Here comes the holiday season, which seems never-ending at the end of the year, full of gifts, treats, and food. During this time of year, it’s crucial to protect your home from unwanted pests. Here are some holiday pest prevention tips to make your season pest-free.
Inspecting the Exterior of Your Home
Doing a thorough inspection of your home’s exterior can make all the difference. This is the time when the pests outside are looking to move inside your home for protection from the cold. Here are some tips to prevent that.
- Seal entry points – It’s important to seal entry points with mesh or caulk that you can find at your local hardware store. Doing this will prevent pests like mice, who can fit into holes the size of a pencil, from getting inside your home and causing an infestation. You can call our company for help with ground-level-seal-ups that we provide with our mouse service. A technician can also inspect for bigger entry points and they can provide a separate quote.
- Dispose of trash properly – During this time of year, a lot of waste can pile up. Make sure to throw away things, especially food, into bags that don’t rip easily and into bins with tight-fitting lids.
- Inspect firewood and plants – Pests like ants or termites are attracted to wood. It’s crucial to inspect it before bringing it into your home. Whether you are using it for your fireplace, wood stove, or just a bonfire, bringing in those pests and causing an infestation is something you can avoid. Also, storing it away from your home is important so they do not go towards your home once they finish with the firewood.
Precautions Inside of Home
While handling the chaotic holiday season, it can be frustrating to have pests at the same time. Here are some easy tips to incorporate into your day-to-day life to maintain a pest-free home.
- Maintain a clean home – Every week you should vacuum carpets, sweep floors after a meal, wipe down tables and countertops, and keep areas clutter-free – even more so during the holiday season. This makes the environment at your home more prone to be pest-free as they don’t have many things to be able to sustain themselves and cleaning eliminates pest-hiding spots.
- Hosting guests – With guests in and out of different homes, it’s important to take precautionary steps if you have someone staying over. Having guests check their luggage and items they bring for pests like bed bugs. It can prevent infestations which no one wants to deal with.
- Properly store items – Decorating is something everyone enjoys, and it’s common when one holiday ends to throw those decorations into a random corner to prepare for the next. It’s important to take the time to properly store those items in airtight bins to avoid having pests like spiders hiding in them. It also helps with staying organized and making decorating easier for next year!
Preventatives
While continuing to enjoy the holiday season and traditions, here are some tips that will allow you to continue to keep your home pest-free.
- Scheduling pest inspections and treatments – During the cold season, contrary to common misconception this is not the time that pests are just dying off and are no longer being a problem. This is actually the time of year when they are more prone to move inside your home looking for warmth and hiding spots to live in. To prevent this, it’s important to continue your regular maintenance treatment, even in the middle of winter, to keep the barrier around your home. If you do notice anything, schedule an inspection and treatment with a technician.
- Inspecting decorations – Most people enjoy decorating their homes for the holidays, both inside and out. It’s important to inspect outside decorations before bringing them back inside once the holiday is over. Also, clean them and properly store them to avoid pests harboring in them.
- At-home alternative – We are now at the time of year when so many activities are one after the other. With carving pumpkins, cooking traditional dishes, baking cookies and gingerbread houses, and many other things! Here are some tips to continue enjoying the seasonal fun while staying pest-free.
- Turkey remains: Once done with carving the turkey, you can put the carcass in a freezer to make stock or throw it away properly.
- Soaking pumpkins in vinegar: Having pumpkins outside, it’s common for pests to be naturally attracted to them and use them as a food source. A tip to prevent this is once finished cleaning it and carving, you can soak it in vinegar for about 30 minutes and it will deter pests.
- Baking treats: While baking treats like cookies, it’s important once you finish to store them in containers or in a safe, out-of-reach area, to make sure pests are not able to get to them and use it as a food source.
- Christmas trees and greenery: With trees, garlands, and wreaths, they can have pests like spiders, mites, or small rodents harboring in them. It’s important before taking them inside your home, to shake them thoroughly or spray them with a strong jet of water.
To get ahead of preventing pests harboring inside your home during the holiday season and schedule an appointment, or with any questions about tips or treatment methods, please call our office at (630) 451-8101