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How Can You Prevent Pests From Getting in Your Home?

Pest Prevention

Nobody likes seeing their homes and office facilities plagued with pests, right? Well, this is the reason why we all need to take specific actions to ensure that our properties remain as free from pests as possible. These measures are simple no doubt; but at times tend to be looked past, owing to how it is the simplest of things that are first to be ignored. Here are a few measures for you to consider for keeping your home and business pest free:

Inspect Your Home and Yard

One of the simplest tips that we can employ for keeping our homes and businesses pest free is the conductance of routine inspections of our homes, business places, and open spaces. This is especially important during the winter season, considering how the season has got the potential of causing considerable wear and tear to our homes. Once the winter snow begins to thaw, therefore, there cannot be a more important time for a thorough inspection. Inspect your homes and other business buildings for any cracks that might have appeared during the winter. Keep your eyes open for broken seals as well.

On top of that, it is essential to remove wood debris from these cracks and your entire yard in general. It is because wood is haven for these insects and encourages them to grow and thrive in numbers. It is also important to remember to trim the bushes and trees in your yard, every once in a while, down to such a height that rodents and other pests are unable to gain access to your attic and roof.

Clean Your Kitchen

Believe it or not, your kitchens are most prone to getting infested by pests. Bearing that in mind, it is important to take extra care of their cleanliness, right? However, regardless of how much you might try to focus on keeping pests away from the kitchen, you will find that you are simply unable to do so. Your kitchen might be spotless, no doubt, but it might still have an ant problem. The reason for such pest infestations lies in how your kitchens are only clean from the outside and not clean on the inside.

What this means is that you need to clean your kitchen thoroughly and deeply, every once in a while, to get rid of the pests for good. During your deep cleaning procedures, remember to take care of the sugary spills, crumbs and the pile of dirty dishes. Clean your oven thoroughly as well. On top of that, it is recommended to use a dishwasher for washing your dirty dishes, rather than the sink. Similarly, trash is supposed to be dumped in sealed containers and not open bins.

Standing Water

Just as human beings are born and raised in homes, a majority of the pests thrive in standing water. If you have got standing water on your property, it simply means that it will be next to impossible for you get rid of your pest problem permanently. After rainfalls, in particular, you need to ensure that water is not allowed to stand on your property for extended durations of time.

On top of that, it is imperative to have your gutters, plumbing, and yard checked regularly for excess moisture, owing to how it could lead to a problem of rodents. The problem of moisture is severe and requires excessive care. What it means is that simple jobs such as overwatering your yard might seem harmless on paper, but they can lead to insects and infestation as well.

Lighting

Do you have a problem with insects flying in your homes? You would wish to reduce flying insects in your rooms, halls and business facilities, right? Well, to make that happen, you will need to take care of the lights that you have got installed. For those who don’t already know, standard mercury vapor lights attract insects and pests. So, replacing them with halogen or pressure sodium vapor lights will decrease the number of flying insects that you find in your homes manifold.

It is not only the kind of light that you have got installed that matters but the color of the light is of utmost importance as well. Bulbs with yellow, pink or orange tints will be least attractive to flying insects. On top of that, it is advisable to place the light on exterior walls that are as farther away from the door as possible. These are all small things, but they certainly do help when it comes to making your home and business facility pests free.

Hire a Professional

When it comes to keeping your homes and businesses pests free, the fact of the matter is that there are only so many areas that you can cover. The reason for this lies in how you are not professionally trained for taking care of pests and insects for good. What this means is that you should consider hiring a professional contractor for the job, in case you are unable to take care of it on your own. A professional contractor will ensure that not only the job of making your home and business pest free is done in the best possible manner but your precious time is saved as well.

Let’s be honest for a moment: none of us can do a job quite like a professional can, right?

When you take it all into perspective, you have got to say that it appears fairly simplistic to keep your home and business office pests free. However, it would not be wrong to suggest that the job often proves to be a bit too much to handle for average Joes. Bearing this in mind, your safest bet would be to contact us to take care of your predicament.

How Do Mice and Other Pests Get Into Your Home?

Mouse Hole

It’s the time of the year when critters are preparing for cold weather and finding places to nest for the winter. We’re already seeing an increase in reporting of mice and rats. Animals are relentless at finding ways to get into your home, so you may want to inspect your home before it gets too cold. In fact, according to PestWorld, 45% of all rodent infestations happen in the fall and winter!

Pests like mice are relentless in the fall and winter as they seek warmth and food. Mice are like mini-torpedoes, with incredibly strong jaws and a body that can fit through cracks a fraction of their size. These pests will find cracks in your foundation, walls, attics, and floors – especially near food – and chew until they can make it in and out. And within months, a couple mice can reproduce into hundreds of mice!

Pests cause structural damage inside your walls, attics, and crawl spaces as they build out their new home in yours. The best means of keeping them out is to inspect and remove any openings or things that attract them.

  • Piping – if you have water pipes that run through crawl spaces, be sure you don’t have any leaks. Even the smallest drip can be a great water supply for a small rodent. Damp spots are magnets for insects as well.
  • Foundation – be on the lookout for any holes or large cracks in your foundation. Small animals can get into those gaps and then chew their way through wood to get to warmth.
  • Doors and windows – a loose door or window can provide enough of a gap for pests to squeeze through. Even a screen with a rip in it can attract unwanted pests.
  • Chimney – since you haven’t used it in a while, have your chimney cleaned and inspected. Birds and other small animals may have created nests without you realizing it.
  • Roof – broken shingles and cracked caulk are gaps where pests and insects can enter your attic.
  • Crawl Spaces – try to ensure you have an access cover or door to stop your crawl space from becoming the local hotel for every pest in the neighborhood.
  • Ventilation – vents sometimes settle and provide a cozy superhighway and nesting ground right in your home.
  • Vegetation – outside of your home, it’s time to trim limbs and bushes that are touching your property. A great tree limb is a bridge for an animal to get safely in your attic or chimney. Cut them back a couple feet so that they can’t take the leap.
  • Firewood – store your firewood as far away from your home as possible while still being convenient.
  • Food – store food like cat and dog food in plastic containers that close tight. The scent of a free meal may be too good to pass up for a pest. And once they find a source, they’ll stay close to keep themselves fat and happy for the winter.

It’s not just a great idea to keep your home secure from pests, these are also ways that the cold air gets into your home and racks up your electric bill. Taking a few hours to check everything while the weather is nice can save you a few bucks a month on your utility bills as well!

If you hear odd noises in your home like scratching or chewing, you may already have someone setting up their little pet apartment. As well, you may see small droppings and mistake it for dirt. Keep alert to these as you may have an infestation already. Pests will do a great job of staying hidden during the daytime or when no one is home.

You can’t blame a family of pests for seeking shelter as the weather turns cold. And it’s not necessary to kill or poison these pests, they can be safely removed and relocated to a new home far away from yours. We can trap the animal and release it in an authorized catch and release location designated by the city or county.