark, enclosed, and humid areas, so we advise that you begin your search in areas that fit such descriptions (basement and attic).
Carry out a thorough inspection. Check hidden areas, under furniture, along the edges or walls, and near window frames. You might come across grease stains, crumbs, dirt smudges, etc that indicates the presence of pests.
2. Droppings
Pests aren't good at keeping good hygiene. And, of course, that is why they are regarded as pests—they are destructive and dirty. Pests don't clean after themselves, making it easy to identify their presence. To determine if your home is infested by pests, you'll have to look for signs of their waste. Search areas pests like to chill or roam for small droppings. The type of dropping you find will indicate the type of infestation you are dealing with.
If your home is infested with rodents, you’ll find dropping conical and solid. Meanwhile, if your home is infested with insects, you’ll find smaller droppings. And in addition to that, you’ll find shed or discarded skin, wings, or body parts.
3. Damaged Fabric
Moths aren't the only insect responsible for your damaged fabric and clothing. Beetles, ants, bugs, and rodents bite through fabrics as well. Search for little holes or tears on clothing, drapes, carpeting, furniture, including other accessories with fabrics. Don't ignore your underwear as well. Pests chew through whatever they find appealing to them.
While searching for signs of damaged fabric, ensure you keep your eyes out for pest stains (like grime, grease), smells, droppings, including things associated with them. If you find any of these signs, be it damaged fabrics or droppings, don't hesitate to contact trusted pest control. If you don't know one, you can search for "The Most trusted pest control near me” on Google. Pest control companies are skilled in detecting and ridding homes of pests.
4. Smell
The truth is, pests don’t smell nice. They all have different types of offensive smells, especially beetles, rodents, cockroaches, etc. For example, if you walk into your basement and you perceive a pungent, musky odor, the chances are that you have a rat infestation.
Some of the odor you perceive comes from the rat's dropping, while others are a result of the rotting unfinished meal left by the rat. So if you perceive rotting food and you cannot locate it, it could be that a pest carried a piece of fish into your walls and failed to eat it up. Being attentive to strange smells in your home can help determine if you have a pest problem.
Conclusion
Pest infestation has the potential to wreak havoc on your property, making you spend unnecessarily. If you must avoid spending or making your home a breeding ground for pests, it’s important you watch out for those signs of pest infestation and call pest control to get rid of the pests in your home.
