No matter how frequently you clean a house, sometimes unwanted pests invade. Depending on where you live, the age and infrastructure of your home, and whether or not you have pets, pest control problems can range from cockroach, flea, and termite infestations to spider webs and cricket serenades.

Maintaining a healthy home is important, which means there are major considerations to weigh, when deciding on pest control methods.

When to Call and How to Choose an Exterminator

If you have termite, cockroach, flea or tick infestations, it is best to call a professional exterminator. It is also a good idea to compare exterminators and closely examine their products.

The text Making a Home: Housekeeping for Real Life suggests that you:

• obtain in-home estimates from exterminators, rather than telephone calls or email bids
• request Material Safety Data Sheets and copies of labels detailing pesticides to be used
• review an exterminator's license and insurance certifications
• get references that verify success in handling your specific pest control problem
• avoid unnecessary monthly contracts.

Natural Pest Control Methods for Spiders, Crickets, and Flies

Whenever possible, avoiding toxic chemicals and pesticides is a good idea, because it prevents illness in humans and pets. However, natural pest control methods often require a little more elbow grease.

For cockroaches, crickets, silverfish, earwigs, and slugs, try Niban granular bait, a boric-acid based pesticide. Advanced Dual Choice Ant Bait or a simple solution of 1 part dish soap and 10 parts water will also help rid your home of ants.

While not the most stylish solution, if you want a simple way to "shoo!" away outdoor flies, fill some resealable Ziploc bags with water and tape outside the doors, where flies are entering. This repels them. An old-fashioned fly swatter should do the trick inside.

Whether or not you are superstitious, most people have more difficulty deciding whether or not to kill crickets and spiders. Laying down duct tape, sticky side up, should trap crickets. And you can easily rid a location of spiders by confining them under a cup, slipping a stiff sheet of paper underneath, and carting ol' daddy long legs outside.

You may have heard this line from an English nursery rhyme: "If you wish to live and thrive, let a spider run alive." While we certainly cannot verify this claim, Renovators Place recommends taking an informed approach to pest control, which uses the least toxic methods.