Here comes the fall season and with that comes the pests trying to find places to hide from the cold. Here are some easy tips to use around your home that can help prevent the bugs using your home as theirs.
Natural Sources
Who doesn’t enjoy the comfort of one’s own home? We certainly do! This is why we always strive to keep your home pest-free as well as recognize sometimes a natural method is wanted along with our regular treatments. Here are some tips to utilize inside your home.
- Using Essential Oils – Pests actually avoid specific types of scents! For example, peppermint, lavender, and eucalyptus are some that deter pests away from areas that are being used. Many people will use things like diffusers in trouble areas inside, as well as mixing in the oils with water and spraying them in corners or other trouble spots to help with bugs like spiders! Be mindful to do your own research and always use safety precautions with pets and children.
- Installing Bat Houses – Installing bat houses in your yard can be beneficial in keeping insect populations low. Bats are usually seen as scary animals but they are actually peaceful as long as they are left alone! They are an important part of our ecosystem and are predators to insects like mosquitoes and moths – which lowers the activity in your yard.
Exterior Home Maintenance
Keeping up with the maintenance outside your home is important throughout the whole year. However, during the fall, there are some specific steps to do to continue to keep your home pest-free.
- Clean up Leaf Debris – It’s that time when leaves turn orange and yellow, and fall off the trees to flood your yard. With that in mind, it takes work to clean them up and pile them to tidy up. It’s important to make sure it’s being cleaned in a timely manner, as well as disposed of in paper bags, to make sure nothing is being left behind in your yard. This will prevent insects or rodents from finding a hiding spot and creating a temporary home.
- Outside Lighting – Many pests are attracted to bright lightning around your home – which makes them be seen more and can be a nuisance. Changing these lights to yellow or sodium vapor lights can deter pests like mosquitos.
Interior Home Maintenance
To have that comfort inside your home, that includes keeping it pest-free. There are some important things to do during fall, to make sure this is being kept up. Here are some tips to help keep your home pest-free.
- Inspect and Seal Entry Points – This time of year is very crucial to get any gaps and openings around your home closed Mice, for example, can easily enter through a hole the size of a pencil. Also making sure there are no gaps in windows or doors will decrease the chances of any pests getting inside. Using weather-appropriate materials is also important, like weather-resistant expanding foam or caulk to make sure it withholds during the colder months.
- Inspect Attics and Basements – Pests are looking to seek warmth, especially inside attics and basements. These areas are important to inspect for any entry points during the early times, as well as keeping them decluttered to make sure if anything finds its way in, it doesn’t find a shelter to stay in. Also, regularly inspect for signs of pest activity, such as droppings, gnaw marks, or nests, and make sure they get taken care of as soon as you can.
We hope these tips can help you in preparing for the cold season and making sure that your home can continue to be pest-free. If you have any questions about any activity you are experiencing or any service we offer, feel free to contact us at (630) 451-8101.