While apartment buildings can provide ample housing for plenty of people, they also prove inviting to all sorts of pests. Due to a high number of residents, frequent tenant turnover, and close quarters, roaches, ants, and rats have an easier time sneaking into rentals. But as Nance Pest Control explains, this notion of apartment life doesn’t always have to be true. Here, this Churchville, VA, exterminator highlights a few simple ways you can practice pest control in your home.

What You Can Do to Avoid Pests in Your Apartment

Shut the Door

Attracted to warmth and food, insects and rodents will spring at the opportunity to creep into your apartment from the outside. As such, it’s important to keep windows protected with screens and avoid leaving exterior doors open longer than necessary. If you can feel a draft under your door or see light, ask your landlord to seal the edges.

Be Smart With Food

Food and waste attract bugs and other hungry intruders. To keep pests from munching on your leftovers, keep all food covered, and never leave scraps lying around.

It’s also important to clean crumbs off the floor and keep the trash covered. When the garbage fills up, seal the bag immediately and throw it in an outdoor dumpster. If you have pets, keep dishes off the floor when they aren’t eating and wash their bowls regularly.

Watch What You Bring Inside

In some cases, you may end up bringing insects like bedbugs into your home without knowing it. To prevent pests from piggybacking on your belongings, fully inspect and clean items that could pose a risk—such as used furniture, clothes worn while traveling, and packages that have traveled long distances.

Lay Traps

If a critter does find its way into your apartment, pest control traps will serve as a second line of defense. You can find ant, roach, and rodent traps at most home improvement stores. Since these products contain dangerous chemicals, follow instructions exactly and keep them out of reach of children and pets.

Even when you follow all these steps, there’s a chance your home could become a nesting spot for bugs and rodents that once lived next door. Instead of spraying insecticides in your living space, call a professional pest control company as soon as possible. Nance Pest Control will work hard to safeguard your apartment and eliminate lingering critters. Visit this Churchville, VA, service online to learn more or call (540) 337-7100 to give bugs the boot.