Best tips to prevent pests from entering your home this Spring in Elsah, IL
Here’s what you can do to prevent those pests come Springtime
For some, there’s nothing better than Springtime. Flowers, sunshine, warm temperatures – what can be better? Unfortunately, it’s not always sunshine and roses in the Springtime. This time of year also brings about pets that infiltrate your home looking for food and water. From cockroaches and ladybugs to spider and other multi-legged friends, it’s important to take preventative steps to keep them out of your home. Read below for some times on what you can do to keep your home pest-free this Spring!
Clean Up
The first thing that you can do is clean up around your yard and around your home. Indoors, clutter gives insects places to hide in plain sight. Outdoors, buildup of leaves and debris around the home, doors and windows may provide an easy access point for insects looking for ways to get inside. Clear the clutter and keep debris away from points of entry to keep pests out.
Eliminate Sources of Moisture
One of the main places you’ll see pests in your home in the Spring is around water, plumbing and anywhere moisture can be found such as the basement or a bathroom. Eliminate any excess moisture by fixing leaking pipes and correcting drainage issues that could be attracting hordes of pests to your home.
Block Entry Points
It’s also important to block points of entry into your home. This means sealing any cracks, holes or openings to the exterior of your home. Common problem places include around doors and windows, around the foundation and even openings in siding. Do a visual inspection of the outside of your home to identify additional places where insects may get in.
Preventative Treatments
Another option for preventing pests is to call for preventative treatments from your local pest control company. They’ll be able to assess your home for vulnerabilities and provide pet and kid-safe treatments that keep pests away. Imel is the name to know for pest control in Elsah, IL!
What to look for when hiring a pest control company in the East Alton, IL area
Here’s what you should look for when hiring a pest control company
If you’re like any of us, you freak out when you see pests scurrying across your floor. They don’t pay rent; they don’t help buy groceries – why are they here? They’re here to get out of the cold and find something delicious to eat. Additionally, neglecting to get this problem taken care of means they’ll stick around for a while, causing a nuisance and even health hazards. That means you’ll have to call a pest control company soon to ensure this gets taken care of before the problem gets out of hand. Here are the things you should look for when evaluating pest control professionals to work in your home!
Licensing & Insurance
The first thing that you should look for is licensing and insurance. Pest control isn’t the most dangerous job, but it’s no cupcake either. Licensing represents a wealth of knowledge that they must have to work in the field. Proper insurance means that company is covered for any mishaps – whether that be an injury to you or their employee – that may happen on the job.
Pet & Kid-Friendly Products
Killing and exterminating bugs usually means using some form of insecticide to kill or starve the insect. However, do you know what products are being used? It’s important to ask prospective companies what type of products they use and do your own research to find out whether they’re kid and pet-friendly. Using toxic chemicals in the home can cause health problems to pets, children and those with weakened immune systems.
Great Reviews
Don’t take a chance on a company with bad reviews. If they have bad reviews, there is usually a reason for it. While one poor review shouldn’t sink your business with that company, you should look at all poor performance reviews to ensure there isn’t a pattern that’s developing where customers of that company are routinely going under-served.
Professional Staff & Service
It’s important that the members of this company’s staff always treat you and your family with professionalism. This starts with the very first phone call. If you’re treated poorly or received coldly by the staff, that could be your indication that this isn’t the company you want to work with.
Clean, Presentable Employees
When their employees arrive at the job site, it’s important that they’re clean and presentable. You wouldn’t want people in your home and around your children that haven’t been well-kept or are tracking dirt and chemicals from their last job into your home.
Pest Control Tips for Winter Weather in the Granite City, IL area
Keep pests from cozying up indoors with you!
It’s still February in Granite City, IL, which means you’re probably huddled up inside, enjoying the radiant warmth of your home’s heating system and keeping yourself out of blustery winter conditions. However, it’s not just you that’s enjoying your warm home. More often than not, pests are also using your home as a refuge from the wet and the cold during this season. While the idea of sharing your Winter retreat with a bunch of insects may be unbearable, there are things that you can do to limit the infestation of pests, rodents and other bugs this winter. Read below for realistic tips that you can use to keep your home pest-free!
Keep Food Sealed
There are two main reasons that pests come into your home during the Winter months: food and warmth. By keeping food in sealed storage containers, you’ll make it hard for pests to smell the food and to access to food if they find it. If they can’t find a source of food, there’s no reason for them to be there.
Seal Cracks & Holes
While you may not think about it, there are probably quite a few cracks and holes in the exterior of your home for pests and rodents to fit into. Whether it’s spaces around plumbing fixtures and pipes, small cracks that have appeared over time or even your chimney, it’s important to do an inspection, find and seal any openings on the structure of your home.
Organize Clutter
One of the easiest steps that you can take to keep your home pest-free is by organizing your clutter. Rodents, in particular, love cluttered messes of junk, debris, garbage, brush, etc. It gives them a place to hang out and stay safe while allowing them to access the warmth of the house. By clearing clutter, you’re giving potential pests fewer places to base their operations.
Proper Firewood Storage
Many families in the Granite City, IL area rely on the use of a fireplace to keep their home’s warm and their heating bills down. However, it’s important to ensure that you’re using the right storage techniques and practices. Like brush piles or piles of clutter, firewood provides a great environment for pests to hide in with easy access to your home. They can even hitch a fast ride inside when you bring some into place on the fire.
The best practice is to keep a pile of wood outside, covered from the weather and far enough away that pests won’t have access to your home. Also, bring wood inside as you need it to limit the unwanted guests that find their way inside.
Clean Gutters
While you’re rushing around to clean the clutter in your garage or around your home, you may be missing one important place that could harbor all sorts of pests and rodents. We’re talking about your gutters, of course. If your gutters are filled with leaves and other debris, this provides an optimal environment for pests during the winter, and it gives them easy roof access.
Do an Inspection
The best tip that we can give you is to do an inspection yourself. Use the tips that we have provided to evaluate your home and find places where your pest protection is lacking. The more you look, the more you’ll find potential points of entry and ways to keep pests out of your home!
Call a Professional
Worried that pests have too much access to your home? Especially for rural homes, even pest prevention tips may not help keep all the pests out. Don’t hesitate to call a local pest professional for the help you need to keep your home pest-free!
