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!
Answers in Alton IL: Brown Recluse Spiders
When it comes to household pests, nothing really makes our skin crawl like an infestation of spiders. When you see a spider inside your home, it’s hard to not imagine them crawling all over you – it’s actually freaking me out as I type this. However, it’s not just spiders you should be afraid of; it’s brown recluse spiders that should really make you anxious. If you notice brown recluse spiders in your home, however, there’s no time to stop and shriek – you should be on the phone with your local pest control specialist to eradicate these eight-legged freaks from your home. But what do they look like? Where would you find them? Read on for the answers you need about these awful arachnids.
Where do they live?
This species of spider can live inside or outside of your home. Like their name implies, they are a reclusive species but will attack humans when they feel threatened. In the home, they like to hide in dark corners of basements, attics, closets, and other cluttered areas. Outside the home, they build their webs near or on the ground.
Why are they so dangerous?
Well, they have a penchant for semi-automatic weaponry. In all seriousness, the venom released when this spider bites can cause serious medical issues. While there has never been a death documented from brown recluse, it’s important to treat any Brown Recluse bit with extreme caution.
What if I’m bitten?
If you’re bitten, you should contact a physician, go to urgent care or visit the emergency room. Bottom line, find someone that can help you. While many symptoms end up being mild and some bits are dry, meaning they produce no symptoms at all, you shouldn’t risk it due to the toxicity of the venom.
Why are they in my home?
They’re in your home for the same reason you are. It’s warm, cozy, and there are plenty of places to hide. Be on the lookout for these little guys when you’re cleaning out closets and basements, trying on old clothes, or just generally poking around in a dark place that they could hide.
How do I prevent them?
You can prevent these spiders by not giving them places to hide. They’re not going to build a web in the middle of your living room. Keep clutter to a minimum and be wary of dark spaces.
What should I do if I find one?
One spider is likely not a cause for huge concern. Like I stated before, they can be prevented by decluttering your home. However, if you notice a larger problem, get in touch with our staff for treatments that can eliminate and prevent them.
What do they look like?
Brown recluses bare resemblance to many other spiders in color and size. However, you’ll know it’s a brown recluse for a dark violin-shaped marking on its back. Unfortunately, if you’re close enough to see this, there’s a good chance you’ve been bitten.
How to check for bed bugs when traveling to or from Wood River, IL
Here are some tips on checking for bed bugs
The prospect of sleeping in a home that’s infested with bed bugs is enough to freak anybody out. Bed bugs are tiny, barely visible bugs that feed on the blood of a host animal, usually a human. Additionally, bed bugs have the potential to cause sores on the body, and they can even spread disease. Many times, people catch bed bugs in a hotel room and unknowingly transfer them to their homes. However, you can prevent this by thoroughly checking your home and any other beds you stay in for these tiny creatures. Additionally, make sure you get help right away when you notice an infestation. Check these places for bed bugs:
Inspect the Bed
This is obvious, but you must inspect the entire bed for these bugs. They like to hide in the cracks and crevices, ready to jump out and make you a meal when the time is right. You should be checking the mattress, box spring, bed frame, headboard, sheets, pillows and anything else. Bed bug infested beds will have red, rusty looking spots from where the bugs have been feeding or where they have been smashed.
Inspect the other furniture
Bed bugs will travel from up to 20 ft. to feed on a host. Which means that bed bugs could be lurking in the chair in the corner, or even in the nightstand next to the bed. You’re still looking for rusty spots and the presence of the bugs here.
Check doors & window frames
Many times, bed bugs can travel through doors and window frames, through the small cracks that humans can’t see. If you see rusty spots by your doors or window frames, this is a sign that bed bugs are in the room or have been in the room, and you need to have it inspected before you go to sleep.
Check your Body
Unfortunately, one of the best ways to figure out whether or not you have bed bugs is to check your body. You’ll notice marks from where the bugs have been feeding on you. Additionally, if you notice any of these marks, it’s smart to notify a medical professional to figure out how you treat bed bug bites.
Nervous about bed bugs? Call our staff for more information or to schedule service!
