Seasonal Pest Control: Preparing Your Home For Each Season

Performing regular preventative Kansas City Pest Control services can save you money in the long run. That’s because different kinds of critters are more active at different times of the year.

Warmer temperatures bring out pests, from ants seeking crumbs to mosquitoes breeding in standing water. Eliminate their smorgasbord by keeping food in airtight containers, regularly emptying trash cans, and repairing any gaps around doors and windows.

pest control

Spring

The warm spring weather causes pests to resurface and start looking for food, shelter, and water. These pests will often take advantage of untreated cracks and crevices, making it essential to seal these areas to prevent infestations. It’s also important to regularly inspect your property and address any signs of damage from rodents and other pests, including gnaw marks and rodent tunnels. This will allow you to take proactive steps to eliminate the problem before it gets worse.

As summer starts, you’ll likely be dealing with mosquitoes and other flying insects, ants, wasps, termites, and more. To control these pests, keep up with outdoor maintenance by mowing the lawn regularly and trimming shrubbery. Eliminate standing water sources and store firewood properly to help reduce the risk of mosquitoes breeding around your home. Install screens on windows and doors, repair any tears in existing screens, and use mosquito repellents throughout the property.

Cockroaches are a year-round nuisance, but they become more active in the fall as the weather cools and they search for warmth. You can prevent cockroaches by sealing all cracks and crevices around the property, as well as eliminating moisture problems in basements and attics. Store firewood at least 20 feet away from your home and elevate it off the ground to deter cockroaches and other overwintering pests.

Taking the right precautions in each season will protect your property from pests and help you enjoy your home worry-free. For any persistent pest problems, seek professional pest control services. With the right combination of prevention and treatment, you can achieve pest-free success. For more information about how we can help you achieve this goal, contact us today. Our team is happy to answer your questions. Our products are a safe and environmentally friendly way to keep pests away from your new home or business. Our team is available for residential and commercial pest control services throughout the state. Call or email us today to request a free estimate for your property. We look forward to serving you!

Summer

Summer offers us the chance to enjoy warm weather and outdoor activities, but those moments can quickly turn unpleasant when mosquitoes, flies, and wasps buzz around. As the season progresses, these pests can also become more active inside homes, where they search for food and shelter. Fortunately, a few preventative measures can help make your home less appealing to pests and reduce the risk of infestation.

As temperatures rise, overwintering pests like cockroaches and ants emerge from their winter dens and seek food and water indoors. Summer heat and humidity also provide ideal conditions for mosquitoes, flies, and other moisture-loving pests, while increased outdoor activity attracts fleas, ticks, and spiders.

Proper lawn care and regular trash removal can minimize the number of pests that gather in your yard, while regularly inspecting and sealing cracks around your house can reduce their ability to enter. You should also keep firewood stored away from your home and eliminate standing water sources that can promote mosquito breeding.

Fall brings cool weather and an uptick in rodent activity, as rats and mice begin to look for warmth and shelter indoors as the season changes. Ants and termites also begin their annual migration from outside to the inside of homes, seeking food and moisture.

You can prevent pests from entering your home by regularly inspecting and sealing cracks, and using caulk to fill any gaps. In addition, you should store food in airtight containers and always clean up spills and crumbs immediately. You should also keep garbage bins tightly closed and empty, and eliminate any standing water that might promote pest breeding. Regularly checking and repairing window and door screens can also reduce the chances of unwelcome invaders making their way inside your home.

Fall

During fall, the cooler temperatures trigger pests to seek warmer shelter and food sources indoors. Rodents, cockroaches, stink bugs, and spiders all enter homes in search of warmth and shelter, while stored product pests like ants, beetles, earwigs, and weevils invade pantries and cupboards in search of food. Additionally, squirrels and raccoons become active as they prepare to hibernate and often infest kitchens in their search for nuts, seeds, and other foods.

Regular cleaning and decluttering to eliminate food sources and hiding spots can help reduce fall pest activity. Also, making sure window and door screens are in good condition can prevent unwelcome critters from entering your home. Finally, removing weeds and trimming shrubbery can prevent pests from finding pathways to your house.

As the weather gets colder, rodents and cockroaches look for warm, dry environments where they can lay their eggs. Pests that enter homes during the winter can cause significant problems, including property damage and health risks. Additionally, spiders and cluster flies may be found in attics and wall voids during the fall as they spin webs to stay warm.

To prevent pests from entering your home during the winter, make sure to seal cracks and gaps around doors and windows, trim back overgrown trees and bushes, and clear away debris that could provide a pathway for pests. Additionally, keeping food in airtight containers and storing garbage in pest-proof bins can deter infestations. Lastly, strategic placement of citronella candles and torches can be an effective long-term outdoor pest repellent.

Winter

Pests aren’t just a nuisance, they can pose health risks and cause damage to homes and businesses. However effective pest control requires a multifaceted approach that adapts to each season. After all, tactics ideally used to remove mice from your home in the winter are very different than those for stinkbugs and cockroaches in the summer.

Pest control is a year-round commitment, but identifying seasonal pests can help you plan accordingly and reduce the need for unnecessary pesticide treatments. For example, you might be able to decrease the number of mosquitoes by removing standing water and reducing aphid populations in your yard. Or, you might be able to cut down on ant infestations by using baits and barrier treatments. And you might be able to minimize the activity of ticks and fleas by keeping pets on leashes and regularly checking them for these tiny hitchhikers.

As the temperatures cool down, pests that haven’t already migrated indoors will do so to seek shelter from the chill. This may lead to a flurry of activity as rodents stock up on food and materials for the coming winter or trigger cockroaches to mate and start new colonies. It’s also an ideal time for stinging insects to begin their peak activity, including bees and wasps, which can attack if provoked.

Rodents are especially active in the fall as they seek food and warmth to weather the upcoming winter. This is a common time for rats and mice to enter homes, where they can damage insulation and chew through electrical wires and wood supports. It’s also a great time for ants, who begin their peak breeding period as they look to restock their nests with food. Fruit flies, pincher bugs, and earwigs are also most active in the fall and can be attracted to ripe or rotting foods. Termite activity also picks up in the fall, and pest management during this time often involves combining baits, insect growth regulators and crack and crevice applications. Of course, the best way to avoid these pests is by preventing them from entering in the first place, so be sure to store food in airtight containers and empty trash frequently, as well as seal any entry points into your home.