Half the battle of dealing with insect pests is finding out where in and around your home they are hiding and building their little nests and colonies. Without that information, controlling insect pests in your home and, especially, an infestation is almost impossible. The diversity of insect pests and their preferred habitat, type of sustenance, and which kind of predators they have to watch out for all play a part in where exactly you will most likely find infestations of specific species of insect pests. It is these life support requirements that make up the blueprint for the hiding spots of these different insect pests, and are the best method of figuring out which hideaways any specific insect pest might use to infest your home.

The three main factors to consider when it comes to finding insect pest hideaways are looking for places with favorable temperatures, plenty of food and water, and possible shelter/harborage. Food and sustenance is an easy one to deduce, as most people keep food in their kitchens and pantries. Keeping areas where there is food clean and tidy goes a long way toward keeping pests away. The bathroom can be another area with plenty of possible sustenance lying around for certain insect pests. Again, keeping your bathroom clean will help control insect pests. If you are a bird lover, any spilled birdseed left outside can be a convenient source of food for numerous insect pests.

Shelter is another major factor when it comes to where you will find different insect pests. Outdoors, insect pests can find a safe shelter in natural harborages such as treeholes, leaf litter, and fallen trees or tree limbs. Pests such as cockroaches, ants, and mosquitos find shelter in harborages like these ones because of their protection from predators, fluctuations in temperature, and wind, as well as the darkness and moist air. They can also be found in manmade outside harborages such as underneath or inside potted plants, decorative rock piles, garden statues, wooden boards, patio stones, garden or yard barriers, and anything else lying on the ground such as trash or firewood. All exterior vegetation is a possible harborage for insect pests.

Inside your home there are endless voids, cracks, crevices, and other convenient spots insect pests can use as a harborage. Wall voids, crawls spaces, attics, and other smaller voids found between cabinets and the wall, behind the refrigerator and the dishwasher, as well as inside appliances and furniture. Sealing any cracks, crevices, and other entrances in the structure of your home will help to keep insect pests from getting inside in the first place. Making sure your home is clean and free of clutter, another thing that provides shelter for insect pests inside your home, is essential to controlling indoor insect pests. Since moisture also attracts insect pests, keeping the humidity in your home low and fixing any places that might provide moisture such as a leaky pipe will also help keep those pests out of your house.

Where have you most often found insect pests inside your home?