Whether they are flying insects, rodents, or bugs, pests do significant damage to US homes every year. The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) estimates that just one pest, subterranean termites, causes $5 billion of damage to buildings across the country each year. There is no doubt that few homeowners could afford to get complacent about pest control.
Seasonal home maintenance is crucial for keeping your home pest free year-round. Following a home maintenance checklist tailored to your local area can ensure your home remains an inhospitable place for home invaders and a comfortable and safe haven for you and your family.
Let’s take an in-depth look at what you can do each season to protect your home and when it’s time to call a professional pest control team to strengthen your defenses.
Spring Home Maintenance Checklist
In spring, everything starts to come back to life, including bugs. The warmer and wetter weather jump-starts insect breeding cycles and leaves these newborn critters looking for a new place to call home.
In many parts of the country, the following pests emerge in spring and start wreaking havoc:
- Ants
- Bees, wasps, and yellow jackets
- Flies
- Earwigs
- Mosquitos
- Spiders
- Termites
A proactive spring home maintenance checklist involves a mixture of deep cleaning and structural checks and fixes to slam the door closed in the face of would-be intruders.
Exterior spring maintenance
Outdoor spring maintenance has three main objectives:
- Checking for signs of pests
- Preventing water build-up or ingress
- Preventing pests from getting into the home
Checking for signs of pests
Wood-destroying insects, such as termites, may leave telltale mud tunnels around the exterior of your home. Also, look out for wood damage and swarms of small insects that look like flying ants but are actually termites looking for a new home to invade.
Some pests, such as ants, carpenter ants, and spiders, may be visible when you check the exterior of your home or leave mounds. It’s important to act fast, especially if you believe you have an infestation of termites or other wood-destroying insects. Call a pest control company as soon as possible to inspect the infestation and advise you on the best course of action.
Preventing water build-up
Pooling water creates the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. Earwigs and slugs also love moisture.
So to keep these pests at bay, walk around your home and inspect the following:
- Outdoor faucets and hoses: Check that your outdoor faucets and hosesare not dripping and causing water to pool.
- Sprinkler system: Service your system and adjust your sprinkler heads to ensure they are not causing areas of standing water or oversaturating the ground.
- Gutters and downspouts: Ensure gutters and downspouts are free from debris and running freely. Otherwise, mosquitoes can breed in the standing water they create.
A leaking roof provides a moist, warm environment in which pests such as centipedes, cockroaches, earwigs, carpenter ants, and silverfish can thrive. Missing shingles and standing water in gutters can allow moisture and critters to enter your roof space. A spring roof inspection is a good investment to protect your roof structure and your home from pests.
Keeping pests out
Check your home for potential entry points to prevent spring swarms and creeping insects. Repair the weather stripping, inspect the seals around your windows, and replace caulking where needed.
Interior spring maintenance
The kitchen and bathrooms are the main pest magnets in our homes. Here’s what to prioritize in the kitchen:
- Pull out kitchen appliances such as dishwashers and refrigerators and clean away any food particles that could attract pests
- Fix pipe leaks that create moist environments that pests love
- Remove any spoiled or expired food from your pantry
- Check for signs of pests, such as droppings or scratch marks
Bathrooms are common entry points for insects. It’s gross to think about, but cockroaches and flies can feast on the grime and soap scum that build up in our sink, shower, and tub drains. Take this opportunity to thoroughly clean your bathroom and use drain cleaner to remove any debris. Also, check for leaking pipes and moist areas that insects love.
Springtime is also a great opportunity to give your home a deep clean. Pests such as rodents love untidy homes where they can find nesting materials and food in abundance. Check your basement and attic to ensure nothing is lurking and no materials are waiting to provide a new home to a nest of rodents or other pests.
Checklist for Preventing Summer Bugs
Bugs are ectothermic, meaning they need external sources of heat to regulate their body temperatures. As temperatures rise in summer, their metabolic rates increase, and sadly, so do their rates of reproduction. The abundance of food available in summer means you need to be seriously proactive to keep bugs where they belong— outside your home.
Here are a few important home maintenance tasks to protect your home each summer:
- Trim branches: Branches can form bridges into your roof space. Mice and rats can use them to gain access to your roof space and then to the rest of your home.
