Winter is finally in full swing, and so is our quest to stay warm. When the weather turns colder, we go from lying by the pool to lounging under a warm blanket. Unfortunately, we’re not the only ones to search for heat indoors—the bugs do, too.

And that means winter pest infestations.

You definitely don’t deserve to be overrun with pests. Cuddle up with your loved ones this season—not with a family of rodents!

The four invasive critters in this blog post are among the most common offenders for wintertime squatting inside your home. Learn more about what drives them inside so you can fight back.

1. Repulsive Roaches

Roaches are constantly on the search for moisture, and dry winter climates turn their focus toward your sinks. If you don’t want to be surprised by a roach crawling up your drain while you brush your teeth, we suggest you regularly inspect all sinks and appliances for leaks or improper drainage.

While it’s the constant supply of water that draws cockroaches in, it’s your food supply that will convince them to stay. Roaches will mercilessly munch through cardboard, plastic, and paper packaging to steal all the food they can… rolling their germy bodies through the rest of it in the process. The good news is they can’t get to your food if you store it in airtight containers—take that roaches!

Roaches are no joke. They’re incredibly resilient and reproductively speedy. If you’ve seen one or two, you likely have a larger problem that demands immediate action.

2. Sickening Spiders

Spiders are a year-round nuisance, but winter weather can drive outside spiders to permanent addresses inside your house—and we won’t stand for it.

Spiders are an aggressive, potentially dangerous pest and aren’t welcome inside your home. Regularly inspect spiders’ favorite hideouts (like closets, basements, and attics) to clear out any invaders before they can lay eggs. Keeping clutter to a minimum helps, too… plastic storage bins are a pest-prevention must.

3. Revolting Rodents

If there’s one pest you should take seriously, it’s rodents.

Not only are they hair-raisingly disgusting, they can pose a legitimate threat to your home and family. Rodents are a well-known carrier of germs and allergens. If a mice or rat comes into contact with your food, they could expose you to a variety of diseases.

As if it weren’t bad enough to simply steal your food and endanger your health, rodents also commonly use their grubby little mouths to cause expensive property damage.

Mice and rats will ruthlessly chew through heating units, wood structures, and even the wiring underneath your cars. Fortunately, a few preventative steps can go a long way towards thwarting these rodent attacks. Clear away all indoor and outdoor clutter, keep lids on trash cans, eliminate standing water, seal up cracks in your home, properly store food, and do not leave pet food out.

Your immune system and your wallet will thank you.

4. Annoying Ants

Unlike spiders and roaches, ants won’t only move in a couple at a time. If an ant colony deems your house a good source of food and water this winter, you best believe they’re all coming for your home.

Ant colonies are cooperative, large, and pervasive. Fighting an ant colony can be like fighting a hydra—more will always come back. The best way to keep them under control is through regular pest control services, but of course limiting access to food and water will go an extremely long way towards prevention as well.

Do what you can now to foil pests’ plans of moving in on your territory so you can spend your winter season celebrating the holidays—not managing pest invasions! Of course, if you do have a surprise infestation, Joshua’s is only a call away.

Sources:

https://www.pestworld.org/news-hub/pest-articles/winter-pests-101/

https://www.dailypress.com/features/family/home-garden/outdoors/diggin-in-blog/dp-bugs-five-pests-to-watch-for-this-winter-in-your-home-and-yard-20111103-story.html