How to Get Rid of Bugs Indoors

Bugs like a comfortable home for the same reasons you do: food, water, and shelter. When they find all three inside, ants, cockroaches, spiders, silverfish, and other common house bugs settle in. The good news is that a few simple habits, plus a long-lasting indoor barrier, can take bugs off your counters and off your mind.

Key Takeaways

• Bugs come indoors looking for food, water, and shelter, so cutting off those three things is the foundation of indoor bug control.
• Sealing gaps around doors, windows, and pipes keeps many bugs from getting in at all.
• Treat bugs as soon as you notice them; small problems are easier to solve than established ones.
• Ortho Home Defense Max Indoor Insect Barrier kills and prevents ants, roaches, and spiders for up to 12 months indoors on non-porous surfaces.
• Keep people and pets out of treated areas until the spray has completely dried.

The most effective way to keep bugs out is to make your home harder to enter and less rewarding once they’re inside. That means sealing entry points, storing food tightly, fixing moisture problems, and cutting down on clutter. None of these steps takes long, and together they remove most of what draws bugs indoors in the first place.

Tiny gaps around doors and torn window screens work like open invitations. Check screens, windows, doors, and the spots where pipes and wires enter your home.

• Caulk cracks around window frames, baseboards, and pipe openings.
• Repair or replace torn screens.
• Add weather stripping and door sweeps; they keep out drafts and bugs at the same time.

You’re not the only one looking for a late-night snack. Pantry bugs go after flour, cereal, baking mixes, crackers, dried pasta, dried fruit, nuts, popcorn, and even spices. Ants go for anything sweet, Indianmeal moths favor grains and nuts, and flour beetles will eat almost anything in a dry-goods cabinet.

• Store food in tightly sealed containers, and buy smaller packages you’ll use quickly.
• Keep flour in the freezer if pantry bugs have been a problem.
• Wipe up crumbs and spills right away.
• Don’t forget pet food: store it sealed, and pick up bowls between meals.

Bugs need water as much as food, and some, like silverfish, springtails, and house centipedes, prefer damp spaces.

• Fix leaky faucets, drains, and pipes.
• Make sure your air conditioner, washer, and dryer are draining properly.
• Run a dehumidifier in basements and other spaces that stay damp.
• Check the attic for roof leaks or condensation.

Regular housekeeping takes away the crumbs and hiding places bugs depend on, especially in the kitchen.

• Empty trash cans often and vacuum weekly.
• Scrub kitchen-sink and bathtub drains, since drain flies breed in the buildup inside them.
• Recycle stacks of newspapers, magazines, and cardboard boxes; cockroaches like to hide in them.

Firewood, compost bins, and yard waste make great hiding places for bugs that later wander inside.

• Store firewood away from the house, and check each armload for hitchhikers before you bring it in.
• Keep landscape beds free of plant debris.
• Trim tree and shrub branches so they don’t touch your siding or roof.
• Empty standing water, which can become a mosquito breeding spot.

Treat bugs as soon as you notice them, because a few bugs are much easier to manage than an established population. Start by identifying what you’re seeing, since the right approach depends on the pest. Then pair cleanup with a product labeled for that bug, such as a bait for ants or a ready-to-use spray for crawling insects. Always follow the label directions.

The Ortho Home Defense line includes baits, aerosols, and ready-to-use sprays, so you can match the product to the problem. If you’re not sure which bug you have, the Common House Bugs section below links to guides for each one.

Indoor bug sprays like Ortho Home Defense can be used in homes with kids and pets when you follow the label directions. The product label is your most important guide: it tells you where to apply, how to apply, when your family can return to the treated area, and how to store the product.

Never spray pets with an indoor bug spray. These products are made for surfaces like baseboards and cracks, not for animals. If your dog or cat has fleas or ticks, use a veterinarian-approved product registered for use on pets, and ask your veterinarian which one is right for your animal.

Store bug spray in its original container, properly closed, in a cool, dry place out of reach of children and pets, such as a high or locked cabinet. If your sprayer has an on/off knob or nozzle, turn it to “OFF” before you put it away.

The most common house bugs are ants, cockroaches, earwigs, flies, house centipedes, silverfish, stink bugs, and spiders. Each has its own habits and preferred hiding places in your home, so knowing which one you’re dealing with points you toward the right fix. Here’s a quick guide, with links to a more in-depth article on each.

Ants are expert scavengers, and they’re quick to find any food that isn’t sealed. Once one finds a crumb, it leaves a scent trail for others to follow. Learn more in How to Get Rid of Ants in the Kitchen.

Cockroaches look for warmth, moisture, and food, and even a spotless home can attract them. They hide in tight, dark spaces during the day and come out at night. See our guide on How to Get Rid of Cockroaches.

Earwigs look more intimidating than they are. They usually wander inside by accident, since they prefer to feed on plants and other insects outdoors. Read How to Kill, Control and Prevent Earwigs.

House flies are drawn to food scraps and garbage, and they can carry germs from one surface to another. Learn more in How to Kill House Flies.

House centipedes move fast on long legs, which can be startling, but they actually hunt other household insects. They like damp basements and bathrooms. Learn how to control and prevent centipedes.

Silverfish are thin, silvery insects with three tail-like bristles, most active at night. They like damp areas and feed on starches, including paper and book bindings. See our guide to killing, controlling, and preventing silverfish.

Stink bugs prefer plants to pantry food, but they often move indoors in fall looking for a sheltered place to spend the winter. Learn more on how to keep stink bugs out of your home.

Spiders are valuable in the garden because they eat insects that damage plants. Inside, though, most people would rather not share the space. Learn how to keep spiders out of your home.