A lot happens around The Holidays. It is a time of celebration and a season of feasting. It is also a time when those bugs and rodents will start wondering if your home is the right place to spend the winter.

With more food in the house and more cooking going on, more crumbs are going to hit the floor. This is a dinner bell for pests. Ant scouts will report back to their colony and soon you’ll have a trail of ants walking across your kitchen floor. But those ants won’t be content to eat the piece of crust that got kicked into the corner. They’ll be into your dog’s food dish. You’ll find them under your refrigerator. They’ll be crawling on the counters.

Holiday Pest Control Tips – It’s Common Sense

The secret to keeping ants from encroaching on your home or building a satellite colony in your walls is to keep the food sources sealed up and cleaned up.

• Seal trash inside a can with a lid.
• Keep the floors and rugs cleaned regularly.
• Keep pantry items in sealed plastic containers.
• If you spill juice, clean it up thoroughly, even if it ran under the fridge or stove.
• Keep dirty dishes in soapy water till you’re ready to clean them.
• If you keep getting ants, you could have a satellite colony in your walls, or a nice hole those ants are getting in through. You need to call a pest control company to inspect your exterior walls and foundation. They should also do a perimeter spray.

Stymie those hitchhikers

If you’re like me, you’re bringing a lot of food into your house. The most common way a beetle or a moth gets into pantries is by hitchhiking. You want to make sure you protect your pantry from hitchhiking pests. This will also keep rats and mice away.

• Always check packages for tiny holes, tears, or rips before purchasing them.
• If your food is packed for you, take all the items out and check the bags before bringing them into your home.
• Check your pantry shelves for expired items and throw them away.
• Keep your pantry dry and well ventilated. Air circulation and wire shelves are great for preventing bugs and rodents.
• If you’re able, always use hard plastic containers to store your cereal, grains, pet food, flour, sugar, and other paper- and cardboard-packaged items.

These Holiday Pest Control tips will keep your home rodent and bug-free this holiday season. The last thing you want is for your family to see a trail of ants on your countertops!

Pest control companies looking for new business should call Dataman Group at (800) 771-3282.  Or, contact the NPMA for more info.