Every home has its share of unwanted guests, whether that is ants, spiders, beetles, bugs, stinging insects or rodents. Moving into the fall months when such creatures are looking for a winter home, how can you keep them out? Well, it starts with work outside.
Trimming Trees and Shrubs and Limit Mulch
Any trees or shrubs that touch your home can be an avenue for insects and arachnids to enter your home. If limbs, branches, or other plant parts touch your home, it can be the gateway to your home. In a similar way too much mulch around your plants and shrubs can become a shelter for pests, which can also be a bridge for them to get into your home. So instead of mulching that flower bed, use materials that are less attractive to pests like rocks and pebbles for example. The bottom line is the fewer pests you have living outside your home, the fewer pests that can get inside your home.
Seal Windows and Doors
Unwanted creepy crawlies can wiggle through tiny gaps and cracks in the seals around doors and windows, so regular checks of these areas can help you to understand the egress points where critters can find to enter your home. Regular inspection of warped or broken doors and windows or things that don’t fit well will reveal how insects and arachnids are getting inside. Be sure you are repairing rips and tears in screens and that you are using screen mesh that has at least 200 holes per square inch.
Cracks and Gaps in Foundation
There are many openings for critters to get into your home, not just doors and windows. Inspect all around the outside and the foundation of your home to look for cracks, crevices, and gaps that your unwanted guests can enter. Look for missing roof shingles and gaps around utility lines, pipes, cable wiring and electric wiring. If you find an opening, it is better to seal it with copper mesh, coarse steel wool, sheet metal or mortar. Caulk is soft and easy for pests to chew through to gain entrance into your home.
Dispose of Trash and Litter Properly
Your household garbage can attract pests such as ants, roaches, and rodents, but so can yard waste. Pests can see yard waste as nesting material or a potential source of food. Ensure that all your trash cans have tight-fitting lids and clean the cans regularly along with the area in which the trash cans sit to remove debris and spills on which pests can feed. Be sure you are also keeping your yard, patio, deck, and garage free of plant clippings, leaf litter, and standing water, all of which provide a tempting environment for pests to frequent.
Lights, Interior Gaps and Cleanliness
Inspect the inside of your home where some gaps, cracks and crevices may only be visible from the inside. Use lighting other than white lights. Bulbs with pink, yellow or orange tints are less attractive to insects and arachnids. Keep light sources away from doors and windows, but not so far that they do not provide safe levels of lighting. They can be mounted on poles or posts near the entrances to help keep bugs away from windows and doors, so they don’t get in when you enter or exit your home. Clean your drains and check areas around plumbing for leaks, so there are no water sources for pests to use. Clean your home regularly to limit food sources for pests. Store food in sealed containers and resealable bags or plastic glass containers to limit access to food sources.
If you have pest problems now that you want to be rid of so that you can work on defensive measures to keep them away, give All Natural Pest Elimination a call. Contact us at 877-662-8449 to get a free inspection.