- Avoid pooling water: Kiddie pools, buckets of water, and overactive sprinkler systems can create mosquito breeding grounds. Check your yard regularly to ensure there are no sources of standing water where a female mosquito could lay her eggs.
- Tidy up after cookouts: All pests love food, but yellow jackets are especially attracted to the remnants of a cookout—meat and sugary food. Yellow jackets will happily feast on sugary treats, drinks, and even grease from your grill. Once they have found a good food source, they will continue returning to the same site. Prompt cleaning after outdoor cooking can help keep this problem at bay.
If wasps invaded your home in spring, by summer the colony could number thousands of workers. During hot weather, wasps can become more aggressive, so it is best not to handle them alone. Ensure children and pets are kept well away from nests.
Contact a professional pest control company if you suspect an infestation of any kind. Pest control technicians are trained to assess the infestation and advise you on the best way to handle it and prevent it from returning.
Fall Preparation: Batten Down the Hatches Before Winter
As the weather starts to turn and the days get shorter, it’s not just humans who seek out cozy indoor spaces. Rodents and spiders are among the pests that look for a comfortable place to hunker down. The following fall checklist can be ticked off in a few hours and provide peace of mind when winter comes.
The following tips could also save you a few dollars on heating, as well as keeping critters out in the cold:
- Winterize exterior plumbing: A burst pipe is a real downer in the middle of winter. By insulating your pipes during the fall, you can prevent this from happening, while making it harder for pests to enter your home. Pipe insulation can plug gaps around pipes as they enter your home, eliminating a potential entry point for bugs.
- Fix leaky faucets: It’s time to inspect for leaks once again. Remember, pests of all shapes and sizes also need water to thrive. A leaky faucet is an invitation to enjoy a free drink at your home, and you may find them trying to take up residence if you don’t fix it first.
- Rodent-proof your heating systems and home exterior: Mice and rats looking for a warm place to spend the winter can exploit loose siding, gaps beneath the eaves, and cracks in the foundation to get into your home. Plug all these gaps and add mesh screens to outdoor air vents and pipes to stop them from entering.
- Trim branches: Trimming branches before winter is an important step to prevent pests from using them as bridges to enter your roof space. Plus, there’s the added bonus that your roof will be protected from damage during winter storms.
- Trim back ivy: Ivy looks great, but it’s a potential route into your home for wood-destroying insects. Trim ivy and bushes to avoid providing easy access to your home for insects that are determined to consume it.
- Store firewood strategically: Firewood can be a magnet for insects. A woodpile by your door may be convenient, but ideally it should be located at least 20 feet away from your house. Brush off logs before you bring them into the house to ensure you’re not importing carpenter ants.
Small rodents can enter your home through a hole as small as a quarter. It can be easy to miss these entry points, especially if they are high up under the eaves. Raccoons and squirrels need more space to get in but may also be eager to make your attic their home over winter.
Don’t risk checking the roof yourself. Call a professional pest control company to winterize your home and provide comprehensive protection from potential invaders.
Home Maintenance Tasks for a Pest-Free Winter
We may think of winter as a time when we can rest from home maintenance and enjoy the benefits of the hard work put in during the fall. While that’s mostly true, the following important home maintenance tasks will help ensure a peaceful winter free from unwanted guests:
- Attic inspections: After the first cold night of winter, rodents will start looking for a new home. Check your attic for rodent droppings. If you see those telltale signs, let a professional inspect and assess the situation, as these pests can reproduce extremely fast.
- Install door sweeps: Door sweeps and weather stripping can form a crucial extra line of defense against pests looking for a warm place for the winter. Metal options are gnaw-proof, providing extra protection.
- Apply chemical deterrents: Pesticides can be a powerful way to keep all kinds of pests at bay. However, to protect the health of your family and pets, it pays to work with a pest control company that can apply the treatments safely.
Keep Pests at Bay With Insight Pest Management
Keeping pests out of your home is a year-round project. However, with a seasonal home maintenance checklist like the one above, you can ensure nothing gets lost in the shuffle. Entrusting your pest management to a professional company, though, makes life even easier.
At Insight Pest Management, we have been trusted by the people of Ventura County to keep their homes pest-free for more than 15 years. Our family business has grown to include 6 employees, all dedicated to keeping unwelcome house guests at bay.
We are ready to create a personalized pest management plan that can put your mind at rest, whatever the season. Contact us at [phone number] or complete our online form to receive a free quote today.
