Every year between Halloween and Christmas, families start digging out boxes of holiday decorations and enjoying the festivities of the season. Every box you drag up from the basement or down from your attic is a chance to take a trip down memory lane as you reminisce over the origin of each of your favorite ornaments or decorations. The good times can come to an abrupt halt when you realize pests have made your treasured decorations their home for the last year. When you’re unpacking your Christmas decorations, take a close look at the boxes for signs of unwanted pests. You may even decide to bring the boxes outdoors to unpack so you don’t accidentally set the pests loose inside your home. The most common pests to move into your holiday decorations include spiders, silverfish, and rodents, and each comes with its own challenges, so it helps to know what you're up against.
Spiders
Spiders are often brought into your home during the holiday season on wreaths, firewood, and Christmas trees. Spiders, ticks, and ants are often hiding deep in the branches of the Christmas trees or in crevices of firewood. Unfortunately, some may even lay eggs inside, which can hatch after the items are brought indoors. Before bringing in your wreaths, trees, and firewood - take some extra time to thoroughly inspect them, and shake them to try and eliminate the pests from getting a ride inside. Once inside, spiders will spread to the furthest reaches of your house, looking for quiet secluded corners to nest and hunt from. This can make them annoyingly persistent as an intruder.
Silverfish
Silverfish look for dark and moist areas to hide, such as your basements, bathrooms, and kitchens. Since they are attracted to and eat sugars, starches, and paper, the cardboard boxes storing your Christmas decorations are the ideal hiding place, especially since they typically go undisturbed for a year at a time. Silverfish are nocturnal and rather erratic in their behavior, which may make them hard to track down and completely eradicate on your own.
Rodents
When your Christmas decorations are in storage, mice, rats, and other rodents can get inside. Then, when you unpack your decorations, you may find that your decorations have been chewed or ruined by the pests, and you may even come into contact with the pest itself as it runs out of the box you’re carrying to the living room! Rodents can be one of the most difficult and are one of the more dangerous pests to have around. Their quick rate of reproduction, the risks from their habitual chewing, the contamination of food, and the possibility of disease make these furry pests one of the least welcome to have around no matter the time of year, and a very real risk to handle on your own if they are present in large numbers.
In addition to inspecting and shaking wreaths and Christmas trees out before you bring them in the house, you can prevent pests by storing your decorations in plastic containers with lids. The airtight containers will keep pests from living among your holiday decorations in between the seasons. If you have problems with pests this year, give American Pest Solutions a call. Our year-round pest control solutions will eliminate existing pest infestations and prevent future infestations from occurring. If you happen to see pests in between your service treatments, just give us a call and we will come back to re-treat at no additional charge. American Pest Solutions wants you to have a happy holiday season, and with our help, you can keep pests from getting in the way of this year's holiday cheer.