If your home is located in an area where waterbugs are common, keeping it immaculately clean will not stop them from setting up camp. If there’s moisture (like a leak or condensation) near where you live, you’re going to have an infestation.
If your home isn’t located in a waterbug-prone area, there’s still a chance that the bugs are being attracted by other detritus, namely old food. If you don’t keep your kitchen meticulously clean, the chances of attracting the bugs increases exponentially.
Here are 3 other ways that you are attracting water bugs in your home:
1. Leaving out dirty dishes
We know it sounds like common sense to do the dishes right after you eat, but some people don’t seem to get that concept! When you let dirty dishes sit in the sink or on the counter top for more than a couple of hours (especially overnight) you’re attracting waterbugs and other bugs into your home. It’s not that hard to do the dishes right after you eat! Remember what your mom told you? Wash them immediately, put them in the dishwasher or, if there are too many for the dishwasher, hand wash them.
Never let dirty dishes pile up. If you have more than a few dishes in the sink, it’s probably time to do them.
2. Storing food outside of fridge
Without a doubt, this is one of the most effective ways that you can keep waterbugs out of your home-store all food in the refrigerator! If there are small items such as bread crumbs or a forgotten apple core on a shelf, it’s an open invitation for bugs. If you don’t want to store everything in the fridge, fine. Just make sure that no food is sitting out on a counter or shelf overnight.
3. Crumbs behind appliances.
You might love for your kitchen floor to be super clean, but waterbugs will always prefer a dirty kitchen floor over a clean one (at least when it comes to your kitchen floor). Even though waterbugs can be found anywhere in the home, they especially like dark crevices and cracks. So when you sweep or mop, make sure you get into all of those little nooks and crannies-behind the appliances, under the refrigerator, between cabinets (especially near stovetops).