5 Common Apartment Pests (and Tips for Getting Rid of Them)

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5 Common Apartment Pests (and Tips for Getting Rid of Them)

Bonface Landi · Jun 8, 2021
Young man stresses as cockroaches take over his living space.

Apartment buildings make ideal shelters for pests seeking warmth and food. No matter the size of your apartment, pests can easily find their way in and cause a disturbance.

Here are the five pests that are particularly common around this time of year, as well as a few helpful tips for getting rid of them:

Ants

Ants are the most common pests you’ll find in apartments. Given their wide range of species, ants can be found almost everywhere. More often than not, you’ll find them indoors looking for food containers or crumbs left unattended. They often use pheromone trails and follow each other to these food sources.

In terms of their shape and size, ants are tiny insects that can be difficult to spot. For instance, you might not notice one or two ants on your kitchen floor. It’s much easier to identify a whole line of them heading to a bowl of pet food or a sugar spill.

Cockroaches

Exterminator sprays under a living room couch to clear cockroaches from an apartment.

Cockroaches are very common in apartments. In most cases, they thrive in urban centers where they have easy access to underground tunnels and plenty of apartment buildings. Without proper prevention methods, cockroaches can be quite a nuisance.

One of the most common species of these pests is the German cockroach. These have a unique pair of brown stripes running the length of their wings and mostly thrive in warm temperatures, with cold weather proving to be problematic for them. For that reason, the summer is usually when your apartment is at the highest risk of cockroach invasions.

Indian Meal Moths

These are also some of the most common apartment pests, mainly going after your stored food products. If left alone, these insects can cause a lot of damage in the apartment, mostly because they leave larvae that can contaminate several pounds of dry food like cereal and flour all at once. When the eggs mature and hatch, the larvae consume the food and emerge as adults. This cycle continues until the stored food is fully contaminated.

An Indian meal moth infestation can spread quickly and cause significant damage. Keep in mind that moths are structurally tiny and can hide in even the smallest of places. One way you can manage these pests is by thoroughly cleaning every crevice and crack in your jars, cans, and pots, discarding any infected food as you go.

Rodents

House Mouse

Rats and mice are some of the most unpleasant pests found in apartments. They’re noisy, fast, and bigger than most insects. Even worse, rodents can spread disease and cause damage to your furniture and walls. They’re especially good at chewing through hard materials, but these pests can also contaminate food by chewing through plastic bags and cardboard boxes. Some common places rodents tend to hide include under furniture, behind refrigerators, and inside cabinets, among other dark places.

Spiders

Spiders are found in apartments and homes all over the world. And though they’re certainly terrifying, they actually cause a lot less apartment damage compared to the other critters mentioned in this article. Even though spiders can bite, and a few of them are poisonous, most spiders are harmless. In fact, most spiders tend to stay away from humans to protect themselves — that’s why you’ll usually find them cluttered high up in walls where you can’t easily reach them.

Spiders use their webs to catch prey, which means they’re more likely to live near an apartment’s entrance points. Of course, since they feed on other pests to survive, they also tend to help curb your home’s overall pest population. Still, having them wandering around your apartment isn’t exactly a good idea, and you should always take the necessary steps to get rid of them.

Tips for Getting Rid of Pests

Older woman uses a swatter to try and get pests out of her apartment.

There are several ways you can get rid of pests, but we’ve found these methods to be the most effective:

Use Insecticides

One way you can get rid of pests is by using insecticides. Simply apply the appropriate one in areas where pests tend to hide. These areas include under furniture, behind the refrigerator, in dark corners, and even up in the attic.

Keep Your Floors Clean

No matter what kind of floor you have, you should always sweep, vacuum, or mop it as regularly as possible. The dust and crumbs that accumulate here quickly spread to the rest of your home, drawing all sorts of pests in from the outside.

Seal Food Tightly

The way you store food will go a long way towards controlling pests like the Indian meal moth. Avoid purchasing food with damaged or dusty packaging. Furthermore, you should store dry foods in metal or glass containers that seal tightly. This will help keep pests out and save your food from potential infestation.

Get Rid of Clutter

The dust accumulated in cluttered parts of your home attracts rodents and insects like nothing else. That’s why we can’t stress enough how important it is to eliminate any dirt in your apartment and ensure it’s always clean.

Bottom Line

Exterminator sprays an apartment with pesticides to clear it of pests.

Pests can be a nuisance to any apartment dweller. Being able to successfully deal with these tiny creatures before they spread will save you both time and money down the road. Maintaining high standards of cleanliness and keeping your food in tightly-sealed containers are just a couple easy ways to make sure pests never come inside in the first place.

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