Methods drawer
Sanitation & moisture control
Food, water, and shelter: remove any one of the three and most infestations shrink before a product is opened.
Sanitation in pest work is not housekeeping pride; it is arithmetic. A dripping trap feeds roaches through a drought. Grease behind a stove feeds a colony for months. Bird seed in the garage keeps mice fat all winter. Moisture is the Erie multiplier: lake-effect damp, old plumbing, and unvented basements soften wood for carpenter ants, breed drain flies, keep silverfish thriving, and rot the sill that termites then enter.
The short list that matters
- Fix leaks — including the slow ones — and run basement dehumidification to hold roughly 40–50% relative humidity.
- Store dry goods and pet food in hard, sealed containers; clean the grease and crumbs behind and under appliances.
- Grade soil away from the foundation, keep gutters working, and move firewood off the ground and away from the wall.
- Manage waste: lidded bins, rinsed recycling, and no pet food left out overnight.
Limits
A spotless house can still get bed bugs, and a tidy kitchen can still inherit German roaches with a second-hand appliance. Sanitation decides whether an infestation grows or starves — it is not a verdict on the housekeeper, and anyone who sells it as one is selling shame, not control.