The best defense against insects and bugs of all kinds is to make it difficult for them to invade your home from the start. You can do this by.

• Keeping doors, windows and screen doors tightly sealed and closed throughout the year, but particularly during the spring mating season.
• Keeping floors, counter-tops and cupboards clean and dry. In similar fashion, store any opened food in airtight containers and clean off your breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes right after eating.
• Creating a chemical barrier around your home. A six-foot application of insecticide around the entire perimeter of your house is recommended since insects and bugs like to wriggle through door cracks and squeeze through minute cracks in walls and foundations.
• Treating the places bugs like to hide, such as along baseboards, under sinks, along windows and doors, in the garage, in the basement and even in cupboards (after everything has been removed).
• Eliminating potential insect water sources such as dripping faucets, leaky plumbing, pet water bowls, soggy sponges and wet rags, as well as soda and beer cans that still contain a few drops of liquid. Many common household pests can go weeks and even months without food, but they can't survive long without water. Make it your business to ensure they don't get it!