Although winter may bring quite a bit of reprieve from the heat and insects of summertime, pests never completely disappear in Houston and awareness is a critical part of managing pest control.
As the weather gets cooler and wetter, pests are searching for a place of safety that has access to water, a food source, and warmth. Unfortunately, your home likely offers these things which makes it very inviting for these uninvited guests. Rodents, bats, and insects are all active during the winter months and you certainly want to keep them away from your home and property.
Rodents
Including mice, rats, raccoons, and possums, rodents really want to make themselves a warm nest during the winter. And this warm nest may very well be found inside your home, garage, attic, chimney, or other space where much damage can be cause. And mice can sneak through holes as small as a dime, so it’s simple for them to find a way in. Cracks in foundation or doors and windows that are unsealed may offer easy access. Watch for signs of rodents in your home by looking for gnaw marks around food supplies, smudge marks along the baseboards, and of course evidence such as urine and droppings. Other signs include unusual sounds heard late in the evening and at night, as well as finding wire or other items chewed through on your property.
Read More: 7 Signs of Rat Infestations in Your Home
Bats
Certain bat colonies actually call Houston their home all throughout the year, choosing not to fly south for the winter like many other bats do. This means that waiting until winter will not help you when trying to rid your property of bats. As bats can be carriers of many diseases such as rabies, their droppings can pose a health hazard, and they must be removed from your attic, porch, barn, garage, or other areas of your home. Exclusionary Cypress Creek techniques, such as bat cones or netting, offer pest control solutions to Houston residents.
Cockroaches and Ants
Seeking a home inside your home, ants and cockroaches can be active all throughout winter months. Food sources are an attraction, of course, so a clean and tidy home is critical to keeping pests out of your place, in addition to preventative pest control practices by an expert team.
Read More:Understanding and Controlling Cockroaches
Spiders
Requiring very small openings to get inside your house, spiders love to come inside during the cooler winter months. As they enjoy hiding in dark corners that are undisturbed, be sure to dust regularly in corners, behind or under furniture, and other places where spiders like to hang out. Professional pest control solutions may be required to solve a spider problem.
Read Our Most Popular Blog: Spiders Near Houston To Be Aware Of
Termites
Although likely to be less active during the winter months, termites can live year round as long as they have a water supply and wood to munch on. Plus, if you have a wood fireplace in your home, you may unwittingly transporting termites, Boxelder bugs, stink bugs, or other pests directly into your home on your firewood. Keep your firewood storage area pest free and use your best winter pest control to keep pests at bay.
Bedbugs
Inside-dwellers, bedbugs cannot be thwarted by cold weather as long as they have the warmth of your body to feed on. First you’ll likely notice red, itchy bite spots around the arms and shoulders. Other signs of a bedbug infestation including dark excrement spots, tiny (1mm) eggshells, or blood stains on your sheets, pillowcases, or mattresses. Call Cypress Creek Pest Control immediately if you suspect that you have a bed bug problem as it must be addressed right away.
Although many of these pest control problems can be prevented through simple care and attention throughout the winter, you may find that you feel safest and most protected when you have access to a professional team such as Cypress Creek Pest Control. Call our office to schedule service that will allow you to live your entire winter pest-free.
