Pest control in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and other New England states is one of the most frustrating things to deal with, especially when the summer months fade and that cool air settles in for the long, looming winter ahead. Just like us, the critters and crawlers that live outside want to escape the cold, which means they’ll be looking for any way possible to get into your homes and camp out for a few months.
So how can you prevent them from doing so? Here are two of the most important and easiest things you can do to help manage pest control in New Hampshire and the New England region.
Seal Off Entry Points
These places might not be as obvious as you think. To manage pest control in New Hampshire, you have to think about what unique issues New Hampshire residents faces and work to counteract them. So while you should be sure to keep the door closed – even in between trips to the car while bringing in groceries – so as to not roll out the red carpet for these pests, there’s more to it than that. Check around the outside of your home for cracks in the foundation, siding, etc., and fill any open spaces with caulking. Especially check around windows and vents, which might have become loose and/or not flush with the exterior over time thanks to the varying harsh weather in our region.
It’s key to remember that these tiny little critters (many of whom rely on senses for direction rather than just necessarily seeing an open space and entering it) can feel changes in air pressure or temperature from tiny cracks much more distinctly than we can. A crack or opening they can enter will be as obvious to them as a road guided with flashing lights and signs might be to us, though without careful attention to detail it would go unnoticed by us.
Additionally, be sure to fix broken windows or screens, and add door sweeps to help prevent pests. And check areas where cable, electric, and other wires enter the home, as well as places like dryer vents. If you have a chimney, investing in a chimney screen might keep out some larger pests as well – including birds, bats, and bigger bugs.
Remove Debris and Keep Clean
Debris is a broad term for what we’re getting at here, but essentially it’s a matter of keeping things clean and tidy.
Pests thrive in leaf piles and in stacks of wood, where they’ll make nests. So be sure to stay on top of raking and bagging leaves, and store bags away from your home in closed plastic containers until pickup day. Stacks of wood for fire, likewise, should be stored away from the home and kept as dry as possible to discourage critters that thrive in moisture. The same goes for trash: keep it sealed bags, and keep those sealed bags in closed plastic containers away from your home.
Other things, like old tires or other junk, can be a great nesting ground for pests, and things like unkempt brush and bushes or long grass can invite pests as well.
Your tidiness shouldn’t just be outside though. Keeping clean indoors is just as critical to keeping critters out as anything else. That means sweeping up even the tiniest crumbs, vacuuming and washing floors, keeping door- and breezeways where dirt, leaves, and debris gets tracked in swept and vacuumed as well, and washing floors and counter tops to make sure there is no residue. Pests can smell and detect the sugars and foods they’re looking for better than we can, so you don’t want to give them any extra reason to want to enter your home.
Have a pest control problem in New Hampshire or one of our other service areas? Bain Pest Control likely has a solution. Contact us today to speak with a representative and let our experts relieve your pest problems.