Pest control: 7 ways to pest proof your home

With shorter days and lower temperatures, humans aren’t the only creatures that desire to spend more time indoors. There are plenty of other creatures that would also like to spend all winters indoors, most of them of the pest variety. Pest control during the winter means cutting off as many points of entry as you can find.

When things get colder, pests seek out any entrance to your cozy home that they can find. In Arizona, that means scorpions, spiders, roaches, mice and roof rats. Pest control in winter is best accomplished by a professional member of the Budget Brothers Termite and Pest Elimination team.

Get Sealed Up

The best winter pest control is to eliminate the problem before it starts, and that begins with keeping the pests out altogether. Rolling out the welcome mat for pests can be as simple as failing to seal up any gaps or cracks around your home’s exterior. Corners, gutters, doors, windows, and areas around your foundation are the most prevalent points of entry.

Lookout for Hitchers

Even if you seal up all the cracks around your home’s exterior, you could still end up with a pest control problem if you’re not careful. 

Holiday decorations, storage containers and other items that go along with the season can actually give pests a great place to hitch a ride inside. Chief among these is firewood. Always give any items that are coming in from outside a good once-over to avoid letting a pest hitch a free ride into your home.

Stay Clean

A messy house gives pests plenty of room to hide, so keeping your home clean is imperative to keeping your home pest-free. In addition to the usual debris in a dirty home, food that gets left out or is not cleaned up can provide sustenance to the pests you want to get rid of. You should also store any leftover food in a sealed storage container.

Keep Dry

Pests need water to live, just like humans. Even if you remove all standing water outside, pests are still looking to stay hydrated. Running a dehumidifier is a good way to keep humidity from getting to too high a level.

Besides basements, crawlspaces, and attics are also important to keep dry. Keeping moisture away from the exterior spaces of your home can help keep pest populations down.

Think Ahead

If you switch your stance from a more reactive mode to a proactive mode, that can have lasting consequences.

Waiting until the cold weather starts to set in just means the insect invasion has already started. Thinking about it now allows you plenty of time to plan for next year. Calling in a team of experts like we have at Budget Brothers Termite and Pest Elimination keeps pests from ever becoming a problem.

Feed the Need

It’s not just human food that can interest pests, but bird feeders and pet food, also. Keep pet food sealed when not in use. Set up bird feeders away from the house so that the pests aren’t drawn to the indoor area.

Clean Up Landscaping

Finally, making sure any vegetation around the exterior of the house is tidy, is an important step to pest control. Trees, bushes and plants that come in to contact with the house all provide a point of entry to the home. Keep landscaping from touching your home’s exterior and roof.

Whatever pests you have in your home, Budget Brothers Termite and Pest Elimination can help eliminate them. Contact us today to make plans for pest control that fits in your budget. In the Phoenix area, there’s nobody better at keeping your home pest-free.