5 step action plan for a pest free Christmas

Don’t invite cockroaches to Christmas dinner!

When you’re entertaining family and friends at Christmas, you want your house to look its best. You certainly don’t want the horror of a stray cockroach or the annoyance of mosquitoes driving everyone inside.

By following our 5 step Christmas action plan, you can have a pest free home this Christmas.

Step 1: General maintenance (pest prevention)

• Prune back plants around the perimeter of your home
• Fill any cracks or holes in walls and around doors and windows
• Make sure insect screens and draft excluders are well fitted and in good condition
• Get rid of any waste wood / unwanted building materials around your home
• Eliminate sources of standing water (potential mosquito breeding sites)
• Ensure all rubbish is placed in bags in solid bins with well fitting lids (ideally away from the house)
• Store food in sealed, insect proof containers
• Clean potential kitchen pest sources on a regular basis; cooker, dishwasher, toaster, microwave and pantry
• Do not leave dirty dishes, spilled food and food waste lying around
• Do not leave pet food out / on floor
• Give home a thorough vacuum, especially around edges of rooms and under furniture / dark places

Ensure rubbish is placed in sealed bins away from the house

Our complete list of pest prevention tips

Step 2: Exterior pest spray treatment

Use a long lasting residual spray to treat the following areas to target insect hiding places and prevent them entering the home.

• 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

If you have areas of high ant activity, consider using ant bait, a day or so before you spray, to start the nest elimination process.

Step 3: Mosquito treatment

If you have a mosquito problem, the exterior mosquito pest spray should be extended to cover additional mosquito hiding places, such as the underside of large leafed plants around the perimeter of the home and along the fence line.

Eliminating potential mosquito breeding sites mentioned in step 1, are a vital action as well.

Check out our 5-step mosquito control guide for more information.

Eliminate mosquito breeding sites

Step 4: Lawn treatment for ants

If ants are showing signs of activity in lawns and pavers, use ant baits to kill the nests (need to do this at least 2 weeks before Xmas, as it can take 1-2 weeks for the nest to die). For areas where you want to exclude ants, such as paved areas and garden beds, use an insecticide ant sand.

More information on how to get rid of ants

Eliminate green headed ants from your lawn

Step 5: Interior pest control treatment

If you have good maintenance and have carried out a good perimeter spray, you’re unlikely to have much of a pest problem inside. However, if you have an existing problem or known potential hot spots, consider using a cockroach fogger or flea bomb to treat individual rooms; an insecticide spray (cockroach spray)to treat around the perimeter of rooms, under and behind cupboards, furniture, fridges and ovens; and sprays and cockroach baits inside kitchen cupboards (remove food and crockery before spraying).

Plan to do this at least 2 weeks before Christmas to ensure your home is pest free – we can all do with one less stress when we’re entertaining this holiday season!