Winter is here and everyone is heading into the house for warmth and delicious meals, even the bugs and rodents in your area.
Before you settle down for a cup of hot cocoa and a great movie, take the time to secure your house against uninvited squatters that will enter your house to eat your food and generally make everyone uncomfortable.
Outside
- Put chicken wire around your deck, patio, or porch. The chicken wire will prevent rodents from hiding under your porch for the winter.
- Don’t vent your clothes dryer in a hidden space. A dryer vent under your porch, patio, or deck is a warm tunnel for mice and rats to camp out.
- Have the walls treated by a professional for insects. A chemical treatment will keep insects from climbing the walls and getting into your home.
- Put chicken wire onto your downspouts. Rodents will attempt to crawl into them to hide from cold, wind, and snow.
- Keep woodpiles off the ground and away from the house. Woodpiles are a termite and ant superhighway into your house.
- Put your trash into sealed containers, particularly metal ones. Lunch is hard to find under the snow, but not in your garbage cans.
- Install gutters around your house to keep moisture out. Insects, like termites, require moisture to survive and thrive.
Inside
- Don’t leave food out. Even pet food is a great snack for insects and rodents. Leaving it out is like setting out an all-you-can-eat Las Vegas buffet.
- Store everything in plastic containers, including paper and fabric. Anything in your house can be food or a nest for rodents or insects.
- Work with a pro to spray your house and set out traps. A professional exterminator can advise what to do and will help you do it.
- Seal cracks and holes in your walls. Using some simple silicon caulk, you can keep most creatures out of your house.
- Check wires for gnaw marks or missing insulation. Rodents will gnaw on almost everything. Those exposed wires can cause a fire later.
- Replace missing mortar and weatherstripping on your home. Those tiny pathways are ideal for bugs and rodents.
- Look for feces and listen for gnawing sounds. These are the clearest evidence that you have unwanted house guests (no, not your in-laws).
Keeping your house protected and going through this checklist is the best way to have a quiet and happy winter. Now, about those in-laws… you’re on your own there!