The kids are out of school, you’ve got a few days off of work and the suitcases are all packed for a family Christmas. However, you aren’t the only one who has been preparing for the holidays this year. Even though you might not have seen them around lately, we can guarantee you that pests haven’t been taking a vacation. While the Christmas season usually is the most wonderful time of the year, it can be a real pain if you end up with an insect infestation. The past couple weeks, we’ve been posting about how to prevent different winter pests, so we wanted to provide a quick round-up for you this week, so you could look at it before you dash off for your holiday festivities! Here are our top winter pest prevention tips:
- Seal small cracks and holes on the outside of your home, especially at openings for pipes and utility lines, and replace any cracked weather-stripping
- Seal opened food containers well or place contents in glass or plastic containers and make sure to finish older products before opening a fresh box
- If you haven’t brought your Christmas tree or other decorative plants inside yet, spray them down before bringing them in to ensure there are no creepy crawlers hiding inside
- Make sure to inspect any firewood you bring into your home from outside for pests
- Clean kitchen surfaces and sinks regularly and take out the trash promptly to avoid attracting ants and cockroaches. Consider taking particularly smelly items—rotten fruit, meat, meat packaging, etc.—outside immediately
- Patch up holes in window screens or replace with new screens
- Fix leaky pipes and faucets and consider getting a dehumidifier if you get water in your basement or crawl space—pests love warm, damp places
- Soak cotton balls in mint extract and place them in places mice like to nest to keep them away
- Inspect the mattress and other furniture in the room where you are staying—whether at a hotel or with family—for bed bugs before you unpack. Make sure to check the corners of mattresses and the undersides of couch and chair cushions; bed bugs leave behind stains and skins they have shed
- Keep your suitcase inside a plastic trash bag to keep it safe from bed bugs and wash all your clothes—even the ones you didn’t wear—in hot water when you get home to kill any bed bugs or bed bug eggs
We hope these tips keep you and your family pest-free this Christmas! If not, make sure to contact the experts at Arrow Exterminators. We’ll get rid of the bugs in no time. You can also find us on Facebook and Google+. Let us know which of these tips works best for you!