Holiday Pest Control Tips
Millions of homeowners deal with major pests like rodents and roaches every year. Unlike humans, pests don’t take a break for the holidays. While you’re getting festive, pests are waiting to get into your holiday decorations and foods!
Do you take proper holiday pest control measures during the holiday season?
If you’re like most people, you’re too preoccupied with shopping, decorating, and being merry to protect your home from pests. We’re here to help with these holiday pest control tips.
Read on to learn all about how to prevent pests during the holiday season with our holiday pest control tips.
Christmas Tree Considerations
Let’s start with one of the most important holiday pest control tips with an item that many households have: the Christmas tree. If you celebrate Christmas, it’s likely that you’ll have a tree up all season long. While many people opt for artificial trees now due to their longevity and lack of pests, real trees are still present in plenty of homes.
It’s easy to forget that your Christmas tree was once a living thing that harbored pests just like the other trees outdoors. How do you know it isn’t bringing some of those pests back home with it?
Here are a few things you can do to avoid bringing pests home on your festive holiday tree.
Look for Trees During the Day
While a night out Christmas tree hunting with some hot cocoa may sound cozy, it’s not a good idea.
At night, you can miss obvious signs of pests due to poor lighting. You may get home and realize there are pests crawling on the branches or that there are obvious holes where pests may lurk.
Look for your tree during the day.
Investigate the Tree Before Bringing it Home
So you’re on the Christmas tree farm looking around for the perfect tall and fluffy Christmas tree. You’ve spotted one in the distance. It’s the perfect shape, it will fit on top of your car, and you can envision it covered in ornaments and surrounded by gifts.
Before you get too excited, take a close look at the branches and trunk. Look for any signs of pests that may be lurking.
Common pests on Christmas trees include aphids, mites, and beetles (among others). Look for any visible moving bugs or even unusual dots and clusters. You may find eggs rather than living insects.
You can do minor pest removal if you bring home a tree with bugs, but it’s always best to avoid the issue altogether by catching the pests before the tree even makes it to the car.
Leave the Tree in the Garage
Once you bring your tree home, a good holiday pest control tip is to consider leaving it in the garage (if you have one) for a few days. This way, it’s indoors and away from outdoor pests, but it’s not in your home yet. Before you bring it in, check for pests again.
You may end up seeing newly hatched pests that you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. Give your tree a good shake and then bring it inside, pest-free, to decorate.
Keep Firewood Outdoors
Do you love having a roaring fire during the holidays? It’s so nice and cozy! Unfortunately, pests love living in firewood, so if you have a traditional wood fireplace, you need to watch out.
It’s best to keep your firewood outdoors and at least a few feet away from your home’s exterior if possible. Make sure to keep it somewhere dry as well. If you have a shed or garage, that’s best.
Clean As You Go While Cooking
Who doesn’t love festive holiday meals? If your kitchen is always the one that’s full of holiday cookies, big holiday dinners, and other seasonal food, you may start to welcome in some uninvited diners (in this case, pests).
When you’re cooking, make sure you clean as you go. It can get tricky when you’re baking up a storm or cooking an entire several-course holiday meal but do your best.
If you let messes stick around for too long, they’ll attract bugs.
Store Food Properly
On the topic of holiday pest control tips and food, how do you store it? If you’re like many people, you have several plates of cookies and snacks out all day long on the holiday itself and even in the days leading up to it for people to snack on while decorating.
Put all food in containers with lids. This will prevent pests from finding it. The last thing you want is a holiday cookie with pests!
Even Santa’s cookies and milk shouldn’t be left out overnight without a lid!
Decor in Storage? Check It First
Where do you store your holiday decor?
If you have a closet in your home for it, you can skip this step. If you store it in a crawl space, attic, basement, or storage unit, you want to check it for pests before you bring it into the main part of your home.
Again, it’s helpful to bring things to the garage first. At the very least, look at the items carefully before decorating your home with them. You should also check the boxes for any signs of pests (such as holes or feces).
Do You Need Holiday Pest Control?
There are several types of pests that make themselves known during the holiday season. These holiday pest control tips can help you keep your home pest-free.
Are you in need of holiday pest control during the holiday season? Hire a pest exterminator today! Get a quick quote from Pest Management Systems right away.
Disclaimer: While these steps/tips will help reduce the likelihood of pests during the holidays, there is no guaranteed way to eliminate all risks.
