De-Bug Your Home

1. Don't Invite Them In

Prevent your home from being an insect haven:

Don't serve them dinner: In addition to regular kitchen cleanup, don't forget to wipe splatters on blender bases or stove tops, and sponge off dribbles from syrupy foods like honey. Put out pet food on a schedule rather than leaving it for grazing.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Dry up water sources: Repair leaky faucets and under-sink pipes; the droplets they leave look like watering troughs to a thirsty bug.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Dim the lights: Moths and cockroaches are drawn to the glow. For door-side fixtures, switch to yellow bug bulbs, which critters aren't attracted to and are available in newer CFL and decorative styles. Or put lights on motion sensors so they'll turn on only when someone comes home.

Photo Credit: Alamy

Cut outdoor attractions: Clean up leaf debris along the house's foundation and put firewood piles at a distance. Drain garden hoses and repair pooling downspouts lest they provide love nests for mosquitoes, which can breed in just a bottle cap's worth of water. Seal garbage cans and scoop up pet poop from the lawn ASAP — big draws for flies.

Photo Credit: jupiterimages

2. Boost Your Defenses

Beyond the bug-barricade basics (like patching any holes in screens), check your house's exterior for cracks around pipes or in the foundation where bugs can enter; caulk around them. Also try adhesive sweeps (find at hardware stores) at the bottom of exterior doors to thwart spiders.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

De-Bug Your Home

3. Stop 'Em in Their Tracks
They've infiltrated! Attack with weapons that work: A simple swatter is still the best anti-housefly tool. Clean it with antibacterial wipes or spray — flies can carry nearly 100 types of diseases. Simply vacuum up spiders and webs if they are spinning unwelcome homes within your house.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Baits (which serve up poisoned food) are more effective than traps to solve an ant problem; the workers will bring the nefarious nibbles back to the colony. Some ants have a sweet tooth, while others prefer protein, so buy some of each type of bait — the uncovered gel or paste kind is better (though best not used around pets) than the enclosed hockey-puck — like type.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Don't freak out when you see more ants at first (if it's working, they'll swarm the baits), and try not to disturb them — they follow a scent to where others have found food. For roaches, try the double whammy of baits and sticky traps. Vacuum up spiders and their webs, emptying the vac into a trash bag and sealing it.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

4. Call In the Pros

Give up the fight: when DIY methods don't work; you're dealing with a destructive, formidable foe (think termites or bedbugs); or you're just too grossed out.

Photo Credit: jupiterimages