Prep Your Home for Fall Weather and Fall Pests

Winter is drawing closer every day, and many homeowners are busy decorating and changing out all their summer clothes and linens for sweaters and flannel sheets. But pests are also prepping for the cooler weather by looking for shelter for the winter. One of the best places to hole up for the winter? In your storage!

Why Worry About Stored Clothes?

Pests such as rats, mice, spiders, silverfish, and other nuisances seek out dark, private spaces where they won’t be bothered — enter your storage! Boxes filled with clothes provide excellent nesting spaces where pests can shelter and reproduce at their leisure. The pest control experts of Hopper Termite & Pest are sharing some quick and easy ways to prepare your home for fall weather and pests.

1. Seal Gaps, Cracks, and Holes

Sealing off any entry points that pests may use to access your stored clothes and belongings is the first thing you should do. Look for gaps between window screens and the frame, under garage doors, and in the baseboards in your home. Pests can take advantage of even the smallest opening, so seal these off to prevent infestations!

2. Clean All Clothing and Bags

If your clothes have been hanging in the closet for too long, they may already be carrying eggs from fiber-eating pests like moths and silverfish. Wash and dry all clothes and empty out purses and bags of crumbs, gum, or other debris that may attract pests before storing them away.

3. Store Clothes Safely

Mice and rats can chew through cardboard, which makes storing things in cardboard boxes a non-option for homeowners who are worried about infestations. Invest in plastic containers with tightly fitting or sealed lids. Add natural repellents such as cedarwood and other herbal mixtures to boxes to make them smell great and deter pests from inhabiting them.