A Massachusetts winter should be a magical time of year. As the snow builds up on the historic statues of Boston and on the bare trees of the rural areas, the crisp air is filled with holiday excitement. While you’re having dreams of a winter wonderland, however, there are pests searching desperately for ways to escape the cold. That’s why pest prevention, although it seems contradictory, can get much more difficult as the weather gets colder.
Overwintering Pests
Thanks to the pests that like to spend winter in our Massachusetts homes, the colder months are not always a break from home-invading pests. Many pests will go away for the winter, but there will still be plenty that want to turn your home into their winter getaway:
- Boxelder Bugs: If you’ve got a boxelder tree on or near your property (which, many of us do without knowing), you’ll witness these black and orange bugs searching for any moldy areas in your home. They’ll also chew on carpet fibers and infest homes with thousands of their closest friends.
- Stink Bugs: With these odorous pests, you’re danged if you do, and you’re danged if you don’t. Stink bugs will invade your home in large numbers and emit a stench both when they die and when they are disturbed.
- Spiders: While spiders have natural antifreeze in their veins, they’ll make their way into your home if they think it’s a good source of their favorite meal: other pests. This leads to unsightly webs that collect pet hair, dirt, and trash in the corners of your rooms.
- Mice And Rats: While you won’t get both at the same time, these rodents love to invade homes in the winter. They’ll not only chew through many structures and stored items in your home (wood, drywall, cardboard boxes, and electrical wiring), they will also spread dangerous bacteria to your furniture and meal preparation surfaces.
In order to avoid an infestation, you’ll want to adhere to the following guidelines as the weather cools off:
- Start sealing up the cracks in your foundation and applying new weather-stripping to exterior doors.
- Commit to proper cleaning habits to eliminate clutter and crumbs, two huge attractions for pests.
- Address moisture issues like leaking pipes in the basement and under bathroom counters.
- Make sure your outdoor trash cans close securely with a heavy lid.
Compounding The Problems
Apart from doing these activities and hoping for the best, there is not much you can do on your own to keep overwintering pests at bay. And it’s actually best if you don’t try to take care of potential infestations yourself. Look, we know that winter can be a busy time: shopping, traveling, wrapping up the year at work, etc. However, homeowners only make matters worse when they try and take the quick, easy way out.
The Internet will give you hundreds of quick eradication tips to help you deal with pests, but most of them are just going to waste your money and your time. Take rodents for example. With their high rate of reproduction, your traps and store-bought poison won’t catch them quickly enough to get rid of the problem for good. Plus, not disposing of insect carcasses properly might just attract more pests into your home.
As fall turns to winter, it’s time to get prepared, so make the right call. The most effective way to deal with a pest problem, especially in the winter, is with professional assistance: American Pest Solutions. Give us a call today to find out how our fall preparation packages can guarantee you a pest-free winter.