Some Tips on How to Keep the Pests Under Control

Some Tips on How to Keep the Pests Under Control

Trim Back Trees and Plantings – Prevent pests from using tree branches as a bridge to your home by cutting back any limbs that overhang or touch your roof or brush up against the foundation of your home.

Eliminate Entry Points – Repair damaged screens, seal up exterior holes and fill hiding places, such as baseboards and cabinet edges.  You'll also want to make sure the weather stripping around your doors is complete and not broken and that there are no gaps around vents and holes where wires enter your home.

Maintain the Kitchen – Keep your kitchen and eating spaces clean and free of leftover food or crumbs. It's also a good idea to store food in sealed containers and secure garbage in locked bins away from the house.  We often get mice in our house in the fall when it starts to get cold and the mice even eat foil and have gotten into my stash of K-cups for my Keurig and have eaten the seal from around my Tupperware containers with flour and sugar in them. 

Gutters and Downspouts – Keep gutters and downspouts clear of leaves and debris to eliminate a potential breeding ground for mosquitoes and other nesting critters. 

Inspect Attics and Basements – Check attics, basements, garages and crawl spaces for signs of pests, including droppings, nesting materials and damage.  We had a chipmunk get in our house through the dryer vent, he crawled up a branch and made his way inside the vent pipe and into the dryer before making his way into my kitchen.   Just another reason to trim the branches back from the house. 

Fix Leaks – Don't put off fixing minor leaks; destructive pests, like termites and carpenter ants, are attracted to rotting wood.  Be sure to keep fireplace wood well away from your home.  I always say, in Maryland there are only two kinds of houses, those with termites and those that will get termites.  Termites eat any kind of cellulose fiber including wood, paper etc..

Remove Nesting Sites – Regularly inspect your home and yard for signs of pests and promptly address any nesting sites you find.  Be sure to check in and behind boxes stored in your basement and in your shed, some critters like tight compact spaces and rats can squeeze into the smallest seemingly impossible spaces you can imagine.