Bermuda, an attractive place to live — modern, high pay, warm weather and beaches everywhere. Like any good lure it seems idyllic. Those planning to come here to work are usually told the downsides of high rent and high humidity. They are advised to say good morning to everyone but are they warned they will share those expensive abodes with large flying roaches, regular visits from an entire colony of ants and spiders? Not usually.

My husband moved here from Europe last September and every night sat with fly swatter in hand poised to pounce on every roach, moth anything that crawled or flew into the apartment. I let him. I figured it filled the masculine hunter instinct in him.

It reached the stage where he proudly announced how many kills he’d made and in how many strikes. He seemed to long for a one-to-one ratio — you know, 10 roaches in 10 hits. He never quite made that, and never managed to kill two with a single swat. Winter changed the programming on this nightly event but with the return of summer I know the new season will start.

In an effort to avoid this show, I spoke with local exterminators trying to find a way to keep the pests out of the house altogether. All agreed that some roaches, ants and spiders are inevitable no matter how clean you are. It’s just part of living in paradise and most of us learn to accept it. We spray when we see a roach, ant army or spider.

The insecticides kill the small creatures but are also poisonous to us.

Walter Saul, operations manager of Bermuda Pest Control, is not quick to tell customers they need his professional insecticide services. He offers advice on non-toxic and low toxic methods of control.

“Most people could do their own pest control,” he said.

“But, it requires vigilance and many people don’t have the time.

“There are also people who just don’t want to handle or see any bugs, and there are some who don’t want to handle the chemicals.”

Bermuda Pest Control does have homes that it services regularly. The frequency of visits and the type or product used is based on the personality of the customer.

“It depends on people’s level of tolerance,” said Mr. Saul. “We get calls from regular customers who say they saw two ants in the kitchen last week. Another typical call is that they found a dead roach in the bathtub a day or two after we had sprayed.”

People with such low tolerance for insects even want the exterminators to return and remove any dead insects that surface.

“We tell them it’s okay, that they can lift out the dead roach and throw it in the trash or vacuum it out,” said Mr. Saul.

For the more hardy he offered me specific advice on the top three offenders: ants, spiders and roaches.

Boric acid, available at local pharmacies, is the low-toxic method that can be effective against all three pests.

Anthony Tucker of Sun Island Pest Control suggested sprinkling the powder wherever you have an ant or spider problem but especially around window sills and door thresholds.

“Baby powder will also “Baby powder will also work,” he said. “They don’t cross it because they don’t like the texture.” Diluting some boric acid in a small container of water and placing under the fridge behind the stove and under the kitchen sink will kill roaches he said.

Mr. Saul advised to mix some boric acid with a bit of dog food or peanut butter, to attract ants. But he warned that sometimes ants are specifically seeking something sweet and so mixing a bit with jam can also be effective.

The mixture should be placed in a closed container with boreholes that allow the ants in but safeguard infants and pets. The same bait mixture can be effective against cockroaches but must be left in an open container well out of the way of children, pets and food. Mr. Saul said the mixture kills both the large flying roaches and the small tan ones.

“The little tan ones are more of a nuisance and more difficult to control,” he said. “To help prevent them I would advise people to inspect their grocery purchases especially fresh fruit and vegetables, sacks of potatoes and cartons when you buy from wholesalers.”

Eileen Davies, owner of Pied Piper Pest Control, agreed and suggested people check all brown paper bags and boxed items for roach eggs before bringing them into the home.

Guarding against roaches completely is impractical, as it would require an airtight abode. “Even the very large roaches can find their way in through a crack as thin as a dime,” said Mr. Saul. “This means they can get under doors and between windows.”

He suggested setting bait outside the home is the best preventative measure for roaches inside. Homemade boric acid baits or commercial baits sold at local home and garden stores are effective he said. Boric acid is effective in the control of spiders in a roundabout way.

According to Mr. Saul, lots of spiders in the home usually indicate lots of ants are around.

“Spiders like to eat ants and with a steady food supply they will be difficult to get rid of,” he said.

But in addition to attacking the ant problem, the best method of clearing up spiders is to vacuum them up. I’ve found that they thrive in the vacuum. Mr. Saul’s advice? Add some cedar chips in the vacuum bag. Cedar kills most insects — spiders definitely. Spiders, especially those daddy-long-legs, move away very quickly when the vacuum is close to them. Many escape to the ceiling and corners of walls.

For this reason, it is important to vacuum thoroughly and to include the ceilings and corners of walls.

Most importantly keeping the home clean is the best way to avoid visits from insects. They come around only to eat. If there’s nothing to eat they’ll move on quickly to some place where there is.