How to Rid an Air Conditioner of Pests

After you have labored to make your home as nice as possible it can be a serious disappointment when pests or insects decide to make a home in your air conditioner unit or ducts. You want to rid your home of the problem as fast as you can and take measures to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Signs and Smells of Life

Pests are always interested in real estate. For them, as with us, it is always a matter of location, location, location. They want to be a near food and water source and when they discover your air conditioner, they might think they have found the perfect spot. It could be that they are attracted to the cooking smells that waft through the breeze around the outdoor casing of your coils and compressor as it pulls out the warm air from your home. They might also be attracted to any drips or a full drain from the compressor’s hose. It could even be the slightly sweet smell of freon that has them making a beeline to the air condition. Be that as it may, you need to get rid of them.

Be Careful when Buying Supplies

You will need insecticide but remember as you visit home repair or gardening stores very low-level sprays might be the best idea for this problem. If your inclination is to go for the strongest possible can of spray, remember that it will permeate your home as the smell fills the ducts and travels from room to room.

Cleaning Out and Baiting the Air Conditioner

Step 1:

Shut down the air conditioner. After shutting down the thermostat look outside and find the power switch. Turn this to the off position then give the machine a few seconds to cycle down completely.

Step 2:

Looking around outside clean any debris from around the front of the machine. This gives vermin a place to hide and make a home. This means getting the leaves, branches and anything else that has accumulated in the machine into the trash.

Step 3:

Take the grill off the external compressor setting the screws aside in a container so they will be available when it's time to put the grill back on. Using the wet vac clean everything you find that you can reach. Use the brush and compressed air around the coils. Clean the machine casing thoroughly with the mild soap. Don’t get this on the coils or internal parts of the machine.

Step 4:

Place the traps or use the type of spray you intend to use. Close up the outside unit and power the machine back on. Wait a few minutes and turn the outside switch on then turn the thermostat back up. The pests should get the idea that the air conditioner isn’t a food source and leave it alone.