How Pests Enter Your Home
May 17th, 2016
Pest control in the Middleburg, FL, area can be rather tricky considering you have to deal with everything from rodents to bugs. Successful Middleburg pest management includes preventing pest access to your home in the first place. It’s important to know where pests may be entering your home and how you can keep them from coming in.
Access Points
Larger pests such as rodents can access your home through holes much smaller than their bodies, which can be found around plumbing, in the attic, or near the foundation. However, keeping smaller pests like bugs out can be harder because you have to look much closer for access points. Small cracks around cupboards, ducts, toilets, sinks, and even electrical outlets can provide access for pests.
Removing Accessibility
While it may be difficult to eliminate every single point of entry in your home, there are measures you can take to drastically reduce these areas. Silicone caulk around baseboards and moldings and around utility entry points make it much more difficult for bugs to get in. In addition, you should repair or replace damaged screens and consider adding them in front of heating and cooling vents. Weather stripping around windows and doors will increase energy efficiency and help keep pests out of your house as well.
Other Preventive Measures
In addition to actually blocking entry points, you can further prevent pest infestations by keeping debris like grass clippings and leaves away from your home, since these are perfect breeding grounds for pests.
Additionally, keep firewood stacked as far as possible from your home, but at least 18 inches away. You can also use boric acid or other less toxic substances around cracks and crevices that are difficult to seal or use bait boxes. These will help stop pests immediately that are able to gain access to your home.
Keep food preparation and serving areas as clean as possible and when possible store food in airtight containers. If these measures are ineffective, be sure to call a professional as soon as possible.
