As you probably know, insect pest control can become a serious problem when left unaddressed over time. This is especially true when you live in a temperate or tropical area. Warm weather allows bugs to thrive throughout the year.
Fortunately, some pest control services are available year-round! This is despite the colder months. While there are fewer pest threats during wintertime, some common nuisances need addressing while cold weather lasts. The following guide will help you understand the need for winter pest control and how it can benefit your home.
Is Pest Control Necessary During Winter?
Do not worry about the need for pest control during winter. While pests are less active in colder weather, they can still pose problems. There are two different types of winter-related issues you need to know of:
Protecting Your Home from Threats
During cold months, some pests seek shelter indoors. This is especially true when your property stays warm throughout the year. Outside temperatures that stay at a constant average like 55 degrees Fahrenheit means there is little need to find alternative warmth or safety.
These insects usually will not cause major damage. But their presence can become bothersome and result in an infestation when left unchecked. Some examples include spiders especially ones that provide habitat like the brown recluse and black widow, as well as box elder bugs.
Keeping Pests from Damaging Your Building
Some pests need to overwinter as eggs or larvae stay unreceptive to cold weather. In chilly areas, these bugs need a place to hide until springtime. A pest infestation and suspecting your home does not have proper protection against the elements signal the need to check for any cracks or other openings.
Ensure window screens are secure and working properly against openings that insects can sneak in. It may become necessary to contact a professional pest control company when you need assistance during winter.
Reasons Why You Need Pest Control During Winter
The need for winter pest control is the same as any other time of year. Maintain all your seasonal pest prevention protocols. Ensure you do not have an infestation in warmer months when bugs are more active!
Those who need to protect their home from insects during the colder months have to make sure no cracks, holes, or other vulnerabilities exist around windows and doors. Check vents for proper insulation and attic for any possible rodent entry points.
Remember that water damage can become a significant threat throughout the year like during summer or winter. This means checking gutters for leaves or another debris buildup. These could indicate a need for backflow preventer installation. Bugs mostly seek shelter indoors when temperatures drop.
So take the time to check insulation or seal off any potential entry points. You need to address insects that need overwintering. Make sure there are no spaces where they can hide.
Ask your local pest control company for more information about winter pest control. They have the tools and know-how to test for cracks, holes or other vulnerabilities in your home’s exterior.
What Pests Are Common During Winter
Familiarize yourself with three types of common pests that you can have in winter at home. Below is a guide:
Mice and Rats
Both rats and mice need shelter from the cold. Look for any openings they could use to enter your house. Keep food items and water sources away from their reach to help prevent infestations.
Mice and rats pose a serious threat to you! They can carry salmonella bacteria, hantavirus, ticks, fleas, and lice. These could become responsible for other diseases in addition to being pests themselves. Rodents also chew through wood or electrical wires. Many have been found burning down houses they live in!
Once you add these annoying creatures into your home, you will quickly see why it is so important never to underestimate them! A female mouse has up to 12 babies every three weeks.
Mice and rats are more than just simple animals – they are survivors! These hearty creatures can live for weeks without food, surviving on their bodies’ fat reserves and water as needed. They store this energy in preparation for colder months where exposure to freezing temperature would prove fatal. These hardy rodents do not hibernate during wintertime as some other animal species do.
Mice will go out of their way every day making sure that there is enough grub around! So as not to miss any meals or snacking opportunities when times get tough.
Wood-Destroying Insects
Carpenter ants and termites need shelter from the cold. Check for gaps or other spaces where they could enter your home. Talk to a professional pest control service when you require help with wood-destroying insects.
Rodents can enter through tiny holes as small as 1/4 inch. The best way to fight these bugs is to know how they respond at different temperatures! A long-term solution like filling cracks is important when there are several entry points.
Insects need a nice and warm place to stay throughout winter. They need the same areas as in summertime. These creatures need shelter from cold weather and harsh conditions. A key part of any pest control strategy is inspecting your home for these signs. Call a pest control company when you need more information about common household insects during winter.
Ants also need shelter because of their sensitivity to cold temperatures. Check for cracks around windows and doors where they can come indoors easily. Try repairing them or sealing them off completely with caulk or mortar. Get rid of them from your house permanently when there are some.
Dormant Insects
These need shelter so that they can wake up safely in the spring. Their natural inclination is to hide in nooks and crannies, under bark, rocks, or under fallen logs during the winter. Use a special insecticide when you need help with controlling insects during wintertime.
Some pests need overwintering to survive until warmer weather returns again. Take steps like evicting them from your home using various methods like sprays or fumigation gas treatments. You can also consult with an experienced pest control company for further assistance as the need arises.
Insects have their version of this powerful tool: diapause. Similar to hibernation, insects preparing for winter will often try and find shelter from the cold by burrowing underground or into tree trunks. But they can also go without any form at all when it becomes necessary to survive harsh conditions like extreme heat and dryness.
These would otherwise kill them off quickly before even getting a chance at slowing down enough time. They are wise so as not to get drastically disadvantaged when things get worse later on during warmer seasons.
How to Prevent Pest During Winter
Gain insights about five ways that you can prevent having pests at home during winter. Here they are:
Seal up small openings
Cover cracks and crevices in your home to minimize pests like mice from taking refuge in your residence. Get rid of them when the need arises.
In the pest control business, you can call materials used to prevent pests from entering your home as exclusion. These commonly available products not only help keep you safe and sound during winter. But also a simple way for businesses of all sizes to take care of their property. Keep out annoying mice or bats throughout the year that could damage it.
Put caulks for joints that stay stationary like a brick. Sealants keep things safe and sound in the long term. Aluminum screening or foam insulation can cover gaps where there are no other options. Cans of these items might become convenient. But once you install them, it is hard enough to get rid of them.
