Winter can make pests just as problematic as they are in summer. Pests will try to escape the chilly outdoor weather by sneaking into your home, where warm air, dry conditions, and an abundance of free food and water are available to them.
Pests can fit through surprisingly small gaps in order to enter your home. You’ll need to fill these gaps to keep pests out. However, they may also enter through areas that you can’t possibly close off.
Pest control companies want you to know about the importance of identifying and protecting–or repairing–possible pest entryways. Read on for important pest prevention info that every homeowner needs to know.
FOUNDATION CRACKS
Small cracks can form in your home’s foundation as it settles, or as moisture changes the ground underneath the concrete. Cracks are fairly common. However, you do need to repair them. Fill them with extra concrete to keep pests out. Cracks in your foundation and walls can carry small pests like ants and roaches from the ground outside your home to the interior of your home. Pest control experts recommend inspections for new cracks in the spring and fall. Semiannual inspections and repairs can drastically cut down on your risk of pests entering your house through the foundation.
WINDOWS AND DOORS
Don’t leave doors and windows wide open without an approved bug screen acting as an effective barrier. If you’re hosting guests in your backyard, make sure everyone closes the door after themselves as they go in and out. This can prevent pests from walking or flying right in after you.
But even if you have a bug screen, some small pests can fit through unsealed cracks in windows and doors. These gaps, as tiny as they are, can accommodate tiny pests like ants and fleas, as well as other annoying pests. Check the caulking around your windows and doors for gaps, and replace the caulking as necessary.
WALL PASSAGES
Cable lines, electrical outlets, pipes, and dryer vents provide useful amenities to your home. However, pest control services also refer to these areas as wall passages. As they pass from the outside to the inside of your home, insects can walk right through them and indoors. In fact, many people find pests like spiders nesting around outlets because they’re so easy for pests to traverse.
Check all wall passages for proper sealing, and if certain areas keep hosting pests, you may want to close them. Place outlet safety covers over troublesome outlets, close bathtub drains, and keep pests out.
Pest control experts can also help you find exterior issues, like holes in outdoor air conditioner tubing, that pests can use to enter your house.
PROTECTION FIRST
Unfortunately, there are some areas that you can’t seal up, even if they’re troublesome. Attic ventilation, crawl spaces, and dryer vents can’t be sealed airtight, so your next solution is to hire a pest control company to protect these areas.
Pest control treatment in Middletown, NY, also includes preventative treatments, including sprays that deter bugs from ever getting indoors. Contact Garrie Pest Control today to learn more about repairing pest entryways and applying pesticides that safely prevent infestations.
