Have a Pest Free Holiday Season

The holidays are a busy time, and the last thing you want to have to worry about are pests sneaking into your home and causing problems. Whether you’re hosting this year, or traveling for the holidays, use this list to ensure that your home will be safe from pests of all shapes and sizes. 

Reduce Available Food and Water

When pests enter your home, they are usually after three things. Food, water, and shelter. While the shelter is typically your home, you can reduce the chances of an infestation by removing food and water options for the pests. Standing water is the number one source of drinking water for pests inside your home, so removing it can go a long way. Look for standing water in or near drains, near heating units, and near plumbing. 

Leaky pipes can also be a good source of water for pests, as many of them can go days without water, and just a few drops is enough to keep them hydrated. Take a few minutes to look under sinks and in showers to ensure that all pipes are tight and dry. Not only will this help keep pests away, but could lower utility costs as well. 

Pests are not picky eaters, and will eat almost anything that a human would. Because of this, it is important to keep food in sealed containers, and store them away from the ground. This includes baking products such as flour and sugar, that usually come from the store in thin paper containers. Consider placing these products into thicker containers to prevent pests from eating through them. 

Store Items on Elevated Surfaces

Pests spend most of their time on the ground, so storing items on elevated surfaces will reduce the chance of pests ruining or creating homes in the items. The holiday season is a great time to rethink your decoration storage, and move them to sealed containers on shelves. Because most of these decorations are rarely used, and stored in low traffic areas, they create ideal spaces for pests to live. Additionally, garage spaces, particularly heated or attached garages, can make nice homes for pests, and keeping any stored items elevated can go a long way to prevent pests such as rats and mice. 

Clean Regularly

Keeping your home clean this holiday season will help significantly with keeping pests away. While you don’t have to perform a full deep clean, there are some areas of your home that you may not clean often that could become pest infested if left unchecked. These areas include:

• Behind furniture
• In closets
• Under Appliances
• Bookshelves
• Basements
• Attics

These areas could be infested with silverfish, spiders, rodents and cockroaches, so keep an eye out for any signs of these pests when cleaning this holiday season.

What You Don’t See

Some pests may be hiding in your home, unnoticed to you. During the winter months, many pests reduce their activity levels, and you may not see them until spring comes. Even worse, termites, the silent destroyer, could be living in your walls completely unnoticed and wreaking havoc on your home. If you are worried about the pests you don’t see this holiday season, give Fox Pest Control a call today at (855) 953-1976.