A pest’s natural environment is not inside your home, it’s outside. As winter temperatures drop and natural outdoor food sources become scarcer, pests enter survival mode. They will search for an indoor location until they can go outdoors again in the spring. And the prime target is usually your home.

Homes provide the items all pests need to survive – shelter from predators and easy access to food and water. Rodents, cockroaches, and other pests can contaminate food, spread disease, and cause structural damage and hazards.

Pest proofing your house for winter is like giving your home a cozy, critter-free sweater. It helps keep unwanted guests like rodents and insects out, preventing them from turning your warm abode into their winter vacation spot. Pest proofing is also a cost-effective way to avoid potential damage these invaders can cause.

Seven winter pest proofing tips

To protect your home from the invading pests all winter long, Clark, your friendly pest control, mosquito, rodent, and termite expert, would like to remind you to take out the tool box or, better yet, call the pest professionals at Clark Pest Control to handle the pest-proofing tasks that will keep unwanted pests on the outside looking in.

To minimize the threat of pests gaining access to your home this winter, Clark recommends the following pest-proofing tips:

1. Screen attic vents, openings to chimneys, and any other areas that are open to the outdoors, like mail slots and animal doors. Use the proper materials that will stand up to rain, wind, and cold temperatures.
2. Replace the weatherstripping around windows and doors.
3. Repair loose mortar around the foundation.
4. Repair damage to wood siding.
5. Keep attics, crawl spaces, and storage sheds well-ventilated and dry. Consider using a dehumidifier in these areas.
6. Carefully inspect boxes of holiday decorations (wreaths are an ideal hiding spot for spiders and other pests), package deliveries from your online holiday shopping, and grocery bags for evidence of pests before you bring them indoors.
7. Remove any yard debris around the foundation or near your home. Debris gives pests a place to hide and places them closer to your home’s exterior access points.

Identify access points

Pests looking for a way indoors will take advantage of any opening – no matter how slight – in the foundation, around a door or window, or on the roof to enter your home. Remember, mice only need an opening the size of dime to gain access.

Perform an inspection yourself or with your Clark service technician on the exterior for openings. Look at your house in 3D, not just at eye level. Look from the foundation to the roof since rodents, squirrels, and other pests will take the high road to find a spot to get inside.

If you’re taking the DIY route, be sure to use the proper materials – caulk, steel wool, screening, heavy duty seals, and other suitable materials to create a dependable seal that will keep pests from finding a way inside your home.

An ounce of prevention goes a long way in keeping pests out, and it’s far less expensive to invest the time and money in exclusion methods than it is to remove pests once they get indoors.

If you need help identifying pest access points and need help sealing them up, call California’s trusted, friendly pest control and removal expert, Clark, at (800) WE-NEED-YOU (936-3339) or email us at clarkcares@clarkpest.com.  

Until next time, the pest management professionals at Clark Pest Control thank you for helping to keep unwanted pests out of your home.