When it comes to pest control, we’ve heard it all. If you come across any type of bug in your Little Rock, Benton, or Jacksonville home, we know you just want it gone. Most of the time, you probably assume it’s easier to just take matters into your own hands. STOP! Think twice before using a DIY treatment. It’s usually better, safer, and cheaper in the long run to call a professional.
We understand how tempting it is to fix it yourself. Over the years we’ve heard some interesting pieces of advice clients received from so-called experts. Here at Clark Exterminating, we want to share some of the worst tips to make sure you avoid them in the future! You can always just pick up the phone and call us instead. So, let’s take a look at some of the worst pest control tips we’ve heard on the job:
Roaches
Placing fabric softener sheets around your house won’t help get rid of cockroaches. While it might make some corners smell better or help you clean your baseboards, the sheets don’t do anything to deter the roaches.
Another trick we’ve heard to get rid of roaches (that doesn’t work either) is to set up a cucumber trap. The trap involves placing fresh cucumber peels inside of an empty aluminum can. The explanation was that the cucumber would react with the aluminum to create a cloud of stink that kills roaches. You guessed it; it doesn’t work.
Some people have suggested that apple cider vinegar will kill ants. The idea is to either spray the vinegar on the ants or leave cotton balls soaked in the vinegar in places where you’ve seen the ants. This might help your house smell like apple cider vinegar (is that really an aroma you want in the house though?), but it will do nothing to get rid of your ant problem. We have heard cases where it fixed the problem temporarily, but it won’t last or help get to the root of the problem that brought the ants into your home in the first place.Mice
Here’s one that made us laugh. Leave soda out for a mouse to drink. Mice don’t have the ability to pass gas, so the thought is if they can’t burp then the mice will explode after drinking soda. Bizarre, right? And, also, not true. While you might think it is entertaining to try, it’s not going to work. Besides, soda will go flat after a while so you have to keep putting out new “bait.”
Mice might also be attracted to chocolate but that doesn’t mean you should use it in the trap. If you’re looking for trap bait, there are other things to use. Mice can easily escape with the chocolate. And if the mice don’t find it first, ants will. You may create a new problem using chocolate as your bait.
Okay, let’s reiterate these two points – don’t waste your soda or your chocolate, especially not on a mouse!
While there are several bad ideas and methods to get rid of bugs and insects around your home, there is one fail-safe way trick: call an exterminator! No matter how big or small your problem, Clark Exterminating is happy to help. Call us at 501-588-2514 if you’re in the Greater Little Rock area or 501-776-1388 in the Benton area.
