Tips to keep your holiday season pest-free

To many, the holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year. Most of your time is spent shopping for gifts, baking, and decorating. Pest control is probably the last thing on your mind as you prepare to celebrate with friends and family.

Unfortunately, items such as fresh wreaths and trees, as well as firewood, can carry spiders, mites and other pests into the home. To avoid any additional stress this time of year, there are a few extra steps that can be taken to make sure you can celebrate pest-free this season.

The tips

Inspect greenery, such as wreaths, trees, and garlands, for signs of pests. These items provide the perfect shelter for spiders, ticks, and ants, and their eggs. Be sure to shake all greenery outside before bringing them indoors. 

• Unpack stored décor found in attics, basements, or garages outside of the home. Inspect everything for signs of pest activity, including rodent droppings, gnaw marks, or eggs. 
• After the holiday season is over, use plastic containers with airtight lids to store decorations to keep pests out. Avoid cardboard that pests can chew through. Rodents like to use cardboard as nesting material and it is a common food source for cockroaches.
• When disposing of live greenery, place it as far from the home as possible to avoid attracting pests to your property. 
• Store firewood at least 20 feet from the home and brush it off before bringing it indoors. Pests such as termites, spiders, and ants, and even rodents are likely to be hiding inside logs.
• If you are spending more time in the kitchen baking and preparing holiday meals, make sure you scrub countertops to eliminate crumbs and odors that might attract pests. 
• Clean up and store leftover food properly. Don’t leave food out overnight or let dirty dishes stack up in the sink. This can attract ants, cockroaches, and rodents. 

Don’t let an encounter with a pest ruin your holiday celebration. Western Exterminator’s PestFree365+ plan can help protect your home and family from over 36 pests, including ants, mice, and cockroaches during the holidays and all year long! We hope your holidays are pest-free, but if unwanted guests try to join your celebration, please contact us and one of our expert pest specialists will be happy to help.