If you're looking for the inside scoop on DIY pest management and what's new in home improvement, tune in to the Home To-Do List on Mondays and Fridays for tips to maintain and revamp key areas of your home!
The Interior Episodes
The Bathroom
The main factor that makes bathrooms attractive to pests is moisture. Between sinks, showers, toilets, and tubs, there's no shortage of water in any bathroom. So today's tip is to eliminate bugs at the source — by getting rid of the excess moisture. Tune in for the full checklist!
The Attic
Give a critter an inch, and before you know it, you've got a squirrel bed and breakfast running in your attic. Bugs and other animals often get inside through flimsy screening on attic vents, so our first tip this week is to carefully re-screen those vents with 1/8" hardware cloth (or call a pro for help). Tune in for the full checklist!
The Finished Basement
No matter how tidy you keep your finished basement, there always seems to be a few stubborn bugs that hide out down there. But it's not a lost cause: in as little as an hour you can keep bugs out of a finished basement by identifying possible entry points and removing things that attract them to your home. Tune in for the full checklist!
The Unfinished Basement
Many bugs are attracted to the same things you'd find in both finished and unfinished basements, but unfinished basements tend to have more moisture, storage, cracks in the foundation, and connections to the outside. In particular, bugs love basement floor drains, which capture all that moisture, so you'll want to cover them up. Tune in for the full checklist!
The Garage
Let's face it: the garage is never the cleanest room in the house. Add to this the fact that it leads right to the outdoors and you have the perfect hiding place for all sorts of pests who are looking for protection from the elements. So the key to keeping both pests and their prey out of the garage is to minimize their ability to get inside and make the area less inviting. Tune in for the full checklist!
The Dining Room
Anywhere we're eating, German roaches are going to be a common household pest, but especially now. More than ever, we're buying groceries in bulk and eating in. By accumulating more trash, many of us are unintentionally creating the perfect habitat for cockroaches. So today, Scott and Dave run through some tips to roach-proof your dining room. Tune in for the full checklist!
Indoor Appliances
It's common to find bugs around the dishwasher, fridge, and under the washing machine. As it turns out, these pests might be living inside the appliances themselves! Roaches and many other insects love small, dark spaces that contain both water and food. And unfortunately a variety of appliances, from your dishwasher to your fridge, fit the bill perfectly. Tune in for the full checklist!
The Exterior Episodes
The Front Walk
It's often the decorations and porch lights leading up to your house that are attracting all those bugs. And it's not just your porch light — the leftover holiday lights strung up around your property might have actually attracted spiders, and hay bales or stuffed decorations like scarecrows can quickly become a rat motel for the winter. Our advice is to check our outdoor lights and decorations regularly, and there are a few preventative measures anyone can take at home. Tune in for the full checklist!
The Backyard
A good rule of thumb is to avoid feeding any outdoor animals, because if you're feeding one animal, you're feeding them all, and you might not even know you're doing it. From bird feeders to compost piles, there are plenty of things in the backyard that attract pests. So today's tip is to eliminate food sources around the yard. Tune in for the full checklist!
The Shed
There's no worse feeling than opening the shed door and seeing the mess left behind by rodents, cockroaches, snakes, and even feral cats. So today, we have some tips to pest-proof your shed for all seasons — so you can save money and maybe even breathe a little easier knowing nothing's going to jump out at you when you walk in there. Tune in for the full checklist!
The Chimney
Most of us would never leave our front doors and windows open 24/7, but we also don't often think about how leaving our chimney open, without a cap on it, might be just as risky. Besides a chimney cap, some areas to focus on are the chimney siding, any vents on the roof or dormers, and pipes. Tune in for the full checklist!
The Roof
If there's a scampering and scratching sound coming from the attic, chances are the animals are getting in through or even living on your roof. We don't recommend climbing up to examine your own roof, but there are some steps you can take from the ground or attic to keep pests at bay until your next professional roof inspection. Our first tip? Find their access points. Tune in for the full checklist!
The Porch
Bugs like ants and mosquitoes thrive with the rise in temperature and humidity. So from natural deterrents to lighting, we've got you covered with tips to keep them off your porch. Tune in for the full checklist!