Save Money on Pest Control at Home By Doing it Yourself!

Save Money on Pest Control at Home By Doing it Yourself

The last time I got a quote to have the pest control done in my house, it was nearly $400!

Sure it worked really well (as it should, I did pay a professional) – but is there a way to save a heap of cash on pest control at home?  You betcha there is!  In fact when I did the pest control at home myself recently – I did the whole house inside and outside for under $100 – and it worked like a charm!

I got to try out a heap of products from Richgro recently and not only did they do an amazing job, but I saved over $300 on my yearly pest control bill, and I still have enough product left over to re-do the house again next year! 

Now, this stuff isn’t the same as the products you buy at the local supermarket.  This is the good stuff – similar to what the pros use. Best of all you can buy it from Amazon and have it shipped anywhere in the world!

What Brand Did I Use?

I used a variety of different brands for each different problem. Richgro products have been developed with professional strength formulations and designed with unique, easy-to-use packaging so you can achieve long-lasting results like the professionals at a fraction of the cost.

So this article will give you guidance on what to look for and what to buy to create a pest-free home just like a professional.

How to Use Richgro Spider and Cockroach Killer:

In order to get rid of pest problems you generally need to treat both the inside and outside of your home.

Just like the professionals you will often need to use a combination of products to get the best results.

What to Use Inside Your Home

So my house had an infestation of cockroaches.  Sooo damn gross – and they are so hard to get rid of!  They were bad in the kitchen and the bathrooms.  To treat the inside of your home for pests you need to treat all the common areas where pests like to hide, to eliminate the existing pests, and provide long-lasting protection to keep future pest infestations away.

So just so you know I’m not gross, cockroaches are often the main pest problem inside most homes, it doesn’t matter how clean you are.  They love to set up home in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry.

Places they love to hide include:-

• Cupboards corners and hinges of cupboards. Also underneath and behind any kick-boards.
• Oven / Grill under and behind the oven / grill
• Fridge / Freezer underneath and behind the fridge
• Microwave Under and behind the microwave
• Dishwasher underneath, inside the door and inside the back
• Sinks underneath the sink where it can be both warm and moist.

To stay on top of an ant problem, gel baits like the Richgro Ant Killer have been developed to provide ongoing protection to keep your cockroach problem under control.  I had more than enough to do my house – and have enough left over to treat it again (and it comes with a re-sealable lid so I can keep the rest and reuse it!).

And if you read my blog from a few years ago about having an infestation of fleas (thank you my two labradors for that) – they are a NIGHTMARE to get rid of.  In fact, by the time I bought a new vacuum cleaner and had the professionals out TWICE, I had spent over $1800 trying to get rid of them.

To get rid of fleas you need to kill both the biting fleas and the eggs and larvae they leave behind in carpets and soft furnishings.  Hot Shot Fogger 6 has two active ingredients; one to kill the biting fleas and another to provide longer-lasting (up to 6 months) protection by stopping the flea eggs from hatching and breaking the breeding cycle. 

Want to Go the Humane Route for Pest Control?

There are also lots of very effective humane pest control options available for your home that work! We recommend the following:

To Treat Mice and Rats:

The Natural Armor All-Natural Mice & Ratt Repellent uses peppermint which deters little critters from coming into your home – and makes it smell amazing! It has over 1700 5-star reviews!

Use Humane Mice and Rat Traps

There are now fantastic humane traps available for mice and rats that won’t harm the animal so you can re-release them at a more convenient location.

Poison-Free Pest Control Options

The worry with using poison is that little kids or pets can somehow get to them. And I’m with you on that one – at the end of the day, poison is dangerous and easy to forget. Luckily there is many poison-free pest control options for your home to consider:

Ultrasonic Pest Repellers

Ultrasonic Pest Repellents use powerful ultrasonic speakers to emit a high-pitched ‘squeal’ that us humans cannot hear. It drives pests MAD and repels them from your property. It even works on flies, mosquitoes, ants, and beetles!

The highest rated Ultrasonic Pest Repellent is the AMZ Brand which is available from Amazon. It is only $20 and has over 6,700 positive reviews!

What to Use Outside the Home

Outside your home, spiders, ants, wasps and cockroaches tend to be the main problem pests. To get professional pest control results outside your home you need to treat the following areas.

• The perimeter of the house 1m up the wall and 1m out from the wall
• Around windows and doors, cracks / crevices and other insect entry points
• Under eaves
• Under the sub-floor (if you have one)
• Around and under decking and pergolas
• Around and under the BBQ and outdoor settings
• Around bins and drains

The first form of protection from outdoor pests is to provide a ‘barrier’ protection around your home.

An external spray around your home once or twice a year is all that is needed to achieve long-lasting professional pest control results on a range of outdoor insects. As well as preventing crawling insects from entering your home it also stops spiders from making webs and wasps from building nests.

Ants can be a significant pest in the garden, building nests in lawns and under pavers.  To get rid of ants in the garden you need to get rid of the colony by killing the queen ant in the nest. 

Worker ants take the bait back to the nest to feed the queen and other ants in the colony.  Once the queen eats the bait she stops laying eggs, dies and in 1-2 weeks the ant colony disappears.

A wasp nest is also a problem not to be taken lightly.  You don’t want to get too close to the nest when you spray it.

Whether your pest problem is inside or outside your home, there are affordable options and of easy to use products that will give you professional results at a fraction of the price.