Pests may be looking for food and shelter during our cold, wet Washington winter, but that doesn’t mean you have to share yours with them. Here are some winter pest control tips to keep these uninvited houseguests away from your home.
Control Access to Food
Pests like rats, mice, meal moths, and ants are looking for any food that they can find. Make them go look elsewhere by not having any available food to them in your home. How?
- Wipe up spills and crumbs right away.
- Clean kitchen countertops regularly … even if they aren’t visibly dirty.
- Clean floors (especially corners and edges where the floor meets the wall) regularly.
- Store food in tightly sealed metal, glass, or heavy plastic containers when possible.
- Use clips or ties to tightly close open bags of cereal, crackers, chips, bread, or any other similar foods.
- Don’t leave pet food sitting out.
Seal the Cracks and Crevices
Just as you control access to food, you also need to control access to your home itself. Preventing rodents, spiders, beetles, stink bugs, and ants from coming inside in the first place is often your best defense, although admittedly harder than it seems since pests can squeeze through such tiny spaces. So, inspect common entrance points like windows, doors, baseboards, attics, and basements. And then seal up any gaps you find that pests can use to gain entry. If they can’t get in, they’ll have to move on.
Get a Professional Inspection
If you’d prefer not to do it yourself, or if you already have pests that you need to get rid of, please seek professional help. Classic Insulation & Pest Control provides year-round pest control assistance, and we’d be happy to help you, too.
Contact us today!