As the temperatures drop, most of us tend to seek a warm, comfortable environment to escape the inclement weather. Pests are no different!
Common pests that will seek shelter in your home are:
Larger mammals like skunks, raccoons, and opossums
Squirrels
Rats and mice
Spiders
Stink bugs
Cockroaches
Bed bugs
Larger mammals like skunks, raccoons, and opossums will seek shelter in crawlspaces, attics, under decks, and/or outbuildings to escape the foul Columbia Gorge weather.
Squirrels frequently chew their way into your attic to make a new home and can cause catastrophic damage to the roof structure!
Rodents, like rats and mice, will seek the same areas. Being much smaller, they will infiltrate your home and often get inside. A mouse only needs a hole the size of a dime to get its way in to your home, and they can chew their own hole if one isn't available.
Many bugs will be dormant over the winter, but they will find small cracks to get behind your siding, in your crawlspace, or in your attic to survive the winter.
Some other bugs like spiders, cockroaches, and stink bugs will move into your home if they can, and they will periodically show up inside your home throughout the winter.
Bed bugs are becoming an increasing problem throughout the U.S., especially during the holiday season when people are traveling more and staying in hotels. Family members unknowingly pick them up from an infested hotel, and they will deposit them at at their relative's home that they are visiting. Bed bugs are not confined to dirty homes and will thrive just as well in your very clean home.
Tips for dealing with winter pests:
I recommend calling a professional (like Mt Hood Pest Control!) for removing any larger mammals, as it can be dangerous. Things you can do to reduce the likely-hood of them moving in is keeping garbages out of reach, removing any food sources like cat or dog food, and sealing up any holes into your home.
Raccoons may be cute, but they can be very aggressive and carry diseases and other parasites that they can pass on to your pets!
For rodents and squirrels, removing any food sources outside your home will reduce the likely-hood of them setting up shop at your house. Also, sealing up any penetrations you can find around the exterior of your home will block their entrance. This applies to holes in your eves and up on your roof as well because they can climb straight up the walls!
Rats, mice, and squirrels can easily climb up the walls of your home and find a way in!
For bugs, sealing up any visible cracks around windows, doors, and siding will reduce the number of bugs that will get inside your home or spend the winter behind the siding. Treating attics and crawlspaces will also greatly reduce the number of bugs that spend the winter in and around your home.
This is an ant infestation behind the siding. It can easily happen before you even know there is a problem!
Ignoring these pests and "waiting until spring" will greatly increase the odds of an infestation that will be much more costly to eliminate, not to mention the extra cost for repairs for the damage that they caused to your home!
Mt Hood Pest Control can come do an inspection of your home this winter to catch any potential problems before they become a major infestation! We can also offer several treatment options to deal with any pest problems you may have!
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