Pest Prevention Tips for Spring

With the coming of spring the sun shines brighter, the flowers bloom, and we get up and get ourselves outside to sing with the birds.

However, we’re not the only ones stretching our legs after a long winter. Once the warm weather arrives, many pests who were dormant during the cold months “come back to life” and homeowners can suddenly find themselves with a pest problem.

The common offenders? All kinds of ants such as sugar ants, black ants, and carpenter ants. Other pests include crickets, mites, beetles, bees, wasps, spiders, and more. Depending on where you live, you could find yourself with raccoons, mice, and even bears.

To avoid an out of control pest problem or outright infestation, it’s best to perform some preventive measures every spring.

To start with, examine your home’s exterior. Look for any way an unwanted pest could get in. Tiny cracks or holes along your windows and doors should be sealed right away. Be sure to do a few rounds looking for any entry ways you might have missed.

Next, cut back any trees and shrubs that are too close to your house. What’s to stop a pest from moving from your outdoor plants into your warm, cozy house? Avoid pest relocation by cutting back or even removing plants that are too close to your doors, windows and house in general.

Inspect your trash cans to make sure the lids still fit tightly. Even a small opening can cause a massive influx of unwanted pests. Remember, wherever there is food, pests will congregate like magnets – that goes for all pests big and small.

While prevention is the best measure, it isn’t always a luxury. If you find a nest of bees or wasps on your property, you are better off calling in a professional to remove the nest than risk a full-blown attack by trying to remove the nest yourself.

There are 4,000 different types of wasps in the United States alone and chances are, if you’re not an expert, you won’t know what kind of wasp has built a nest in your backyard or what kind of behavior you can expect the wasps to exhibit.

Take for example, the Bald-faced hornet, who is an extremely aggressive type of wasp. You’ll find this wasp’s nest – which can grow to the size of a basketball – hanging from trees.

Their smooth stingers allow them to sting repeatedly. Come anywhere near a Bald-faced hornet’s nest without the proper protective gear and the know-how to safely remove the nest and chances are you or someone else will get stung – and probably more than once.

Furthermore, if you find you have an infestation inside your house, the first step is to determine how the unwanted visitors are getting into your house. (This is where prevention really comes in handy.) If you’re unable to determine how the pests are entering your house, you’ll need to call a professional right away.

Overall, the best way to treat a pest problem is to prevent it in the first place. By doing a sweep of your house and property each spring, keeping food and garbage contained both inside and outside the house, and knowing when to call it quits and seek help, you’ll keep yourself and your family safe from pests.