While you’re getting your lawn and your garden ready for spring, take the time to clean up, pick up, and seal up around the outside of your home to remove pests’ hiding places and to keep pests out.

First, check windows and doors

Make sure all windows have screens that fit tightly. Patch any holes in screens. Make sure outside doors, especially ground floor doors, have thresholds or sweeps at the bottom to close gaps. Install weatherproofing strips around the sides and tops of doors. Caulk any cracks around door or window frames.

Pay special attention to the garage door

This may be the number one entry point for pests. Replace any worn rubber thresholds at the bottom of the door. Seal gaps around the side of the door.

Look for gaps around conduits

Take a walk around your home, looking for places where pipes, cables, and electrical lines enter your home. Use caulk or stuffing to seal openings around these lines that pests use as direct routes to the inside.

Look for stray cracks and holes

Fill, seal, or screen any crevices or openings around your home’s foundation.

Check vents

Make sure that roof, crawlspace, and foundation vents are screened. Dryer vents should not be screened due to fire hazard but can be fitted with a special flapper valve to prevent nesting birds.

Prune away branches and ivy

Any branches that touch your house can serve as a bridge for squirrels and other pests to move from trees to your house, where they can enter around the roof line or other openings. Trim back tree and shrub branches and pull down ivy that is growing on the walls.

Clean roof gutters and downspouts

Clogged roof gutters that hold water are a common breeding site for mosquitoes and drain flies.

Move firewood piles

It may have been convenient to have firewood close by during the winter, but firewood attracts all kinds of pests. Move firewood away from the house and stack it on a platform up off of the ground.

Go easy on the mulch

Pests love mulch. Try not to place it right up against your home. It’s best to leave a 1-2 foot wide mulch-free border around your home’s foundation.

If you’d rather not do all of the above, have a professional pest-proof your home. Our exclusion experts will thoroughly inspect your home for places where pests can enter and for conditions attractive to pests. They use high-quality materials to screen or seal up openings, reinforce areas, install thresholds, etc. Professional pest-proofing on the outside eliminates pest problems on the inside. Our pest exclusion work is permanent and guaranteed. Give Colonial a call today.

Photo credit: akeg / Foter.com / CC BY-SA