As the nights get cooler, bugs and critters will seek shelter. Though your home is susceptible to bugs year-round, fall and winter are seasons of increased insect and pest activity. Your home, warm and loaded with food, might as well have a neon vacancy sign flashing above it.
There are more than 1,500 rodent species worldwide, and while only a few species will likely bother you this season, it is important to protect your home against them. Besides rodents, there are other pests that may try to sneak their way into your home as the temperature starts to drop such as spiders, cockroaches, bed bugs, and more.
If you are worried about a rodent infestation or an infestation of any kind of pest, you might be wondering how you can protect your home. Keep reading and learn more about your choices down below.
Seal Leaks and Gaps Where Pests Can Creep Through
Rodents use “ladders” such as latticework, powerlines, trees and bushes to gain entrance into your home. However, they can also climb walls and jump long distances.
An adolescent mouse can slip through a hole the size of a pen. With that in mind, you’ll need to inspect the exterior of your home, paying attention to these common entry points:
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Openings between gutters and fascia
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Vents and attic gables
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Crawl spaces and crawl space vents
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Gas, water, cable and other utility line connections to your home
In addition, weatherproof all windows and doors.
If you have a basement, you should also check if there are any spaces there. Cracks in the walls or floors may be perfect entry points for pests around your home. You should also consider other areas of your house such as chimneys, sideboards, and corners.
If your home is new, you might not have as much trouble with pests since your home is likely sealed off quite well from the outside world. But even so, you should give your home a good look to see if there are any spaces in which rodents and pests could sneak into your home. Mice only require a hole the size of a dime and a rat needs a hole the size of a quarter and they are in.
If you do happen to find some vulnerable spaces, you should seal them with the appropriate building material or use a copper mesh. That way, you can keep as many pests out of your home as possible.
Keep Pest Attractors Away From Your Home
Pests are in constant search of food, water and nesting material. Don’t give them a reason to come near your home. Keep the following away from your house:
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Stacks of firewood
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Garbage cans
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Standing water
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Yard debris
Likewise, keep your gutters clean. Leaves, twigs and spiny pods make for a good nest that they can build in your attic.
You might wonder how rodents and other pests could ever get into your home in the first place. After all, if all the doors and windows are closed, they should have no chance of coming in, right? Not necessarily.
Your home might be full of exposed spaces that you don’t even know about. Rodents and insects are able to squeeze through very small spaces, so if you let these spaces out of your line of sight, you might have a hard time knowing where those pests are coming from and how they get inside your house. To solve this problem, you should scan the edges of all of your windows.
Old windows in particular may have very small spaces along the edges where pests can crawl in. This is also true with doors. If your door doesn’t have a very good seal, it will be easy for rodents and insects to walk right into your home.
Pest-Proof Your Food Storage
During autumn, the temperature in most places will start to drop. Once this happens, all sorts of pests such as rodents and cockroaches will start to seek new homes that are warm and protective. Usually, these new locations happen to be residential homes.
Besides the fact that houses are generally warmer and more protected than the cold wilderness, homes are full of food that pests can smell from a long way away. For that reason, you will want to be more careful when handling food during the autumn and winter months. If you leave food sitting around, there is a good chance that you will stumble across rodents or other pests at some point.
For that reason, you should get into the habit of locking up your food in a safe location. Of course, you don’t really need to put a lock on your food, but you should seal it away in Tupperware, plastic bags, or other containers where pests can’t get to it or smell it. The worst thing you could do is leave food out in the open.
Your pantry is a smorgasbord for critters. Mice can tear through boxes of cereal and pasta and bags of flour and sugar. Keep grains in airtight containers such as glass jars. Large Rubbermaid bins are also good for protecting foods sealed in foil packets and plastic bags.
Also, be more diligent about cleaning up. Routinely sweep, vacuum and wipe down counters. Crumbs are enticing morsels to pests.
Leaving dirty dishes in the sink, crumbs on the floor, and snack bags open all over the house would all likely lead to a mice infestation. Rodents and insects could easily smell crumbs of food and won’t hesitate to go and scrounge around for them if you don’t happen to be around.
This is bad news for you because rodents and other pests can carry dangerous diseases. Rats in particular often carry mites and ticks that carry disease and could even infect you if those insects happen to bite you. For that reason, try to keep your food in a safe place at all times so these common pests hopefully will be deterred from your home.
Once they take up residence in your home, mice and rodents can be pretty tough to get rid of. Your best approach is to keep them away to begin with. If you find your home overrun by critters, turn to the pros at Official Pest Prevention. Call (877) 711 2847 to schedule your appointment.
Hire a Rodent Control Service Today!
As far as household pests go, rodents are among the more harmful ones. If you don’t hire a rodent control service ASAP, the issue could get much worse very soon. The above tips will help you find the best company for you.
Do you need a pest control service in the Sacramento area? Our technicians at Official Pest Prevention can take care of any rodent-related issues!
Official Pest Prevention is a family-owned, licensed pest control company celebrating 20 years serving over 100,000 satisfied customers in five area codes throughout Northern and Central California. Starting with a few contacts, and only four full-time employees, our small company has grown into an organization that today employs over 100 people, maintains a fleet of 75 vehicles, and has serviced over 100,000 Northern California households. This tremendous growth has come from loyal customers, who have recommended our work to their friends, family, and neighbors.
We are a full-service pest control company. Whatever your pest problem, we have a solution. Our goal is to make your property pest-free. Guaranteed. Contact us online or by phone (877) 711 2847 – for immediate assistance. Same-day bookings and flexible payment plans available – because pest invasions wait for no one.
