Holiday Pest Control Tips: Ants, Beetles And Rodents

A lot happens around Thanksgiving time. More people will be coming and going from your home and more food as well. It is a time of celebration and a season of feasting. It is also a time when those bugs and rodents will start wondering if your home is the right place to spend the winter. If you’re wondering, the answer is no. Your home is not the right place for those critters and varmints to spend the winter. I know. I get it. Being a Texan means being strong and independent. You’re not worried about a couple of bugs–even though the bugs in Texas are bigger. I know your skin is made of rawhide and you’re meaner than a sack full of rattlesnakes–but this isn’t about you, it’s about your home. You’ve put a ton of money into that house. So, if anyone asks, you’re just protecting your investment.

With more food in the house and more cooking going on, more crumbs are going to hit the floor. This is a dinner bell for pests. Ant scouts will report back to their colony and soon you’ll have a trail of ants walking across your kitchen floor. But those ants won’t be content to eat the piece of crust that got kicked into the corner. They’ll be into your dog’s food dish. They’ll be under your refrigerator. They’ll be crawling on the counters… The secret to keeping ants from encroaching on your home or building a satellite colony in your walls is to keep the food sources sealed up and cleaned up.

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Seal trash inside a can with a lid.

Keep the floors and rugs cleaned regularly.

Keep pantry items in sealed plastic containers.

If you spill juice, clean it up thoroughly, even if it ran under the fridge or stove.

Keep dirty dishes in soapy water till you’re ready to clean them.

If you keep getting ants, you could have a satellite colony in your walls, or a nice hole those ants are getting in through. Call a pest control company, like Holders, to inspect your exterior walls and foundation and do a perimeter spray.

This holiday season, as you’re bringing all that food into your house, you may also bring bugs in with it. The most common way a beetle or a moth gets into pantries is by hitchhiking. Here are a few ways you can protect your pantry from hitchhiking pests–and also keep those rats and mice away.

Always check packages for tiny holes, tears, or rips before purchasing them.

If your food is packed for you, take all the items out and check the bags before bringing them into your home.

Check your pantry shelves for expired items and throw them away.

Keep your pantry dry and well ventilated. Air circulation and wire shelves are great for preventing bugs and rodents.

If you’re able, always use hard plastic containers to store your cereal, grains, pet food, flour, sugar, and other paper- and cardboard-packaged items.

These tips will keep your home rodent- and bug-free this holiday season–not because they bother you, but because you’ve made an investment in your home. You’re not going to have ants burrowing holes in your wood. And you’re not going to be eating bugs unless you decide to. Until then, those bugs can stay out of your pantry–and out of your pies.