How to Keep Your Home Bug Free Without Pesticides

Keeping your home bug free does not require toxic chemicals. Pesticides contain extremely harmful chemicals that can cause cancer or brain damage. Read the "caution" labels on these products and realize they should be no where near you or your family. Of course, bugs shouldn't be either and while they might be the lesser of two evils, they can cause plenty of harm themselves, from allergies to infections or worse. The two prong method of preventing bugs from entering the home is 1,not giving them access, and 2, discouragement.

Firstly, it's important to seal all holes in your house or apartment. If you live in an apartment you can ask your super to do this but he may do a sloppy job or feel it's not necessary. However, either in a house or apartment, filling holes is easy for anyone to do. All you need is caulk-special waterproof caulk for the bathroom and flooring or wall caulk for the other rooms. This simple solution will help dramatically, but it's important to check for new holes every few months or so and fill them quickly

Wood floors often have a space between the end of the floor and the wall-especially in older buildings. There are wood colored caulks that can be used to seal this space. I find that the smaller tubes of caulk are much easier to use than a big caulking gun. Just squeeze the caulk into the space and wearing gloves, smooth into the space and wipe off excess. Don't mop for at least 24 hours afterward. This will not only keep bugs away but creates a more finished look when the floor looks like it is touching the wall. With various wood floor colors it's easy to find the color you need so the caulk will not be noticeable and will blend in well with the floor.

The walls are treated similarly. Holes in walls are usually caused by nails used to hand up pictures and such. If these holes are empty, fill with wall caulk. If the nail or hanging clip is holding a picture on the wall, seal around the nail with caulk. Smooth caulk with a caulk spatula-cheap plastic one is fine and paint over after it's dry. Make sure to caulk closets as well, both the floor and the walls.

For the bathroom and kitchen you will need special waterproof caulk which usually comes in bright white or a more beige white. Seal around tile, and wherever there are holes. Paint over if necessary. In the bathroom make sure the toilet and tub bases are sealed. Seal around all cabinets and anywhere there is a hole or crack.

In the bathroom as well as in the kitchen, there are usually cabinets under the sink. There and possibly in other places (such as steam radiators) there may be large areas around pipes that are exposed and provide easy access for bugs. The way to deal with this is to stuff the holes with rust proof steel wool. This will also deter mice if that's a problem as well. Check the steel wool once a year and if looks at all disintegrated, replace.

Now that structural methods are done, the next step is deterrent. Believe it or not, the old standby, boric acid, is actually very effective. Boric acid, a natural compound containing boron, is incredibly cheap and if used properly, is safe to have around your family. Simply sprinkle the boric acid along the edges of the walls and in closets. Sweep the boric acid into any cracks or corners and in radiator cases. Afterward, sponge mop near the places you swept the boric acid so that it remains in the cracks on under the radiator case but not on the floor. Mopping up the excess will insure that children and pets won't get to the boric acid. Despite the fact that boric acid is incredibly less toxic than pesticides, it is still toxic to ingest and should kept locked up away from children and pets. About twice a year redo the boric acid treatment unless you see bugs slipping in, in which case more often may be necessary.

There are other natural or herbal bug deterrents that can be used as well but they usually have a strong odor which many find unappealing. Health food store bug deterrents often reek of citronella or cloves and I personally can't stand that around the house. Boric acid doesn't smell at all and won't leave stains anywhere either as some of those sprays will.

With a little caulking and boric acid you can keep your home safe from bugs and your family safe from toxic pesticides.