As it gets cold outside, unwanted pests look for a comfortable and safe sanctuary. As a result, they join people in finding warmth and protection indoors. To keep your family healthy and comfortable, you want to keep your home free of pests during winter. Providers of organic pest control services usually recommend closing entry points, taking preventive measures, and considering professional elimination.
Understanding Common Pests in Winter
To control pests during the coldest months of the year, you must understand winter pests. These pests include rodents, ants, spiders, and roaches as they look for warmth, refuge, and food indoors in winter. Unfortunately, rodents like mice and rats as well as cockroaches are carriers of harmful diseases.
As insects hide themselves indoors as the weather gets colder, spiders follow them. While most spiders are benign, some bites can be quite painful or even lead to allergic reactions.
How to Prevent Pests from Making Their Way into Your Home
The following are ways to keep pests from entering your house:
- Sealing entry points. Openings, gaps, cracks, or crevices in windows, walls, and doors can allow pests to enter your house. Sealing these entry points is vital as pests seek refuge from the harsh weather outside.
- Reinforcing doors and windows. As temperature drops, pests such as rodents and ants seek shelter and warmth. The doors and windows in your house that are not sealed properly or reinforced usually serve as convenient access points for unwanted guests. By reinforcing such vulnerable areas, you prevent pests from getting inside your home. Also, this improves your home’s energy efficiency and minimizes the risk of pest infestations.
- Clean your house. Maintaining a clean house during cold weather is important in pest prevention. A dirty and cluttered house can create an ideal environment for pests. Also, garbage and food debris produce odors that can attract pests. Regular cleaning is important in preventing such doors from developing. When you keep your house clean, pests won’t have hiding spots.
- Store food properly. Due to a lack of outdoor food sources in winter, pests may want to seek food indoors to survive. This makes your pantry an attractive place for pests to attack. Pests are attracted to accessible sources of food like open bags, crumbs left on countertops, and unsealed containers. Thus, you want to store food in sealable bags and airtight containers to get rid of such easy access. By properly storing your food, you prevent contamination and spoilage.
