Month: May 2021

Having pests in your home is a major problem because they may damage your home or even present a health risk to you and your family. Getting rid of pests is essential. If you want to effectively get rid of pests in your home, you need to be aware of the places they usually hide.

Behind Cabinets and Appliances

Some pests, especially small ones, will hide in any nook and cranny they can find. The problem with these is these little spots are areas you likely don’t check often such as behind your cabinets and appliances. Unfortunately, appliances are common hiding places for cockroaches and other bugs. Cockroaches are notorious for living in warm, moist places which can include your appliances. Getting rid of cockroaches in your appliances requires a thorough approach. Make sure you clean everything well and seal off any spots where cockroaches are getting into your home.

In Your Walls

Since your walls are hollow, they make the perfect hiding place for pests. Your walls can hold anything from rodents such as squirrels or mice to any number of insects. Fortunately, there are a few ways to tell when pests are living in your walls. One of the main signs is if you hear noises in the walls such as scratching. You can also tell if there are pests in the walls if you see signs of chewing, find droppings, or if there are strong smells. You need to inspect your home regularly so you can find out how pests are getting into your home and put a stop to it.

Beneath Your Floors

Your floors are another common hiding space. Typically, you will see insects inside the floors. One of the most common will be termites. Termites can damage the floors and wood in your home and even threaten the structural integrity. Unfortunately, termites are typically hard to see, and you often don’t know they’ve been there until the damage is already done. This is why it’s important to take preventative measures. If you do think you have termites, one way to check is if portions of wood in your home are soft and give way easily.

In Your HVAC System

Your HVAC system is an essential part of your home, but it can become home to pests as well. This is especially true if it is not properly maintained. Pests can cause a problem in one of two ways. First, they can live in your HVAC system and cause problems through nesting or chewing. Second, some animals may simply become trapped in the system and die. Neither of these situations is ideal. To prevent damage and pests, you need to stay on top of your HVAC maintenance. You should be getting an HVAC inspection twice a year to check for damage.

Garage

The garage is easily accessible to pests because it is already exposed to the outdoors. It’s not hard for them to get in and the nature of certain garages can make it easy for them to stay. Garages appeal to pests partially because they are dark and there isn’t always a lot of activity. If pests find a food source in your garage they can be set for a while. You must secure and contain any trash or other materials pests might eat. Keeping your garage clean and organized can also help you keep out pests. If your garage is used for storage rather than for your cars, then it may be more prone to attracting pests.

Attic

The attic is a part of your home that often goes unnoticed. Unfortunately, this is not true for pests. Especially in the wintertime, your attic can be an appealing space because it is warm and there is little to no human activity. Pests can creep into your attic through cracks or holes along your roof.  They can also get in through the vents. Likely, you’ll mostly find insects in your attic since it’s easier for them to squeeze in. However, larger pests may find their way in as well. Whatever the situation may be, you should contact a professional rather than dealing with it on your own.

Crawl Space

The crawl space is an open space between the ground and your house. Pests are attracted to this area for many reasons. First of all, it usually attracts and holds moisture which provides pests with a water source. Additionally, they find plenty of food sources through the rotting wood and some pests even become food to larger ones. Second, a crawl space maintains a warm temperature year-round. This gives pests a cozy place to seek refuge during the winter. One of the main reasons you’ll see pests in your crawl space is because it is easy for them to access. To prevent pests from thriving here, it is a good idea to seal up your crawl space.

Under Sinks

Whether in the kitchen or bathroom, it’s likely pests will be found under your sinks. These areas are dark and moist which creates the perfect environment for many insects. Underneath sinks, they also have access to your pipe system. They can use this access to covertly move throughout your home. Pipes also lead to the outdoors. This may be how the pests got in originally. Additionally, pests can even be found living in drains. These pests can live off the moisture as well as anything you drop down the drain. It’s important that you clean and unclog your drain regularly to prevent insects from settling.

Finding pests in your home is always unpleasant. It’s unsanitary and, in some cases, even frightening. It’s important to know where pests like to hide. This can help you know where and how to take preventative measures as well as where to look if you suspect pests are in your home. Dealing with them quickly is essential to both the safety of your home and the health of your family.

Do you have a pest problem in your home? Let us get rid of them for you! Contact us to request a free quote.

