The holidays can be stressful enough and dealing with an unexpected pest infestation is never ideal! Overwintering pests such as spiders, rodents, ants, ticks, and more are looking to your home for food, shelter, and water. During the holiday season, often our Christmas tree and decorations provide the ideal environment these holiday pests are looking for! Check out our holiday pest prevention tips below.
Shake Your Christmas Tree & Wreath
Those who celebrate Christmas will often opt for a real Christmas tree and wreath. While they both are aesthetically pleasing and smell fantastic, they unfortunately tend to carry pests such as spiders, mites, and even squirrels! To prevent these pests from hitchhiking inside your home, it’s important to inspect both items outside by shaking them. A good sign that pests infested your tree or wreath is spotting droppings, gnawing marks, or other damage before bringing it inside.
Check Your Stored Decorations
Most of us utilize our attics, basements, and garages to store our holiday decorations. While these places provide a great storage space, they can also host pests from time to time. Your stored decorations provide a perfect, undisturbed location for pests to habitat throughout the year, including spiders, rats, mice, and more. Before you unpack the decorations, inspect them outside first before bringing them into your living space. After the holiday season has wrapped up, pack certain decorations like foliage, potpourri, and Indian corn in containers with tight lids on them.
Inspect your Firewood
Colder weather is the perfect time to curl up and enjoy a fire. Unfortunately, pests like termites and ants are known to infest this wood and make it their home. It’s crucial to inspect the firewood outside before bringing it in. Likewise, make sure all firewood is stored 20 feet away from your home and elevated on a raised platform.
Give yourself peace of mind this holiday season and Call McCall for all your pest control needs! Our professionals will be able to inspect your home, provide the best pest control plan, and recommend prevention tips for the future.
