Spring unleashes its annual pest parade
Tips to keep pests out of your home this spring
As the weather gets warmer during spring, pests emerge from their hibernation. Your home can become a convenient hub, providing a suitable environment for them to breed and thrive. Therefore, it's crucial to take measures to pest-proof your home. Doing so lets you keep unwanted bugs and rodents where they belong – outdoors. Following these steps ensures your home is pest-free, allowing you to enjoy the season without interruptions.
Repairing and Replacing Screens
Opening windows and doors is a great way to welcome the fresh breeze of spring into your home. However, it's essential to inspect your window and door screens for any tears or holes before doing so and to repair them if necessary. Even if your screens appear in perfect condition, more than the standard mesh size may be needed to keep out all unwanted guests.
While standard screens will prevent mid to large-sized insects from getting inside, you should consider upgrading to a finer 20 x 20 mesh to keep tiny insects like gnats out. Upgrading your mesh screening is a simple and inexpensive process you can easily accomplish using bug screen kits. You can also repurpose the old screens by cutting and shaping them to cover vent openings.
Sealing Crevices, Vents, and Holes
Insects and rodents can easily enter your home through crevices, cracks, and holes. It's essential to thoroughly inspect your home's interior and exterior to identify potential entry points and take necessary measures to prevent pest access.
Check for openings in brick or siding, gaps around vents, faucets, cables, outlets, and pipes, and inspect the weather stripping around doors and windows for any signs of cracks or damage. Even a tiny opening can provide access to pests like ants, spiders, and mosquitoes. To seal the openings, you can use affordable and easy-to-use caulks.
For gaps smaller than half an inch, clean the surface of debris, allow it to dry, and then apply latex caulk or silicone sealant. Don’t seal up drainage points in bricks – products are available that allow the water out but keep the pests out. In cases of larger or more stubborn cracks, spray foam is also available to provide a solid fill.
Maintaining Your Yard
Your yard can serve as a pathway for insects to enter your home. However, regularly maintaining your yard can create an environment that discourages them. Tasks like raking and removing leaves, pruning plants, and mowing the lawn are simple but effective ways to keep your backyard tidy. Additionally, it's crucial to eliminate standing water, as insects are attracted to damp environments. By caring for your outdoor space, you're actively preventing pests from invading your home.
(Getty Images/stock photo)
Clearing Clutter, Food, Water and Trash
Even if you’ve turned your home into an impenetrable fortress against insects, it’s vital not to provide any convenient places for them to live and breed outside your home, as they will always be trying to find their way indoors. Pests and rodents prefer hiding spots and dislike being out in the open. Clearing clutter indoors and outdoors eliminates their hiding places, leaving them with no choice but to move on.
Vacuuming food crumbs (a bug delicacy) daily from floors and counters and emptying trash bins prevents your kitchen from becoming a 24-hour diner for pests. Drains and disposals often harbour food particles that insects feed on, so it’s crucial to clean these areas regularly. Also, damaged kitchen or bathroom caulking can lead to water leakage, creating ideal water sources for small flies, silverfish, and other pests.
Clean spills immediately and store food and pet food in airtight containers. In the insect world, trash bins are akin to Michelin-starred restaurants. Swap out garbage cans and organic waste bins for receptacles with tight-fitting lids, and confine food waste to a single dedicated and sealed garbage can in your home or workplace. Consistently emptying, cleaning, and sanitizing trash bins each night will deter all kinds of pests.
Call an Expert
Sometimes, pest problems can occur despite our best efforts and quickly escalate. In such situations, it's advisable to call in the experts like Abell Pest Control. With over a century of experience since founded in 1924, Abell is a trusted name and go-to professional for eliminating pests from your home. With their expertise and proper pest-proofing measures, you can significantly reduce the risk of infestations to enjoy a pest-free home.
(Header image courtesy of Getty Images)
