How to Handle Pest Infestations during a Flood: A Complete Guide

Do you know how to handle pest infestations during a flood? Like humans, animals and insects seek high ground to shelter from floods. Nearby homes become higher ground in some cases, so you tend to see more pests, such as rats, mice, and ants, during and after flooding.

If you store food indoors, the influx of pests can result in untold losses. Also, pests can cause diseases, so you must handle any infestation quickly to minimize the losses.

 

Do you Know How to Handle Pest Infestations during a Flood?

This guide offers tips on handling a pest infestation following a flood and can be an excellent read.

 

1. Inspect for Damages

Floods can be quite destructive, especially if storms accompany them. So, there is a chance your home could suffer some broken glass, wood, or metal frames that could leave open crawl spaces for pests. 

So, you first want to ensure that no more pests come into the house by inspecting for damages and repairing them. A DIY repair may be done for minor damages. However, in some cases, you may want a professional to fix it for you, for example, when the damage has structural significance.

 

 

2. Interior Basement Waterproofing

Warm, moist environments provide the best breeding grounds for pests. So controlling humidity is one of the most effective ways to make your home unfavorable for pests. Also, dampness can be a major problem during floods, especially in your basement. So, your first step in controlling dampness should be preventing water from getting into your basement in the first place. 

Waterproofing your basement may require more than a DIY approach, so you may need help from an interior basement waterproofing service provider. Also, you may have to address other problems that could be causing flooding in the basement, such as poor drainage.

 

3. Clean and Sanitize

Pests love a mess, as it provides the perfect place to hide and breed. So start by decluttering every room and space where you have a huge pest infestation problem. The basement and the Arctic are especially great hiding places for vermin and mice because they are the most cluttered spaces in the house. 

After decluttering, clean the home to eliminate dirt, excrement, and scents that could attract more pests to the space. Also, some pests carry diseases, so you may need to sanitize to eliminate the possibility of infections.

 

4. Remove Food Incentives

Food is a huge incentive for pests to come into the house. So ensure that you do not have food lying around in your house or in trash cans close to it. In severe flooding, garbage collection can have some disruptions, so you may want to be creative with your waste disposal so it doesn’t attract pests. 

For example, ensure your trash cans have lids and stay closed all the time. Also, ensure the stored food inside the house is in locked compartments or sealed containers. Stored food can be especially critical, as contact with pests can result in diseases for members of your household.

 

5. Remove the Pests

Once you have a pest infestation, you must get rid of them physically. For rodents, setting up traps or poisoning them will do. For insects, you can use pesticides. However, these approaches are only applicable to minor infestations.

For a full-blown infestation, you may want to get the help of pest control services. Sometimes, that can handle the pest problem while you live in your home. At other times, you may have to evacuate.

 

6. Keep the Pests Out To Start With

Dealing with a pest infestation can be costly. So, it is best to prevent pests from getting into the house in the first place. You can start by ensuring your home is pest-proof before the rainy season, depending on where you live.

Look for cracks and potential weak points and reinforce them before the rains. Also, you may want to use pest repellents around your home. Your repellent choice should be based on the type of pest you hope to keep away and its suitability.

Also, remember to talk with an expert when using repellents to ensure you use them properly and they don’t pose any hazards to you or your family.

Traps around the house are also a great way of minimizing the chances of rats and mice entering your house. Last but not least, clear unnecessary bushes around your home. Nearby pests will be the first to attempt to enter your home during a flood.

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