When you think about the creepy creatures of Halloween, does your mind go directly to vampires, zombies, ghosts and monsters? Your home is much less likely to be invaded by these fictitious characters than it is to be invaded by real creatures such as blood-sucking bed bugs, scary spiders, nocturnal bats and more. As temperatures begin to fall in the autumn, these various pests like to try to get into your home to make their nests for the winter.
Check out these creepy, uninvited guests and see what you can do to keep them away:
Spooky Spiders
One of the creepiest, crawliest pests of all is the spider. Although most of them are fairly harmless, spiders have an uncanny ability to send grown people into a screaming fit when they run across one. These silently moving web-spinners (not all spiders spin webs) have a tendency to appear out of nowhere. And you simply don’t want them in your house.
Creating a home that is less inviting for spiders means keeping a clean, tidy home that is dusted often. Because spiders tend to be attracted to places that have meals for them (insects such as flies or ants), keeping a clean house is key. When dusting, be sure to look specifically for the egg sacks that spiders leave lying around, and get them snatched up before they are able to hatch.
Read More: Debunking 8 Top Spider Myths
Beastly Bats
Considered by some to be related to vampires, some of the creepiness of bats may be simply due to the fact that they are nocturnal. Or maybe it’s because they have a tendency to hang upside down while they are sleeping. In caves. All of those things do tend to make a person uneasy.
Many bats are completely harmless and have truly gotten an unearned reputation of being scary. On the other hand, bats can be carriers of rabies and have been responsible for up to 70% of rabies cases within recent years. What makes bats even more complicated is that they are protected by law in Texas, which means a professional pest control company needs to be called to take care of any problems with bats in Houston.
Blood-Sucking Bed Bugs
If you’re thinking of vampires along the lines of Halloween, then these blood-sucking insects go right along with that train of thought. Also nocturnal, bed bugs have become more prevalent again in recent years, taking involuntary blood transfusions from thousands upon thousands of people each year. Staying awake late at night to bite on their prey (often leaving bite-marks in sets of threes), these tiny pests like to hide in the edges of mattresses or other soft furniture, often being transported on clothes, in luggage, on pillows, or through other fabric surfaces that people tend to travel with.
Getting rid of bed bugs can be very difficult and likely will require the advice and help of a professional. If you suspect you might have them, contact a Houston pest control service right away.
Read Also: What to Do When You First Notice Bed Bugs
Revolting Rodents
Maybe not as obviously scary as other pests, rodents have a tendency to be extremely filthy, spreading diseases and contaminating food. Rats, mice, and other rodents can not only make your family ill, but they can do damage to your property including gnawing through cables and wires, chewing up insulation in your attic or walls, and even tunneling and burrowing into your upholstered furniture.
As you prepare for Halloween, don’t forget to get your house sealed up to avoid invasion and call your Houston pest control specialist, Cypress Creek, to avoid the nightmare that comes with having a pest infestation. Schedule a service today!