You can feel it when you first wake up in the morning and as you are falling asleep at night, there is a chill in the air! Weekends spent enjoying the warm sunny weather of summer with family and friends are over and it is time to get down to business, the business of getting your home ready for the late fall and winter seasons. There are probably many things listed on your fall to-do-list: split and stack firewood, take out the air-conditioner, replace screens with storm windows, rake the leaves that have fallen onto your lawn, and bring in the patio furniture and outdoor plants. But as you are battening down the hatches and getting your home and property ready for fall don’t forget to add pest prevention to your list. Just like we tend to spend more time inside to get out of the cold snowy weather, pests do too. When the weather begins to cool in the fall it triggers many insects and rodents to seek indoor shelter to overwinter inside of. Don’t let your home become home to mice, ladybugs, boxelder bugs, stink bugs, spiders, ants, and more this winter, take the time now to winterize your home against pests!

Fall Pest Prevention Tips:

• Woodpiles, gardens, and debris - Make sure to inspect your lawn and remove any piles of grass, leaves, or sticks; these piles of organic debris will attract all sorts of insects and critters to your property. It is also a good idea to clean up gardens removing rotting fruits and veggies that have fallen to the ground. Any shrubs or trees that are located close to your home should be trimmed back; pests will use their branches to easily access your home. Make sure that there is a gravel barrier between your home’s foundation and any mulch, grass, or soil. Also, any wood that you are stacking should be stacked on pallets up off of the ground and should be placed at least 20 feet from the exterior of your home.

• Eliminate moisture issues - High humidity levels in addition to leaky pipes and fixtures can make your home very attractive to pests. Inspect your home’s gutters and make sure that they are free of debris like sticks, bird nests, and leaves. Clogged gutters won’t allow rainwater to be directed away from your home and/or can allow rainwater to overflow into your home causing water damage. Look for any leaky or drippy faucets or fixtures that are located either inside or outside of your home, making sure that they are repaired. Repair any leaky pipes found inside your home and make sure to remove any water damaged wood from your home. Crawl spaces should be properly ventilated and a dehumidifier should be used in the basement.

• Inspect the exterior of your home - Carefully inspect your home’s exterior walls and its foundation. Look for any cracks or crevices in the foundation, sealing any that are found. Inspect it’s exterior walls for loose or missing siding and inspect the roof looking for any missing shingles or holes along the roof soffits - replacing or repairing anything that is needed. Make sure that all chimneys on your home have tight-fitting caps, that any vents have secure covers, and that any spaces found around pipes, wires, and other utilities entering into your home are properly sealed.

• Inspect windows and doors - Make sure that exterior doors and windows have intact weather stripping and that all exterior doors have door sweeps placed underneath of them. If there are any gaps found around windows and doors use a caulking gun to fill in those spaces.

• Reduce clutter inside and outside - Remove piles of debris that have accumulated in your yard over the summer. Look inside of your home and make sure that storage areas like closets, basements, and attics are organized and free of clutter. Clutter provides insects and rodent with plenty of spaces to overwinter inside of, it also makes it more difficult for you to notice a pest problem and to find and eliminate the intruders.

• Implement a year-round pest control service - Implementing a year-round pest control plan is the best step to take to stop pests from invading your home in the fall. Year-round prevention means that current pest issues will be quickly and completely eliminated and a barrier of protection will be placed around your home preventing pests from being able to enter into your home fall, winter, spring, or summer!

To learn more about how our year-round Premier Home Pest Prevention service plan can protect your Minnesota home and property from a wide variety of pests, give us a call today at Adam’s Pest Control!