Unseasonably warm temperatures throughout the Southeast have ushered in a new set of pests — and Columbia, S.C.-based Terminix Service Inc. has compiled six tips to prepare for the spring season.
“With spring already here, homeowners should have their primary focus on sanitation both inside and outside of their homes,” says Kevin Hathorne, technical director for Terminix Service Inc. “By taking the time to do a little extra cleaning inside and outside your home, you can reduce the chances of an unwanted pest infestation and spare yourself the extra expenses.”
Pest prevention tips for spring include:
- Keep landscape mulch away from foundations. Keeping mulch less than 2 inches thick reduces moisture from around foundations, which helps reduce the numbers of moisture-loving insects such as ants and millipedes in these areas.
- Seal cracks and holes. Sealing any cracks, holes or spaces around windows and doors will help prevent spiders, centipedes, crickets, and other pests from crawling in.
- Reduce clutter. Reducing the amount of stuff piled up inside garages, attics, closets, and from around exterior foundations helps reduce harborage and breeding grounds for pests such as spiders, roaches, silverfish, and rodents.
- Switch exterior lights to yellow “bug” light bulbs. Changing the light bulbs will attract fewer flying insects and reduce the number of house spiders accumulating nearby.
- Remove or limit heavy, ground-covering vegetation near foundations. Reducing or limiting vegetation helps reduce pests like wolf spiders, millipedes, and rodents from cultivating, which will bring down the chances of them entering homes.
- Store firewood or lumber as far away from the home as possible. Storing firewood away from foundations will help keep cockroaches and carpenter ants likely living in it away from the house as well.
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