So do not give up on all hope just yet! Hardware cloth acting as heavy-duty screens also work well. These are affordable compared to more expensive alternatives such as pot scrubbers that many professionals use. They know their way around tight spaces perfectly well! This type takes some abuse before breaking down completely at least not always though.
Eliminate Moisture Sites
Maintain moisture control to keep away ants, termites, cockroaches, and other common insects. These need winter conditions to thrive so they can work their way into your home. Sometimes, they need more permanent residence with you as living space inside.
You need to pay attention carefully to any water leaks or spills around your house during wintertime. Contact a licensed plumber when the need arises. Time or resources at hand are scarce at this time.
Signs that your home is not waterproof
Leaking pipes, sink or tub overflow are all signs of water intrusion into the foundation. These problems may come from poorly installed flashing around utilities such as toilets and sinks. There are missing sealing washers under flat roofs on homes with siding made from vinyl panels rather than stilts and concrete blocks or other approved materials.
Insufficient depth for proper drainage away from walls where it meets soil level due to having slopes adjacent at angles less than 15 degrees. You can also suffer an inadequate amount. There is a need than just landscaping measures taken to prevent further deterioration.
Keep attic, basement, and crawl spaces well ventilated
Remember about heating and cooling procedures. You need them to stop moisture from forming on the surface anywhere as necessary. This includes ceilings and walls so crawl spaces and basements can dry out enough during cold seasons. The absence of humidity can cause problems down the line.
Caulking gaps around outdoor items such as electrical boxes reduce insect entryways into your home that need protection the most! Insects ruin homes over time rather than just at one point in time. This depends on which species you are targeting. The damage they leave behind is a matter of fact even when you think the elimination of pests is for good!
A crawl space can become a frustrating place to live! It is not only damp and dirty but there are times when you may also find some mold. The problem is often overlooked until it has already caused major damage! So take action before your home feels like absolute hell!
It does not take much for conditions of the basement, backyard, or even inside to affect your quality of life. At least 40% comes directly from their respective crawl spaces. Smells are musty due to an unclean air exchange rate with clean outside airflow through windows used as ventilation systems.
Keep storage areas well organized
You need to get rid of stored items from the main house. Put them in a place where they will not come into contact with moisture and humidity. These need protection and high insulation levels than basements and crawl spaces offer for this purpose. Do not throw away your household or outdoor furniture just yet either because winter is almost over!
Some pest preventive measures need special attention during the winter months. Keep woodpiles away from your home to disrupt breeding grounds for some insects such as termites. Choose firewood carefully so you do not bring pests along with you on your next camping trip.
As you organize your home, make sure to get creative with the storage for it to become as efficient and free of clutter. Minimize stacks on top of one another or just throw things onto shelves easily accessible throughout any room.
Assign an individual cubby or set of hooks. So each person has their own space that will keep them more organized while maximizing potential spaces within these areas.
Store firewood 20 ft from home
For firewood, stack it off the ground with a small lip or lay down on a base of landscape timbers. Also, keep stacks at least 20 ft away from the house. Do not have them touching any wall either. Call a local business for pick up when you need to get rid of your woodpile during winter.
The cold winter months are a great time to spend inside and enjoy fires! But when you are like others, the first thing on your list after buying firewood is how best to protect yourself from it. Storing properly will help with both safety concerns as well as protecting its lifespan. It has been shown up until now that it is between 25 to 45%.
It is easy to think that storing your firewood is about finding space. But placement also matters. A lot of people store their wood outside without paying attention to where they are putting it. This means some parts will dry out more quickly than others!
A proper drying process takes time typically up to more than three years. This depends on how often you burn the logs every year and what kind. The first step for this plan to work effectively is to make sure everything has its spot near the garage or workshop area.
How Does Biotech Termite and Pest Control Prevent Winter Pest Problems
Many of the products used for winter pest control need protection from the elements. This includes how to keep your home clean during snowfall and ice accumulations. But you need to take more steps than just keeping sidewalks shoveled. Otherwise, you will need to do some serious spring cleaning!
It is also important to think about woodpiles. How do you keep them from attracting pests? It is a good idea to build a structure where logs stack off the ground about 12 inches. This allows for air circulation and minimal access to moisture absorption that could lead to mold growth.
As mentioned before, steam treatments need time after heavy rains or flooding. So as Biotech Termite and Pest Control say, “Do not wait for winter to finish.” You must have an action plan in place that starts right after New Year’s!
Winter Pests: The Bad and The Ugly
There is a big need for winter pest control when problems arise! Cockroaches and rodents due to extremely cold temperatures need special attention in the northern states. First, you need to have a plan of action when dealing with these kinds of pests. It is very affordable and fits your finances.
Annual Pest Services
Pests need to get out of your way in the winter. You just need to look for them one at a time. Call Biotech Termite and Pest Control today to help you keep them on top of it all! This includes termite treatments. The deterrents need time after heavy rains or flooding.
As the weather gets colder, the number of pests needing winter pest control rises! There are things you have to consider before buying firewood or having it delivered to your house. Make sure there is a good volume of moisture in the wood. It has been properly dried out for use in your fireplace, stove, or home heating system.
Why Do You Need Termite Control in The Winter?
Winter is a great time to have a professional service come out and do a termite treatment for you. This will help curb any future need for winter pest control. But when you require one now, go ahead and call! They are more than happy to solve your winter pest control!
Talk to Biotech Termite and Pest Control when you need winter termite extermination services! They offer regular home service as well as emergencies for those who need to control winter pest situations where time is of the essence.