Living with household pests? Here’s how to take them on.

Warmer weather often brings uninvited household pests, from bugs to mice. Before you hire an exterminator to handle a problem, learn what you can do yourself.

Except for termites and bedbugs, you should be able to cure most issues without a pro.

Here’s what to know about some specific pests:

If you can locate the ants’ nest, spray it with insecticide.

If the nest is outside, follow the ants’ movements to and from food sources. If the nest is inside a wall or otherwise inaccessible, cut off the paths ants follow by caulking cracks and crevices.

Also try using baits — our favorite is Terro Liquid. Place bait stations in many locations where ants can easily find them but that aren’t accessible to children and pets.

Because they are drawn to damp wood, you’ll need to prevent water from accumulating in your house. Clean gutters and downspouts and cut tree limbs and shrubs that overhang the house.

Keeping your home clean and dry is the first step. Caulk to seal cracks and other entry points.

You can try sticky traps or “bait stations.” Sticky traps probably won’t solve an infestation, but bait stations can stomp out a small one — still, it may take a week because they dispense slow-acting poison.

Boric acid is another effective roach killer. Blow it into cracks and crevices where people won’t come into contact with it.

Close off openings more than one-quarter inch in size through foundation cracks, around door and window frames, and elsewhere. After closing entry points, you may be able to bring a small infestation under control with traps. Peanut butter is an effective bait.

» READ MORE: Rats don’t run this city: Why Philly fields fewer rat complaints than New York City and D.C.

Place traps perpendicular to walls, with trigger ends toward the walls so rodents will run over them. Large infestations will require poison baits, which are usually anticoagulants.

Be careful to place them out of reach of pets and children, and don’t forget where you put them.

The most problematic pests? Bedbugs and termites.

Bedbugs are notoriously difficult to control. Since sanitation won’t prevent bedbugs or get rid of them, you’ll likely need to hire a diligent, experienced exterminator, and you will probably need a series of treatments.

Your best bet is to contract with a company to perform a rigorous initial treatment and follow up with scheduled inspections and re-treatments for a year.

Most pests are unpleasant, but termites can wreck your house.

If you hire an exterminator, be wary of operators who push bait systems. Because the bait stakes used to monitor termite activity are designed to attract termites, sticking several in the ground around the perimeter of your home probably will attract termites.

 These companies will require an expensive long-term contract to monitor the bait stations, and once the baits have done their job, the companies may use the evidence of infestation to sell you a warranty against future infestations.

Be wary and skeptical of any pest control service or product that markets itself as green. Checkbook has found that many companies that claim to provide natural solutions employ the same pesticides and methods used in conventional treatments.

Even if a pest control method is labeled “natural” or “nonsynthetic,” read the product safety label carefully — companies should supply them, upon request. To learn about a pesticide, check the EPA’s pesticide selector website.

If you find a notice that an EPA review is underway — or that researchers or citizens’ groups are urging one — it’s a red flag. Natural is an ambiguous term, and nonsynthetic pesticides still can be harmful to your family and the environment.

If you do end up hiring a pest control service, shop around — there are big differences in quality, and you don’t have to pay more for good service.

Checkbook found big company-to-company differences when it asked area consumers to rate pest control services they had used. Some outfits were rated “superior” overall by 90% or more of their surveyed customers, but other companies received such favorable ratings from fewer than half their surveyed customers.

If you’re ready to call in a professional, Checkbook.org’s ratings of local pest control services for quality and price can help you find one that will do the job right for a fair price. Until May 5, Inquirer readers can access Checkbook’s report free via Checkbook.org/Inquirer/pests.

Get multiple estimates, and beware of annual contracts that cost hundreds of dollars. For most pests, a single treatment done well should suffice. Avoid getting and paying for applications you don’t need.

If you think you have termites or bedbugs, it’s especially important to get multiple proposals. Some companies recommend treatment when there is neither an active infestation nor serious threat of one.

For termites, ask whether they recommend treating only part of your home or its entire perimeter — you’ll save big if a company can wipe out your infestation without a house-wide treatment. To treat a small termite infestation, companies quoted prices ranging from $1,000 to more than $3,000 to Checkbook’s undercover shoppers.

Get any company guarantee in writing, and check what it offers: Will the company pay for additional pest damages or just re-treatment? How often will it come out to inspect at no extra charge? And what do you have to do to keep the guarantee in effect?

Delaware Valley Consumers’ Checkbook magazine and Checkbook.org is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help consumers get the best service and lowest prices. It is supported by consumers and takes no money from the service providers it evaluates.