Mice & rats
9 min read
How to Get Rid of Mice in Walls Without Opening the Wall
You don't need to cut the drywall. Trap where the mice come out, seal the outside gaps first, and skip poison so nothing dies inside the wall. About $57–71 in supplies.
Category
Get Rid of Pests
Step-by-step plans for pests already in your home: find the source, remove it, keep it from coming back, and know when to call a pro.
Cockroaches
11 min read
How to Get Rid of Roaches for Good: A Step-by-Step Plan
Gel bait plus sticky traps, not sprays: clean up food and water, put pea-sized dabs of bait where roaches hide, and recheck every 2–4 weeks. Supplies start at about $24; shared quotes for a full pro treatment run $450–$1,500.
Mice & rats
10 min read
Mice or Rats in the Attic? How to Get Rid of Them Yourself
Snap traps along the eaves, metal over every roofline gap and a wet cleanup clear most attics. DIY supplies run about $57–71; shared pro sealing quotes run $1,400–$3,000.
Rats
12 min read
How to Get Rid of Rats: A Step-by-Step Plan for Your House
Rats need bigger traps and tougher sealing than mice. Here's the plan, step by step, for about $65–87 in supplies; shared pro quotes for sealing jobs run $1,400–$3,000.
Mice
8 min read
How to Get Rid of Mice Naturally: What Works, What Doesn't
Vinegar, peppermint and cats won't clear a house. Sealing gaps, snap traps and locked-up food will, with no poison involved, for about $57–71 in supplies.
Mice
11 min read
How to Get Rid of Mice in Your House: A DIY Plan
Two dozen snap traps, metal in every gap and food in sealed bins: the whole DIY plan costs $57–71 in supplies, versus a $2,000 median for pro sealing jobs homeowners shared.
Fall invaders
9 min read
How to Get Rid of Boxelder Bugs in Your House and Yard
Spray clusters on the outside wall with soapy water, vacuum the ones indoors without crushing them, and seal gaps 1/8 inch or larger before fall. Indoor sprays don’t help. About $15 in supplies.
Fall invaders
8 min read
How to Get Rid of Clover Mites (Tiny Red Bugs) in Your House
Vacuum or wipe them up with a damp cloth without crushing them, seal cracks around sunny windows, and keep a 3-foot strip of bare soil at the foundation. About $5 in caulk, no sprays indoors.
Fall invaders
9 min read
How to Get Rid of Cluster Flies in the Attic and Windows
Vacuum or swat the sluggish flies at your windows, use a UV light trap in the attic, and seal cracks on the sunny upper walls by mid-August. Fly paper and lawn sprays don’t help. About $5 in caulk.
Flies & gnats
11 min read
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies: Find the Source First
Remove what they breed in (ripe produce, unrinsed recycling, a sour mop, a dirty drain), then catch the rest in a jar of $1.29 cider vinegar with a drop of dish soap. No spray or exterminator needed.
Flies & gnats
12 min read
How to Get Rid of Fungus Gnats in Houseplants for Good
Let the top 1–2 inches of soil dry, catch adults on yellow sticky cards and water in Bti every 5–7 days for about 3 weeks. Supplies cost about $25.
Fall invaders
9 min read
How to Get Rid of Ladybugs (Asian Lady Beetles) in Your House
Vacuum them into a knee-high stocking instead of crushing them, then seal the cracks they use before they fly to the house next fall. Indoor sprays don’t help. Supplies run about $15.