Most people call a pest company after they’ve seen the ants or heard the mice. Treatment works, but the cheapest pest problem is the one that never gets started. Pests come inside looking for food, water and shelter. Take those away, close up the ways in, and you’ve done most of the work yourself.
Here are the four habits that make the biggest difference in an Eastern North Carolina home.
1. Close up the gaps
Walk around the outside of your house with a flashlight and look for anywhere a mouse, a roach or a line of ants could get in.
- Gaps around pipes, wires, hose bibs and the AC line where they go through the wall
- Doors with daylight showing underneath or weatherstripping that’s worn flat
- Torn screens on windows, crawl space vents and attic vents
- Cracks in the foundation and gaps where the siding meets it
- A garage door that doesn’t seal along the bottom
Fill small cracks with caulk. Stuff bigger holes with copper mesh or hardware cloth and seal over it, since rodents chew right through foam alone. Add door sweeps to exterior doors, including the one from the garage. Mice can squeeze through a hole about the size of a dime, so be thorough. If you’re already hearing something in the attic at night, it’s time for rodent control, not just patching.
2. Dry things out
Moisture is a big draw here. Roaches, ants, silverfish, termites and mosquitoes all need water, and our humid summers mean there’s plenty of it around a house.
- Clean the gutters and extend downspouts so water drains away from the foundation.
- Fix dripping faucets, leaky supply lines and AC condensate lines that puddle next to the house.
- Keep the crawl space vapor barrier in one piece and the vents clear. If the crawl space still stays damp, ask about moisture control.
- Dump standing water from buckets, flowerpot saucers, toys, tarps and clogged gutters every week.
That last one matters more than most people think. Mosquitoes can breed in a bottle cap’s worth of water, and a yard full of little puddles will keep you indoors all summer. If you’ve done the cleanup and they’re still bad, our mosquito control service can help.
3. Take away food and hiding spots
Pests don’t need much. Crumbs under the toaster, a bowl of dog food left out overnight or a bag of birdseed in the garage can keep a whole population going.
- Store pantry food, pet food and birdseed in sealed containers.
- Wipe counters and sweep the kitchen floor at night, and don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink.
- Use trash cans with tight lids, rinse out recyclables and keep the bins away from the doors.
- Cut down on clutter. Stacks of cardboard boxes in the garage, attic or closets are perfect shelter for roaches, spiders and mice, so switch to plastic bins with lids.
- Stack firewood off the ground and well away from the house, and only bring in what you’ll burn that day.
4. Manage the edge of the yard
The strip of ground right against your foundation is where a lot of pests decide whether to come in. Keep it dry, open and uninviting.
- Pull mulch and pine straw back from the siding and leave a bare or gravel band next to the foundation.
- Trim shrubs so they don’t touch the house, and cut back tree limbs that hang over the roof. Squirrels, rats and ants use them as bridges.
- Keep the grass cut near the house and rake up leaf piles.
- Point outdoor lights away from doors or use yellow bulbs, which draw fewer flying insects. Fewer bugs at the porch light means fewer spiders and frogs waiting for them.
When prevention isn’t enough
These habits really do cut down on pests, but they won’t keep out everything. Termites can come up through a crack you’ll never see, fire ants show up in the yard after a rain, and some roaches and spiders will always test the outside of the house.
That’s where regular service comes in. Our general pest control starts at $197 for the first treatment and $37 a month after that. On every visit we treat the inside, outside, crawl space and attic, and if something pops up between visits, a real person answers the phone and we always call you back.
