Pest Control Tips for the Fall

With fall right around the corner, many people think pest control season is behind them. Unfortunately, as temperatures cool, bugs and rodents are often more determined than ever to locate hidden nooks and crannies to get inside your home. Thus, as fall begins to approach, there are several key preparations to make for proper fall pest control. Check out some of our top tips:

Keep the Outdoors Out

Step one for successful fall pest control is to remove any pest pathways to the interior of your home. This involves close inspection of doors and windows to locate any breaks in screens, or caulking deficiencies. Screen tears can easily be fixed by purchasing replacement screen at your local hardware store. Weather stripping can be a good measure to take to secure your windows further.

In addition to protecting entry through your windows and doors, you will want to take a look at any other exterior openings your home may have. It is a good idea to check your dryer vent for proper sealage and even install a chimney cap to prevent pest and rodent entry in those areas.

Move Pest Hideouts away from the Home

Being proactive with the placement of potential pest hideouts outside of your home is key when it comes to fall pest control. You may have the most beautiful landscape in the neighborhood, but few will care when the first lift of fresh firewood for your first fall fire uncovers a friendly family of roaches.

In addition to keeping wood piles at least thirty feet from your home, it is also advisable to keep mulch and soil away from the foundation of your home, as they retain moisture and become a breeding ground for pests. Similarly, leaf clutter should be kept at a safe distance from your home, since leaves can clog your gutter or serve as warm, moist safe havens for roaches.

The final step of this process is to properly prune vegetation surrounding your home. Crape Myrtles and vines can be havens for ants, while the American Cockroach is known to drop from trees into the roofline of the house. For this reason, no vegetation should be touching the home, and trees extending upwards from the roofline should be well pruned.

Take Interior Protections up a Notch

In addition to taking pest control measures on the exterior of the home, it is important to continue to take precautions on the interior of your home as well. This would include keeping basements low on moisture with dehumidifiers. We advise conducting regular cobweb sweeps. Cobweb sweeps and standard interior spraying protections are all included in the Palmetto Exterminators quarterly pest control packages as well. We highly recommend the quarterly pest control package from Palmetto Exterminators. To learn more about this pest control package, or to go ahead and sign up today, contact Palmetto Exterminators!