If you aren’t careful you may wind up bringing more into the house than you bargained for. With family and friends coming over this isn’t the time of year to suddenly have a pest control problem. While you’re here, we’d love to give you some holiday pest control tips that may save you money and possibly embarrassment.
You finally found that perfect Christmas tree or wreath. Now before you go and put them up in the living room in front of the window for the whole world to see, make sure you inspect and shake out any hitchhikers before carrying them inside. That tree has been sitting out where every spider, tick, and aphid has been calling it home for the last 6 months. They’d love nothing better than for you to bring them into your warm cozy home where they can find their way into your kitchen, bedroom closet, or maybe even under your favorite recliner.
Carry that box of decorations outside before you open it
Sure, go ahead and open that box of decorations or fake Christmas tree on the floor of your den. Why wouldn’t you? It’s not like that family of mice minds moving closer to the food source in your kitchen and you just made it easy for them. They’ve been crammed like sardines living on top of each other and barely making it stuck down in the crawlspace for almost a year. Now they can scatter across the floor and set up shop in your pantry, your bathroom cabinets, or even under your stove. At least there they get the scraps you drop and they get to stay warm. That is, of course, unless you catch them real fast. And we both know after that last piece of turkey the only thing you’re catching is a nap.
Keep your firewood pile away from the house
That’s right, who doesn’t enjoy a nice glowing yule log keeping the house warm while you sip your favorite Starbucks coffee and snack on Krispy Kreme (this is the South) seasonal donuts. Yea, I’m talking about you with your three layers of pajamas on while wrapped up in a blanket made of dog fur that one of the local hipster artisans created from fur swept off the pet groomer’s floor. You do love to recycle, don’t you. Well if you keep that firewood pile right beside that back door so you don’t have to brave the 50 degree days we have in South Carolina during December, you will probably wind up bringing in termites, earwigs, cockroaches, or any number of wood loving critter. Just man up and carry that pile of wood you bought at Sams Club wrapped in plastic about 20 ft from the house and make a nice little pile on something that can keep it out of contact with the ground. That way, when you do bring that piece of wood in, those critters won’t be running through your house. You’ll just be enjoying listening to them pop in the flames of that wonderful fire you started all by yourself.
Store your holiday decorations properly
After the holidays are over and your significant other has drawn out the season as long as they can, sometimes into February, it’s time to store those holiday decorations safely for next season. If you happen to store your items in a garage, basement, or attic go buy some cheap plastic totes that seal up nice and tight. For items you can’t store in a tote, like that fake pre-lit Christmas tree we talked about earlier, make sure you seal the box as well as you can then store it up off the ground. Place these items up on a shelf where they will be much more difficult for pests to get into.
Get yourself a Year-Round Pest Prevention Service
For about the cost of 4 or 5 of your favorite drinks from Starbucks you can have yourself year-round professional pest prevention from Walker Pest Management. This service keeps your home free of roaches, ants, spiders, crickets, earwigs, centipedes, silverfish, mice, rats, and many more common South Carolina pests. This way even if you accidentally bring pests in this holiday season we have you covered.