As you’re getting into the swing of landscaping with summer around the corner, pests may be causing you some serious grief. And in all reality, pests tend to be the number one cause of landscape problems as well as general discomfort in your yard. So it’s essential that you think about the different strategies you can use to prevent them from making your yard their home.

Keep Your Grass Short

Keeping your grass short might be something you want to do anyway to best enjoy your lawn. But keeping your grass short has other benefits besides just making your backyard look well maintained. Long grass tends to attract a host of different pests because it serves as a great environment for them to grow and thrive.

Keeping your grass short will eliminate these pests in your yard which will also help ensure that you have fewer pests close to your home that could start to try and invade you there.

Trim Trees

As you think about your routine yard maintenance, you should add trimming trees to your list of tasks in addition to mowing your lawn regularly. Trimming your trees not only keeps them healthy and strong by helping you ensure that the strength of the tree goes toward the solid branches, but it also helps you prevent pests and insects from lodging themselves in your different trees.

It’s particularly important to trim any dead, dying, or infected branches quickly because these branches tend to attract different pests who may try to enter the interior of the tree from that entry point.

Use Weed Control

Using weed control throughout your yard is important to generally prevent pests from overtaking your landscaping and your yard in general. Make sure that you think carefully about the type of weed control you go with. Certain types address certain problems; getting the wrong type could accidentally result in killing your beautiful plants. It’s also important that you adapt your weed control approach to different parts of your yard.  

When it comes to your garden, it’s particularly important to adopt the right approach to weed control because successful plant growth is paramount. A great way to prevent weeds from overtaking your garden is to use mulch. Mulch helps keep the soil moisture and temperature at good levels. It also helps provide an oasis to many different forms of useful insects like earthworms that enrich your soil even more.

Clean Up Debris Piles

Debris piles are a bad thing for your yard regardless of what angle you look at it. Having piles of debris not only looks bad and can smell bad, but they tend to attract pests. Bugs can lodge themselves within the different crevices and will typically find the nutrients they need to survive and thrive in the moist environment. Simply eliminating these from your yard will eliminate a host of pest problems that could multiply if not taken care of promptly.

Eliminate Standing Water

One of the biggest things that attract pests is standing water. Why? Because water provides pests with virtually everything they need—a place to lay their eggs, nourishment to keep them alive, and a habitat to live in.

If you have areas in your yard or even on your lawn that tend to accumulate water, figure out a way to drain those areas. This might involve being particularly vigilant at draining the area after you water the lawn or after it rains. It might also involve more intensive landscape remodels to eliminate the problem areas in the first place. This might seem like a pain, but ultimately, it will be beneficial.

Pay Attention to Shaded Areas

In addition to paying particular attention to areas where you have standing water, you should also pay attention to shaded areas of your yard. Shade can add so many benefits when it comes to the enjoyability of your outdoor space, but it can also quickly become a spawning place for pests like mosquitoes.

The reason for this is because cooler spaces tend to allow moisture to build up and that moisture tends to take longer to dry up. Just as pests love standing bodies of water, they also love moist cool places. So, either figure out a way to eliminate some of the moisture in those areas or spray those areas more fully with pest control spray.

Store Pet Food Indoors

Another important thing to think about when it comes to preventing pests from messing up your landscape is how you store any pet food. Storing pet food outdoors tends to attract pests like rats and raccoons. And when they come to gnaw at your bag of pet food, they often will destroy some of your landscape in their wake.

Making the simple decision to store your pet food inside your home or at least in your garage can help prevent this type of destruction from occurring. Be sure to put the pet food in a container intended to prevent the food from going rancid and that helps limit the smell from attracting any pests.

Choose Pest Repellant Plants

In addition to placing your pet food in a dry location indoors, you should also think about the plants that you have in your yard. Certain varieties of plants may attract mosquitoes and other pests if their leaves or flowers tend to hold water well. These little pools of water can become a place of growth for these pests.

So, eliminate these types of plants if possible. Additionally, think about adding plant varieties that repel pests. For example, plants like basil and mint tend to drive mosquitoes away.

Figuring out how to transform your yard into an outdoor oasis can seem like a Herculean task from the outset. And trying to make sure that your yard is pest-free doesn’t make it any easier. But make sure that you incorporate at least some of these suggestions otherwise your hard work at creating a beautiful space might be ruined by pests who eat at your plants or destroy your landscaping.

If you do have a pest problem in your home, we can take care of it for you! Get a quote from us here.