Prepare for a holiday season filled with festivities and free of unwanted guests on your property! Critters such as wasps, spiders, bees, and ants will normally want to join in on the merrymaking as they attempt to escape the freezing weather outside. Occasionally, they attempt to beat the cold by hiding in your heated and air-conditioned home. Below are suggestions to help you prepare for the onset of the winter season.

Many homeowners assume that bugs generally die during the cold season. But this isn’t the case for most species. A majority go into overwintering—a form of hibernation—to protect themselves from the cold. Some do so by hiding under rocks or in the soil, while the rest opt to crawl into the nearby homes to seek protection. Those that seek refuge in the house during the winter may remain dormant until spring when they become active. Therefore, just because you can’t see them crawling around doesn’t mean they’re not present.

Certain homes and businesses are more prone to pest infestations, making it necessary to have pest control done even during the winter. Typically, the more bugs you see around your property during the summer months, the more you will see during winter. As is the case during the rainy season, bugs like to migrate to warmer environments when it becomes cold. Other factors that may attract them to a home include dirty garbage cans, damp/moist areas in the residence, or pet food left out. Even the cleanest properties can attract bugs such as roaches.
Additionally, the type of home will also influence the pests that affect it.

If comparing a duplex located in the California suburbs to a cabin in any of the California forests, the chances are that the duplex will do just fine. But the cabin may not do so well during winter. It may attract everything from pantry pests to spiders, raccoons to skunks, including mosquitoes and spiders. So what do you do when you realize that you have a pest problem in your duplex or favorite getaway cabin?

Get rid of all food sources and warm hiding spaces – Ants love vegetable soup, a common delicacy during the cold season, and other holiday treats such as mashed potatoes. Leaving food out in the open will attract all kinds of insects, including ants. Sometimes they’ll come from the woodwork, and at times right from your kitchen cabinets. Check under cardboard boxes, sinks, and furniture for webbing, as these are clear signs of a spider infestation. Apart from eliminating open food sources and known hiding spaces, using indoor traps will help divert the insect’s attention from your family and your holiday activities.

Presently, varied types of traps are used to capture the different kinds of insects known to infest the home. Realistically speaking, it’s impossible to eliminate all the pests present in your home using a single pest control technique. Before you spend your hard-earned cash on insect traps, you should begin by educating yourself on the different types of insects that inhabit your county. For example, a roach trap will serve a different purpose from an insect trap. Once you have determined the required traps and ensured they’re correctly set, the next step will be to schedule routine spraying.

Back spraying is a standard method used to apply a safe pesticide in your home and the area surrounding it. It helps create a perimeter that prevents the insects from accessing important areas in the house, such as the living room, kitchen, and bedrooms. While this process isn’t complicated, it’s necessary to ensure it’s done correctly to guarantee its effectiveness. The best decision you can make is to contact a professional who can help you apply the pesticide. Before application, the professional will perform an assessment to assist you in understanding the cause of your pest problem. The search for warmth is the leading cause of pest issues during the winter.

Ultimately, the main goal of implementing pest control measures is to prevent bugs from invading your home regardless of the prevailing conditions. Skipping your regular pest control over the winter can prove problematic for you and your family. It provides an opportunity for the bugs to crawl into the home and begin creating an infestation. Consider your needs when creating a pest control routine. It helps keep the pests at bay and safeguard the integrity of your home. Pest control is highly recommended in most residential and commercial properties in the winter.

For help in implementing any of the strategies mentioned above, please contact Santee Pest Control through (619) 900-6659 or by visiting their website at www.santee-pest-control.com