How To Prepare Your Home For Pests This Winter

The cold weather of winter is starting to take hold in the UK, and it’s important to know how to deal with pests during the cold season. Residential pest control call outs rise by over half during the winter months, for many reasons. We are taking a closer look at how you can prepare your home for pests this winter.

Inspect and Seal

Something you should do at the beginning of the winter, is inspect your entire house for holes and cracks that can not only be an entrance for critters, it can also contribute to the 20% heat loss homes in the UK experience in the winter months. Sealing all the cracks and gaps in your home will help with reducing the arrival of pests.

Beware Of Rats & Mice

These rodents tend to enter our homes during the winter months for obvious reasons – to seek shelter from the cold and because natural food sources are scarce at this time of year.

The avoid this happening, don’t make it easy for rats and mice to gain access to the food in your home. You may for example store open packets of cereal on the kitchen counter or leave bags of rubbish by the back door.

Remove food sources by storing food in containers rather than packets which are easy to get into, make sure rubbish is secured in containers with a tight-fitting lid and clean up any food spills immediately. If you have any potential access points such as behind kitchen cabinets, around windows and doors, vents and pipes, it’s worth ensuring they’re properly blocked off as well.

Store Food in Airtight Containers

Avoid winter pests wreaking havoc in your home or kitchen this season by storing your food in airtight containers. This will keep rodents like rats or mice from gnawing on your food items and even worse, contaminating them with the various diseases they could be carrying.

Make Sure Your Chimney Is Taken Care Of

Since your chimney has likely been in disuse for many months, it’s important to check that it is pest-free before you plan on using it in the colder months. Bats, squirrels, and birds often make nests or take shelter in chimneys, so make sure the chimney is clean, in good repair, and that there is a properly fitting, intact chimney cap in place to keep pests out.

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