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Pest control is a popular topic because there aren’t many humans who enjoy an encounter with a cockroach, rodent, spider or trail of ants nibbling away at the bikkies in the pantry. I’m particularly paranoid about these little nasties and, as a writer with a big imagination, if I’m unlucky enough to see a single roach or rodent in my house, I imagine whole families of the species crawling into my house, kitchen, bathroom and even shimmying over my face while I sleep. Yuk. And though I do get a little jumpy at the thought of a roach or a rat, I believe my fears to be rational due to the fact that over the course of my life, I have had some less than favourable experiences with them.
Though there are some quick-fixes for getting rid of vermin around your home, your best bet is still to bring in the professionals for getting to the root of the problem. Try companies like Trusted Pest Management to get the problem sorted and for good. It is my belief that you can’t put a price on this kind of sanity and that’s why I save money elsewhere so I can afford to fix yucky problems like these.
Below are some my pest horror stories and pest control solutions for fixing the problem
Cockroaches
I’ve had many experiences with cockroaches and I must say they are one of my greatest fears. There was the time I lived in Sydney alone in a flat prone to them. I would wake alone in the night to a large black roach making a clicking noise on the wall next to my bed. This was terrifying because these flying roaches weren’t for the faint-hearted. I became a bit military-like in my dealings with them and would go to bed with an arsenal of sprays and fly swatter within arms reach ready for their nightly visits.
Then there was life in the outback in Kalgoorlie. I remember the day I nearly fainted at the site of our new rental property which had been ‘left open’ overnight by tradies preparing the place for our arrival. With our real estate agent in tow, hubby and I discovered eight large black roaches hanging out in the bath. Needless to say I nearly ‘whited out’ from the site of this little roach family that afternoon, and after the real estate agent and hubby fanned me back to life, my only resolve was to gulp down many glasses of red wine to cope with the prospect of my new ‘desert life.’
That night hubby and I enjoyed those wines out on the porch with a glass in one hand and a can of Mortein in the other. These cockroaches (and yes, they were ‘this big’) were literally crossing the lawn in (what we remember as) ‘an organised army’ as dusk settled in. Life out there was extremely challenging for a city gal like me. For most of my ‘pre-desert’ existence I had enjoyed the cooler climates of Melbourne and Auckland and generally a ‘roach-free’ life.
Rodents
I’ve also had my share of rodents. The worst experience was in our previous no-dream-home-yet rental property. It appeared to be a lovely little cottage with a nice pool in the back for the kids to enjoy in the summer. But this ‘idyllic’ rental property turned out to be the ‘house of horrors’ unveiling a mouse plague in the middle of summer. Constant calls to the landlord resulted in her turning up about three weeks late with a few boxes of rat killer from the local hardware store. This was hardly a solution for a couple that successfully caught six mice in one week! Yuk!
My most horrifying moment?
The evening a mouse ran right between my legs while I was on the toilet. Let’s just say that my scream probably scared that mouse more than the horror I was experience while running down the hall with my pants still at my knees. The little mouse, which moved faster than my vision of it, was especially scary because it had a weird white stripe down its back, which got me thinking it was more like a baby rat! The mouse would have been a cutie if it was running on a wheel in a lab, but no, this little furry animal was not cute at all in a loo scenario.
Of course, my family found my personal terror hilarious and they enjoyed a free gut-wrenching laugh at my expense and a lasting memory of their mother ‘on the run’ down a hallway with her pants down.
Spiders
Strangely I haven’t had as much fear of spiders as most people. Really I don’t mind them at all apart from the large Huntsman spiders so common in Australia. I have had my share of those. There was the time one ran over my bare foot in country Victoria. The sensation was fluffy and fleeting like a feather. Then there was the one the kids and I caught in a caravan park cabin. Finally there are the ‘randoms’ I’ve found hanging out in toilets on rainy nights in various locations. Again – these moments are always an interesting experience for a city gal like me.
Ants
Fortunately our new home (which is old) is fantastic in terms of vermin. There hasn’t been a roach, spider or mouse in site for close to two years now (and I’m touching wood as I write this) and as my ‘dream-home-in-the-making’ I am especially stoked about the fact that I don’t have to creep around the house in the night in fearful expectation of running into any small furry or unattractive friends. But we do have an ant problem here created by a large filled-in swimming pool in the back yard which is the biggest sandpit ever. I spend my summers placing food into plastic containers and wiping down benches to what I call ‘hospital grade sterilization level.’ We’ve tried ant killer and natural and old-fashioned remedies like using vinegar and baking soda but the ants just seem to keep coming.
Pest Control Solutions
Spend the money and bring in a professional
Though my blog is about saving money I believe in saving so that when necessary I have extra money for times I might want to spend on certain sanity or even luxury items. For example, I am being a ruthless penny-pinching project manager in terms of our renovation project. This is because at the end of this large-scale project I can spend the extra money on beautiful home furniture.
The same goes for pest control. Getting rid of vermin around the home is one such expense that I do invest money in. In the long run, this not only saves sanity but also the cost of buying ‘quick-fixes’ like cans of spray and the like.
If your vermin problem is small, you could try some of the home remedies listed on my baking soda and vinegar tip sheets. Alternatively a great solution is to bring in a professional who will get to the root of the problem and sort it out for good. When you think about the fear, time and headache caused by pests, paying a professional to sort out the problem is well worth the phone call and the money.
Finally modern pest management solutions are natural and safe for children, food and pets. The products are generally water-based, colour and odor free and do not stain furniture or appliances. They are also Government approved.
Have you had any horror stories with pests in your home or do you have any awesome pest control tips? If so, share them in comments below!
