Winter, as they say, is coming. As the cold season arrives, you’ll likely notice new varieties of pests scurrying near or through your home or business. To deal with these winter-specific creatures, all you must do is change your tactics. By winterizing your home, you can keep these pests at bay until the next turn of seasons.

What Steps Can You Take To Winterize Your Home or Business?

To best winterize your home or business, you have to understand why these pests are trying to take up residence indoors. The answer is fairly obvious: Pests seek warmth just as humans do. As your home or business is likely warmer than the bitter outdoors, it makes sense that they’d want to find ways to sneak inside and protect themselves from the cold.

Before temperatures drop, you should 

1. Walk the perimeter of the building you’re trying to winterize and keep an eye out for any cracks or holes in the exterior walls. A mouse can fit into a hole the size of the dime, and insects can find a passageway through even tighter spots.
2. Pay special attention to anywhere pipes or other utilities enter your home. Once you’ve identified these potential entry points.
3. Seal them with the appropriate sealer.

While you’re walking the perimeter

Look at the ground floor and basement windows for signs of loose weatherstripping or cracked screens. These damaged items should be replaced to best eliminate possible pest access points.

If you use firewood to warm your home

1. Try to store it at least 20 feet away from the building. Ants, mice, and spiders may all seek to establish residence in the pile of wood. Keeping the wood further away helps to keep these pests further away, too. Beyond firewood, the clutter of any kind in your home can make a cozy home for a pest.
2. Sweep and vacuum your floors often
3. Keep storage areas clean
4. Store cardboard or open boxes on shelves above the ground. If your preferred storage box is made of cardboard, you may want to think of switching to airtight plastic boxes.

What Pests Are You Likely To Encounter During Winter?

One of the wonderful things about winter is the lack of bees, mosquitoes, and flies. Which makes you wonder where the said insects, particularly bees go during winter? However, these colder months will bring out pests like bed bugs, cockroaches, mice, and spiders. Other common wintertime pests include flies and winged carpenter ants.

Many of the steps listed above should help keep each of these creatures from infiltrating your home. However, some general steps apply through all seasons that can stymie a potential infestation.

One of the best ways to keep pests out of your home is through regular cleaning. Spilt food or piling trash can attract insects, which then attract spiders and mice. Ideally, you should take out your garbage every day, especially if it’s full. All your food should be stored in airtight containers that are hard for pests to penetrate.

What About Professional Pest Control?

Even with the most vigilant winterization, you may still find yourself with pests inside your home. You could have missed a potential access point. It’s also possible something snuck in through a door or window that was left open.

If you find yourself dealing with a growing population of pests, make sure to reach out to a professional pest control company like Truly Nolen. Our expert technicians will inspect your home, analyze the situation, and provide a customized solution for your pest control problem. We offer our services to private residences, businesses, hotels, and public spaces.

To keep wintertime pests from seeking warmth in your home, contact Truly Nolen today or schedule an inspection through our website.