While it can take time, preventing pests at home can be relatively easy. To prevent pests you need to do three things:

Get rid of food sources, water sources and living areas. One of the first steps is to remove and clean up any food waste, standing water or clutter.

Check the outside of your home to make sure you do not have anything that may draw pests to your home. Wood should be properly stacked off the ground, garbage bins should be tightly closed; tree branches should not be touching the house.

Check for any cracks in both the inside and outside walls of the house. The kitchen seems to be the biggest place for pests, so take extra steps in there.  Clean up dirty dishes quickly; take garbage out promptly, do not keep recyclables in the house; wipe up spills and dry them; do not leave open food containers sitting around. 

For more information, you can learn more about getting rid of ants and getting rid of rats from this website: Get rid of pests