What's the best way to keep pests out of my home?

The best way to keep pests out is by not giving rodents and insects a chance to gain entry into your abode. HowStuffWorks.com will bet you dollars to doughnuts that if you take a look at your home's envelope (exterior walls, doors, windows and roof), you'll find some surprising points of entry. While you use a door to come in and out of your house, bugs and rodents are much less picky. They'll come in through cracks in your foundation, unsealed windows and gaps between your walls and floors. Not only will sealing these areas with caulk will help keep pests from coming indoors, it'll also help you save on home energy costs.

Despite your best efforts, however, you'll likely find that household pests will get into your home. You can combat rodent and insect pests once they've found a way in by simply making your house as inhospitable for them as possible.

Insects need food, water and shelter to survive. But rather than turning on the faucet for a cup of water or going to the store for groceries, they look for resources in some places you might overlook. Standing water in a dish beneath a potted indoor plant might as well be a watering hole on the African savanna as far as pests like cockroaches, mice and flies are concerned [source: CDPR]. Look around your house: You may find other places where water is standing. Take away their water source, and you'll find bugs don't like living in your house.

Eating is one of pests' favorite pastimes. In your pantry, boxes of cereal, packages of pasta and bags of cookies provide a dining bonanza for pests. Mice and rats can chew through cardboard packaging -- and you might not even notice they've made a dent in your stash. Keep items like these in hard canisters made of metal or hard plastic to thwart hungry pests [source: University of Arkansas].

Keeping your house clean also cuts down on food sources for pests. Remember that meatball you dropped on the kitchen floor and then quickly picked up and ate when no one was looking? The impact of meat hitting linoleum made sauce splatter in places like the baseboard beneath the cabinet -- which could become a hearty dinner for all manner of pests. Cleaning up your house on a regular basis, especially where food is prepared and eaten, can discourage pests from sticking around. It's a good idea to sweep up crumbs when they spill on the couch or floor and to keep your dishes clean instead of piled up in the sink.

When your house is clean, it also cuts down on places for pests to call home. The old adage about a homeowner never being aware of having roaches until his or her house is clean is true: Stacks of old newspapers and boxes provide great places for pests to hide [source: CDPR]. Try to de-clutter your house and not only will you have more room to breathe, you'll also have fewer pests.

Lastly, be more discriminating in your definition of what exactly constitutes a "pest." Think twice before you squash a spider in your house -- they make wonderful bug killers and generally keep to themselves. In warmer climes, having a lizard around can cut down your household bug population [source: BBC]. Plus, there's no greener way to control bugs than by simply fostering the food chain in your house.

For more information on pest control and other related topics, visit the next page.