Prevent Fall Pests
The key to dealing with fall pests is to prevent them from entering your home. Fall is the time many bugs and other pests make their way into your home in search of food or a warm place to spend the colder winter months. Just a few of the pests looking to make their way into your home this fall are stinkbugs, ants, cockroaches/palmetto bugs, spiders, millipedes, fleas and rodents.
Preventing fall pests takes a little planning and effort but avoiding infestation is well worth it. Here are the top tips for preventing fall pests.
1. Declutter, organize and clean your cabinets. This prevents pests from finding food in your cupboards.
2. Seal cracks and crevices on the exterior of your house using caulk or steel wool. Fill in any gaps around utility pipes and lines.
3. Tightly seal all food and storage containers. Air-tight containers are key to keeping pests out of your stored food.
4. Eliminate cardboard boxes. Pests love to nest in cardboard boxes. Get rid of boxes and prevent pests from nesting in them.
5. Move firewood to a location away from the home. Pests like to congregate near firewood so keeping it farther away from your home keeps the pests away too.
6. Use screens on all attic vents, foundation vents and chimneys. This is especially useful for keeping rodents out.
7. Repair any damaged screens or window seals. This keeps bugs and insects from inviting themselves into your home.
8. Install or check and repair door sweeps. Sweep intruding bugs right back out the door.
9. Check pipes and plumbing for any leaks that could attract pests. Pests need water to survive. Eliminate sources of water and you eliminate pests.
10. Keep outdoor lighting to a minimum to avoid attracting pests to the light.
With a little bit of effort, you can help prevent fall pests from infesting your home. This combined with your regular pest control service from The Pest Force should help keep you pest free this fall and winter. If a pest does happen to break through the barrier, give us a call. We’ll take care of your fall pests and give you peace of mind.