How To Tell If You Have Overwintering Pests In Your West Chester Home
January 29, 2021
When winter hits, there is no better place to be than inside a cozy temperature-controlled home. We don’t often think about it, but it really does mean a lot that our homes have the ability to stay warm despite how cold it gets outside. Although sometimes lost on homeowners, this benefit is never shrugged off by pests. Every year as the temperatures drop, pests of all shapes and sizes look for ways to get into our warm homes. To help you know if your West Chest home is hosting unwanted guests, here are a few signs to keep an eye out for.
Types Of Pests That Overwinter In West Chester Homes
Not all pests need warmth to survive. Spiders for instance have a regulatory anti-freeze-like mechanism built into their bodies that keeps them from freezing during the colder months. Ants, mice, rats, silverfish, and cockroaches, however, do not have this luxury. All of these pests have to either find warm places to live or struggle to survive outdoors during the cold winter months. Certain insects such as box elder bugs and stink bugs only invade homes when the weather outside becomes unfavorable.
Why Pests Invade Homes
Staying warm is not the only reason pests invade homes. Many come inside to hunt or scavenge for food. If your living areas are cluttered and have food messes in places that insects, arthropods, and arachnids can easily access, you will be more likely to have trouble with pests at any time of the year. Moisture is another factor that encourages these unwanted guests to come inside. Certain pests such as carpenter ants, termites, and cockroaches need moisture to survive when indoors and have trouble in dry environments.
The Problems Pests Pose
All pests are different. However, the problems they cause are relatively the same. Some pests are dangerous and threaten people with stingers, bites, or medical problems such as dangerous diseases and asthma attacks. Others destroy property by staining fabrics, chewing through wood, or by other means. Finally, and most obvious, pests are annoying, most just by their presence alone.
How Overwintering Pests Get Into Homes
Every home deteriorates over time. This deterioration leads to openings pests use to get inside such as gaps and cracks through foundations, tears in window/door screens, and spacing around frames and beneath doors. As bugs crawl over your home’s exterior during the fall months, they get into these entry points. Some pests like rodents will even chew on holes to make them bigger if they can’t squeeze through.
Some Signs Pests Leave Around Homes
When pests invade homes, they do not always make their presence known. To know pests are crawling around inside your living areas without seeing them for yourself, here are some clear signs to keep your eyes out for.
- Grease marks running along baseboards and across floorboards
- Chewed up fabric, paper, and or insulation
- Holes gnawed through boxes of food, walls, and into cabinets
- Fecal droppings
- Urine stains
- Shed skins, wings, and other body parts
The Best Way To Handle Overwintering Pests
Whether your home is currently crawling with overwintering pests or you are looking for a way to keep unwanted bugs, rodents, and wildlife out year-round, find your solutions at Master Touch Pest Solutions. We have what it takes to effectively treat pests and are standing by to provide your home with the protection it needs.
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