Renters Beware: 3 Common — and Dangerous — Summer Pests & Tips to Prevent Them

Nothing ruins the summer months more than the appearance of unwelcome pests in your apartment. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do something about it! Take back your apartment this summer with these easy tips on dealing with three of the most common — and dangerous summer — pests!

1. Mosquitos

Out of all the summer pests you may encounter this year, mosquitos top our list for the worst bug of summer. There’s even an entire industry to help rid us of their aggravating intrusions.

But it goes even deeper than that — according to the World Health Organization (WHO), mosquito bites result in millions of deaths each year. That’s primarily because they may spread diseases like yellow fever, malaria, West Nile Virus, and Zika.

To bolster your protection against mosquitoes:

• Ensure that there is no standing water within the vicinity of your apartment. Mosquitoes can lay eggs in as little as half an inch of water.
• Wear an insect repellent with Deet. Or another science-backed mosquito repellent, like the ones suggested in this study from Harvard Medical School.
• Try making your own insect repellent. Though deet repellents provide proven long-term protection, many people (and pets) prefer more natural alternatives. If you’re one of them, whip up your own repellent with these essential oil-based DIY recipes from Healthline.

2. Ants

Ant colonies can contain thousands, even millions, of ants. That makes for a lot of mouths to feed. In the summer months, these colonies work hard to stock up on all the sustenance they need for the coming months. They don’t care if they have to invade your kitchen as part of their mission to locate a food source and water.

Unlike the other pests on this list, ants don’t transmit disease through bites. But they can spread nasty germs by walking across filth (animal droppings, garbage, etc.) and then marching it across your kitchen counter. Yuck!

If you want to avoid turning your apartment into an ant buffet, consider these pest control tips:

• Ensure there are no tree branches or bushes outside that touch the apartment building; they act like freeways for ants and must be trimmed away from structures.
• Don’t be messy. Ants can spot the smallest of crumbs, so make sure they can’t find any by keeping your place as clean as possible.

3. Ticks

While mosquitoes are almost certainly the deadliest pest on this list, ticks aren’t far behind. That’s because the arachnids — that’s right, they’re not technically insects — can transmit the deadly Lyme disease and a host of other conditions.

Ticks love summer partly because deer and rats enjoy summer too, and ticks find both of those animals to be gracious hosts. Add in a mild winter and outdoor activity peaking in the summer months, and you have the primary ingredients of a recipe for disaster.

You can short-circuit the damage caused by ticks by:

• Wearing long-sleeved shirts, pants, and good hiking boots when outdoors, and making it a habit to check yourself — and any pets — when returning from a hike or other outdoor activity.
• Avoiding bushes and trees that may host ticks by sticking to the center of a hiking trail, for instance, and making sure your building manager keeps foliage trimmed away from the building.

Speaking of arachnids: we’re not big fans of spiders and assume you’re not, either. Evict spiders from your apartment with these tips.

Apartment Under Siege? Maybe It’s Time to Bug Out!

Keeping your apartment pest-free requires teamwork between you and building management. After all, you can dutifully check yourself for ticks after hiking your favorite nearby trail. Still, if precautions such as trimming foliage and conducting seasonal sprayings aren’t taken, your summer pest prevention efforts will be for nothing!

If you need an apartment with better pest control, then it’s time to start your search! Begin looking for your next (pest-free!) apartment at ApartmentSearch.com to find your ideal place.