Even people with spotless homes can find bugs inside from time to time. Bugs can crawl through the tiniest cracks when they’re looking for food and shelter, and when they find a comfortable spot, they tend to stay there. Unless you locate the bugs and deal with them quickly, they’re likely to multiply.
If bugs choose your electrical outlets as their new home, they can cause serious problems and damage your wiring. Knowing what to do to get them out of your electrical system can help you keep them out of your house for good.
Why Do Bugs Like to Live in Electrical Outlets?
Bugs are simple creatures that live to eat, sleep, and reproduce away from natural predators. Electrical outlets can be cozy places for them to hide, especially during cooler months. Outlets give bugs a perfect place to nest, particularly when they’re near a food source or a moist, humid space.
Recognizing these attractants can help you take proactive steps to minimize the appeal of your outlets to bugs.
Which Bugs Commonly Infest Electrical Outlets?
Knowing which bugs tend to make their homes in electrical outlets can help you prevent or deal with an infestation. The insects you’re likely to find in your outlets include:
Ants
Ants that crawl into electrical outlets are usually looking for food and a place to nest. Since they like sweets, they tend to show up in kitchens and pantries.
Bed Bugs
Bed bugs hide in outlets until they are ready to crawl in search of food. They often infest bedrooms or heavily used living areas. If they multiply, they may use electrical outlets as a means to travel throughout your home.
Cockroaches
Cockroaches are hated pests that love to hide in dark, warm, moist spots. These nocturnal insects often seek out electrical outlets in bathrooms and kitchens as resting places.
Termites
When termites infest your electrical system, they can cause structural damage to your house when they eat the wood that supports or surrounds the outlets.
Spiders
Spiders may seek out electrical outlets in out-of-the-way spaces to build webs or hunt other insects. They cause problems when they stay around long enough to cause electrical disruptions.
How Can Bugs Damage My Electrical Outlets?
Bugs are more than a creepy nuisance; they can also cause damage to your electrical system. Bed bugs and cockroaches are notorious for tracking in debris, leaving behind waste, and dying behind your walls. As their carcasses decompose, they can cause electrical contacts, wiring, and circuit boards to corrode, which can weaken the metals and create a fire hazard. If bug debris and nests come into contact with electrical sparks, they can ignite. Ants have been known to chew on electrical wiring or casings and cause short circuits. These electrical faults can trip your circuit breakers and cause you to lose power. Termites can damage the wooden structures near your electrical outlets, which may require expensive repairs down the road.
How Do I Get Bugs Out of My Electrical Outlets?
If you discover that your electrical outlets are infested with bugs, you need to take action. If you only see a few bugs and no other signs of trouble, you can try applying boric acid powder to the outside of the outlet and use a squeeze bulb duster to uniformly spread the powder inside the outlet. If this treatment fails to solve the problem, it’s time to call a professional. Spraying chemical pesticides into your outlets could damage your electrical system or create a situation where the bugs you kill actually attract other pests and make the problem worse. Pest control specialists have the right tools and expertise to locate and deal with insect infestations in your walls and clean out your outlets. They are trained to safely eliminate the bugs, and they can help you prevent them from returning.
Once you’re sure the bugs are gone from your outlets, it’s time to call an electrician to make an inspection, especially if you notice weird odors or have trouble with your switches or outlets. Electricians can determine if the bugs have damaged any wiring or electrical components and repair the system to ensure it will be reliable and safe to use.
How Do I Bug Proof My Electrical Outlets?
If you are confident that your electrical outlets are bug-free, you should take steps to keep it that way. Making efforts to prevent bugs from entering your outlets can reduce the chances of experiencing an infestation in the future. Here’s how to seal up your outlets:
Shut Off Power
Before you bug-proof your outlets, remember to shut off power to the relevant circuits.
Install Outlet Seals
Switch plate gaskets and outlet seals that are designed to eliminate drafts can also keep bugs out of your electrical system. By installing these devices behind your outlets’ cover plates, you can create a barrier that prevents bugs from getting into your walls. You can find outlet seals at hardware stores or online.
Seal Gaps and Cracks
To keep bugs away from your wiring, you can seal gaps around outlets with caulk. You can also use spray foam insulation to fill gaps behind switch plates and outlet covers. Take the plate or cover off the wall, then carefully spray the insulation into the cracks and open areas in the wall, taking care not to block any essential components. Since the foam expands, go slow and use as little foam as necessary. Once the foam sets, replace your plate or cover.
Once you’ve sealed your outlets, remember that keeping them dry and clean of debris will prevent bugs from being attracted to the area. Fixing leaks and airing out your space can go a long way towards reducing moisture levels in your house. You can also try using natural eucalyptus and peppermint oils to repel bugs away from your outlets.
Keep Your Electrical Outlets Bug-Free With Help From Mister Sparky
Bug-proof electrical outlets play an essential part in keeping your home safe and comfortable. The pros at Mister Sparky can help you remedy any electrical damage insects may have caused and help you protect your outlets from future infestations.