Preparing a Blue Springs Home for a Pest Visit, Room by Room

The day before

The day before the visit, clear the work areas, bag the open food and move the things that block access. Do not move large furniture into other rooms, since that can spread insects or animals.

Start with the kitchen. Clear the counters, empty the cupboard under the sink and bag the bread, cereal, sugar and pet food. Store them sealed in a cupboard or a box with a lid. Move small appliances off the counter so the technician can reach the wall behind them.

Then clear the access to the garage, the attic hatch and the crawl or cellar. A path to each one, with the light working, saves time on the day. Note any woodpile, shed or stored box against the house, since the outside check depends on it.

• Kitchen counters clear, and food bagged and sealed
• Under-sink cupboard emptied
• Path to the garage, attic hatch and crawl or cellar cleared
• Woodpile, shed and planting touching the house noted

Bedrooms and bathrooms

Bedrooms and bathrooms are where bed bugs, roaches and some ants are most often found. Clear the space under the bed and the sink, and leave the bedding in place unless the technician asks for it to be bagged.

For a bed bug or a flea job, the technician gives a written preparation sheet, and the household follows it. Bedding is bagged only when the sheet says to, and items are kept sealed until the work is done. Moving the bed or the sofa before the inspection can spread the insects, so leave it where it is.

In the bathroom, empty the cupboard under the sink and move the bathmat and the laundry basket. Note any slow drain or damp corner, since those are part of the record.

The living areas and the garage

In the living areas, keep the floor clear where the technician will work, and in the garage keep the walls and the door seal visible. Keep pets and children out of the work areas until the technician has been through.

In the living room, move stored items off the floor along the outside walls, since the technician checks the skirting and the trim. In the garage, move boxes off the floor and away from the walls, and leave the garage door shut until the technician arrives.

Keep pet food and bowls indoors and out of the garage, and move pets into a room that will not be treated until the technician has seen the work area.

Outside

Outside, trim planting back from the wall, move mulch below the first course of brick or siding and keep a strip along the foundation clear. Leave nests in place, and tell the technician where they are.

Clear a strip along the foundation so the technician can see the wall and the ground. Move the woodpile away from the house if it is safe to do so, and empty any saucer or container holding water.

Do not disturb a nest, a wasp or a dead animal yourself. Keep children and pets away from it, and tell the call taker where it is so the technician can plan the visit.

What to write down before the visit

A short note of the facts is the most useful thing to give the technician. Write the room, the time, the number of insects or animals and whether any change has happened since the last visit.

Write down the room where the activity was seen, the time of day, the number of insects or animals and whether it is one sighting or many. Note whether anyone has been bitten or stung and whether a pet is affected.

Note any repair, renovation, new storage or planting since the last visit, and any earlier treatment in the building. The technician adds the note to the record, and the household keeps the record afterwards.

Living room and dining space

The living areas hold the skirting, the upholstery and the sofa frames, which are the places where a flea or a bed bug can hide. Keeping the floor edges and the seating accessible lets the technician examine them without moving the household's furniture unnecessarily.

Pull back rugs at the edges of the room so the technician can reach the carpet tack strip and the skirting. Do not drag heavy furniture into the middle of the room, since that moves any insects that are sheltering behind or beneath it. Where a sofa is to be examined, the technician will say which cushions to lift and which parts to leave alone until the plan is set.

Keep the windows and the blinds in their usual state. The technician checks the frames and sills for the signs of ants, spiders and wasps, and an open window can let a flying insect in during the visit.

Clothes, storage and the wardrobe

Stored clothing and bedding are common hiding places for insects that travel on fabric. Preparation for these items depends on the pest; the household should not bag clothing until the technician confirms the plan.

For a general visit, leave wardrobes as they are and clear only the floor beneath them. For a bed bug or flea job, the technician's preparation sheet says which items are to be laundered, which are to be sealed in bags and which should stay put. Bags should be closed tightly and labelled by room, so that they are returned to the same place after treatment.

Shoes, bags and coats that have been used outside should not be carried from room to room during the preparation. That step prevents a small problem from spreading while the household is working.

Food, pets and the kitchen cupboards

Food storage is the most important part of the preparation for most pests, and the household's pets need the same planning. Sealed containers and a clear counter do more than any single product.

Decant dry goods into sealed containers, including pet food, birdseed and flour, and store them off the floor. Wipe counters and the stove top the night before the visit, and empty the bin into an outdoor container with a lid. Pet bowls and litter should be moved out of the kitchen and out of the path the technician will take.

Tell the technician about any allergy in the household, and about any animal that is nervous around strangers. The information helps the visit proceed safely and quickly, and the animal can be kept in a separate room until the work is finished.

What to do the morning of the visit

On the morning of the visit, make the entry route clear, make sure the work areas are accessible and have someone ready to answer questions. A short check is enough.

Clear the path from the front door to the kitchen, the garage and any crawl or cellar access. Turn on the lights in those spaces so the technician can see without asking. Put the phone number of the person authorised to approve the plan where it can be reached during the visit.

Keep the household's own notes on the counter or in a folder. The technician will ask for the list of sightings, the dates and the changes since the last visit, and having them ready shortens the first conversation considerably.

After the visit: what to keep and what to report

The preparation does not end when the technician leaves. Keeping the cupboards dry, the food sealed and the notes current is what makes the next visit short and the next result clear.

Keep a small list on the fridge of what has been seen since the visit, with the date and the room. Add anything the technician asked the household to watch for, such as a fresh trail, a new dropping or a damp corner. The list is the first thing the technician will ask for at the return visit.

Continue the habits the visit started: food sealed, counters wiped at night, the bin lidded and any drip reported. Those habits are free and they support any treatment that was placed. If the household is unsure whether a sign is new, it should be noted and mentioned at the return visit rather than acted on alone.