Control Pests This Winter
Article By Austin Hemmestead, Advanced Pest Control
Family owned and servicing the B/CS area since 1994
AFTER MONTHS OF RELENTLESS HEAT, IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO FORGET ABOUT PEST PROOFING YOUR HOME IN PREPARATION FOR THE UPCOMING WINTER SEASON. Due to the local climate, there aren’t any shortages of pests and rodents that will try to infiltrate your home during the cold weather months. To keep them out of your home, here are some effective tips.
Having Your House Sprayed On A Quarterly Schedule
is one of the most effective ways to keep pests out of your home. It rarely gets cold here long enough to kill off ants and other pests, so continuing your treatments through the cooler months is ideal. All it takes are some warmer days and pests are back to being as active as they were in summer. They’re a lot like people when we try to get inside somewhere warm when the weather gets cold. Pests will be looking to get inside ill-prepared homes to find food and water that may not be available to them outside.
Seal Pest And Rodent Entry Points
Keep any cracks or crevices sealed to prevent pests from entering your home. A hole as small as a nickel won’t stop a determined mouse from entering your home. Closing off these areas can better protect you against eager pests looking for a place to stay this winter. Also, when storing decorations or other things over the holidays, it’s good to stay away from cardboard boxes that rodents could chew through. A cardboard box makes the perfect breeding ground because they are dark, warm, and enclosed. Rodents can chew on cardboard to help dull their teeth and satisfy their need to gnaw while using them to protect their growing brood. Plastic tubs with a good seal, would be a much better option for storage to preserve the longevity of your items.
Mosquitos Are Still Active In The Cooler Months!
Mosquitos don’t go dormant until it drops to around 50 degrees. In our area, they are still a nuisance through much of the fall and winter season. Mosquitos breed in stagnant water or in moist landscape. It is not uncommon for our area to experience rain rather than snow during the cold weather season. A little moisture could have mosquitoes taking over your yard. It helps to proactively spray your yard monthly for mosquitos. It is also recommended to fill in holes or remove objects in your yard that may hold standing water to prevent mosquito reproduction.
Maintain Effective Window Screens
As the weather starts to cool off, opening windows to let the cool breeze come through might be pleasant activity after the sweltering summer months. It is important to ensure that your window screens are sealed well without holes for pests to enter through. It’s also a good idea to check your weather stripping around entry doors and windows. If you can see any light around the bottom of the door, that’s plenty of space for pests to come inside.
Inspect New Homes For Termites
When moving into a new home it’s best to check if it has been inspected or treated for termites. If it has been inspected or treated, there should be a sticker on the cabinet door under the kitchen sink that will indicate the date of inspection. A termite treatment typically lasts around 5 years, if it’s been longer than that it is recommend that you update your homes’ inspection. Homeowners should keep the soil, mulch or leaves from piling up close to the home’s foundation. This provides termites with conducive conditions that will entice them to enter your home and cause damage.
Overall, it’s best to have a regularly scheduled preventative pest control treatment to keep your home safe from unwanted pests and other critters this holiday season.