How To Look For Pest Issues When Buying A House
If you're purchasing a new house or a new property, one of the things to do on your list should be checking if there are any pest issues. Especially pests that enter your home directly can be a terrible nuisance. Also, some of them are really difficult to eradicate, so you just might think twice before purchasing that property or house. Therefore, I will list here a few pests to look for and how to look for them, in case you're considering the purchase of a new home.
Rodents
Rodents not only that are quite destructive to the structure of the house, to the furniture or almost anything you keep under your roof, they also carry various diseases. Among these diseases are salmonellosis, rat-bite fever, tularemia or leptospirosis, diseases that can lead to severe health problems.
Therefore, to see if a property is infested with rats and mice, the first signs you should look for are rodent feces and gnawed wood or other materials. The best places to search are the basement and the attic. Also, examine visible and larger cracks or holes in the walls for rodent nests. Last but not least, most of the rodents leave behind musky smells that fill up a room. A trained nose would know if there are rodents in a certain house the moment they set foot in there.
Cockroaches
Another extremely persistent pest is the common cockroach. They easily infiltrate any household through the air vents or through the drainage systems. They also lay their eggs there, far from the insecticides' reach and that's one of the main reasons they are difficult to completely eradicate from a property.
Cockroaches are mostly nocturnal and they like dark and humid places. The places to look for them are kitchens and bathrooms, so check especially the areas under the kitchen sink, garbage disposal area and in the bathrooms around the toilet and the drain. You should be looking for dead or alive cockroaches, their egg sacks and feces, and even set there one or two sticky papers to come and check later.
As I said, cockroaches can be tough to eradicate and for a long lasting treatment of a property against cockroaches, it's best to work with a pest control specialist. They will know exactly what substances to use, to minimize the risks for your family and maximize the efficiency towards that particular species of cockroaches that infest that property. If you're in Sidney, AU, I can recommend you the guys at Pest Control Woollahra.
Bats and Opossums
Bats usually nest in the attic of a house and opossums either pay visits to your garbage cans at night or find their way in the basement of the house to take shelter there. If there's a bat infestation, you'll surely see them as you visit the attic. For opossums you might have to look more carefully, or even pay a nocturnal visit to the property you're planning to buy, and see what's the wildlife activity there.
Snakes
Although there's less likely to have to deal with a serious snake infestation of a property, from time to time, depending on the area, a snake might find its way into your yard or house. In this case, it's best to call pest control services or animal care. They know how to deal with poisonous snakes.
Checking a property for snakes is not recommended to do yourself unless you know how to do it. However, you can always ask the neighbors if they had to deal with snake intruders on their properties and how frequent does that happen.
Mosquitoes
If there's a water source nearby, a lake or a river, you can expect a high population of mosquitoes. But they are easily to keep out of the house with mosquito nets.
Rodents
Rodents not only that are quite destructive to the structure of the house, to the furniture or almost anything you keep under your roof, they also carry various diseases. Among these diseases are salmonellosis, rat-bite fever, tularemia or leptospirosis, diseases that can lead to severe health problems.
Therefore, to see if a property is infested with rats and mice, the first signs you should look for are rodent feces and gnawed wood or other materials. The best places to search are the basement and the attic. Also, examine visible and larger cracks or holes in the walls for rodent nests. Last but not least, most of the rodents leave behind musky smells that fill up a room. A trained nose would know if there are rodents in a certain house the moment they set foot in there.
Cockroaches
Another extremely persistent pest is the common cockroach. They easily infiltrate any household through the air vents or through the drainage systems. They also lay their eggs there, far from the insecticides' reach and that's one of the main reasons they are difficult to completely eradicate from a property.
Cockroaches are mostly nocturnal and they like dark and humid places. The places to look for them are kitchens and bathrooms, so check especially the areas under the kitchen sink, garbage disposal area and in the bathrooms around the toilet and the drain. You should be looking for dead or alive cockroaches, their egg sacks and feces, and even set there one or two sticky papers to come and check later.
As I said, cockroaches can be tough to eradicate and for a long lasting treatment of a property against cockroaches, it's best to work with a pest control specialist. They will know exactly what substances to use, to minimize the risks for your family and maximize the efficiency towards that particular species of cockroaches that infest that property. If you're in Sidney, AU, I can recommend you the guys at Pest Control Woollahra.
Bats and Opossums
Bats usually nest in the attic of a house and opossums either pay visits to your garbage cans at night or find their way in the basement of the house to take shelter there. If there's a bat infestation, you'll surely see them as you visit the attic. For opossums you might have to look more carefully, or even pay a nocturnal visit to the property you're planning to buy, and see what's the wildlife activity there.
Snakes
Although there's less likely to have to deal with a serious snake infestation of a property, from time to time, depending on the area, a snake might find its way into your yard or house. In this case, it's best to call pest control services or animal care. They know how to deal with poisonous snakes.
Checking a property for snakes is not recommended to do yourself unless you know how to do it. However, you can always ask the neighbors if they had to deal with snake intruders on their properties and how frequent does that happen.
Mosquitoes
If there's a water source nearby, a lake or a river, you can expect a high population of mosquitoes. But they are easily to keep out of the house with mosquito nets.