General Prevention
Just like the best offense is a good defense, the best pest control is pest prevention. Be proactive, not reactive…preventative maintenance, etc. The list goes on with preferred methods of preventing problems before they actually become problems. The same applies to pest control. There are several things that you, the homeowner, can do to protect the inside of your home from the occasional invader.
The first rule of pest prevention is…don’t talk about pest prevention. No, sorry, that’s something else. One of the first rules of pest prevention is if you can see daylight through an opening, a pest can get through it. So seal up any holes, slits, or anything that isn’t shutting completely. Did you know the common rodent only needs a half inch hole to get inside? So imagine how small an opening has to be for a palmetto bug (called an American cockroach by those in the biz) to get in, or for those little bitty sugar ants you find in your kitchen to get through a gap in the caulking around the window.
Along with your regular preventative pest control, provided by PinPoint, there are several things that you can do to help keep the pests out in between your regular services. We’ll go over a few of them below and while it is not an exhaustive list, it may give you a good place to start.
Do you ever walk by a closed window or door and feel a draft? Sure, it could be a ghost, but more than likely, it’s because it’s not sealing completely. You may want to start by caulking around your window frames. Clear or white caulk can be found at any hardware store and is incredibly effective at keeping out some of the more invasive household pests. If it’s a door that is giving you a breeze where there shouldn’t be one, you may want to replace the weather stripping around the door frame. The weather stripping is what creates the seal once the door is shut. Over time that will wear down so it’s always best to check in every 2-3 years. It’s usually fairly easy to replace and can be found at any hardware store.
Someplace you probably don’t think to look is under a sink. Behind the cleaners, the flower vase, the old rags and the wild moose there is going to be some extra space around the holes where your pipes are coming into the home. That space is big enough for most pests or even small rodents to get in. The easiest way to take care of the problem is to fill the space with some steel wool or copper stuffing. Those materials are incredibly difficult for the rodents to chew through and are dense enough to keep the smaller pests out as well.
Do you ever lay down on the couch or in bed and all of a sudden you hear that high pitched buzzing in your ear? It could be a gnat, a mosquito, a fly, or a Nazgul, but whatever it is, how are you supposed to get rid of it? Treating for flying insects inside can be very difficult, and unless you want to vacate your house for the use of aerosol products, there are several things that you can do to prevent or get rid of any flying pests. The first is basic sanitation. Run some boiling hot water down the drains followed by some white vinegar to get rid of any debris or build up they might be feeding on. Change the garbage frequently and keep any stored garbage away from entry points like windows or doors. If you have pets, try to clean up any of their waste out of the yard on a regular basis. While flying insects don’t have terribly long life cycles, it is annoying to have to deal with them inside at all.
Fixing a few of these should help with general pest prevention between visits from your regular service provider, PinPoint Pest Solutions.
PROGRAMS TO HELP CONTROL YOUR PESTS
General Pest
Starting at $37/month
General Pest & Termite
Starting at $60/month
Mosquito
General Pest + Outdoor
Starting at $110/month
Outdoor
Starting at $81.50/month
General Pest + Outdoor + Termite
Starting at $141/month
The PinPoint Guarantee
All of our services come with a guarantee. Need help between visits? Call our service team and we’ll schedule one free re-treatment in between regular scheduled visits.