Common Household Pests: How to Keep Your Home from Becoming a Pest Refuge

As the weather changes, many homeowners in Charlotte see pest activity pick up around their homes. Our clients see creepy crawlers appear in the corners of rooms, on their ceilings, or in other nooks and crannies. Pest control professionals call them “occasional invaders.”

Examples of occasional invaders include crickets, silverfish, beetles, spiders, centipedes, and millipedes. Other examples include earwigs, pill bugs, and scorpions. Springtails, ladybugs, woodlice, and boxelder bugs are also types of occasional invaders.

Most of these pests are not dangerous. Some can stain fabrics, while others emit smells or damage paper products, but they do not typically cause health issues. Still, they can be stressful for homeowners, especially in large numbers.

These pests enter our homes because the weather outside becomes too hostile for them to survive. These pests are not equipped to live for long periods of time indoors and can be an unpleasant surprise for homeowners.

Something you may not think about is that these pests don’t want to be inside your home any more than you don’t want them there! These insects existed in their natural habitats long before our neighborhoods were created, our roads appeared, and the town we live in was built. These pests are looking for one thing—survival!

Noosa Pest is passionate about our clients taking common-sense measures to keep these pests at bay before using other means to reduce their presence.

Keeping Out Occasional Invaders

When it comes to these occasional invaders, we recommend doing everything you can to make it harder for them to enter your home. There are a variety of indoor and outdoor strategies for making your house as pest-proof as possible.

Blocking Entry Points

One of the most important aspects of keeping out pests is sealing potential entry points. Pests are very small and will take advantage of even the tiniest of cracks and holes.

Search the perimeter of your home for any potential entry points. This means carefully examining the siding, walls, and foundation of your home.

Additionally, search the inside of your home for entry points, scanning for any crevices and gaps. Pay special attention to window frames and door frames, along with the areas around utility pipes.

Whenever you find a gap, you’ll need to apply high-quality silicone caulk to fill it (or use other methods as recommended). Gaps that are larger in size can also be addressed using steel wool, which has a rough surface that can turn away insects and other pests.

Put screens on windows, doors, chimney openings, and attic vents, and fix any gaps in your screens. If there are gaps under your doors, including your garage door, eliminate these entry points by installing door sweeps.

If you tend to leave doors, windows, or garage doors open, it’s best to start closing them tightly whenever possible.

Decreasing Moisture

Pests are attracted to moisture, and because of this, try to minimize moisture in your home wherever possible. Spots that are especially prone to moisture, like basements, crawl spaces, bathrooms, attics, and areas below sinks, should be well-ventilated.

Persistent pipe leaks and faucet leaks should be addressed promptly, and you’ll need to always clean up your pet’s water-bowl spills.

Using a dehumidifier can also decrease moisture in rooms that are damp or humid. This is an excellent way to make bathrooms and basements less hospitable for occasional invaders.

Eliminating Food Sources

One reason why insects and other creepy crawlies enter your home is to find food. Because of this, it’s important to eliminate crumbs and food residue. Keeping your kitchen countertops and floors clean can make a major difference. Mop and vacuum regularly, and if you have pets with food bowls, clean food spills quickly.

Pests can easily find their way into open bags and boxes in your pantry. Purchase containers that can be sealed tightly, then transfer your food to these containers, including pet food. This will help keep them from being able to access them. Additionally, avoid leaving food out and easily accessible.

When you’re bringing in your groceries, watch out for any insect stowaways. They can also crawl onto your packages and into your potted plants, so these should be thoroughly examined.

Correcting Outdoor Issues

While most pest-prevention methods tend to focus on indoor strategies, there are also several outdoor-specific ways to keep away occasional invaders.

One way, as previously mentioned, is filling gaps and cracks in the perimeter of your home. This includes keeping weather stripping in good shape, fixing broken roof shingles, and addressing any loose mortar around your basement foundation.

Overgrown trees and bushes, mulch, wood piles, and leaf piles should all be addressed. Wood piles, leaf piles, and mulch can become very moist, attracting insects. Trees and bushes that connect to the perimeter of your home encourage insects to crawl over to your walls.

Because of this, it’s important to trim trees and shrubs away from the perimeter of your home. Move wood piles so they aren’t leaning against your home, and rake away any leaf piles.

Outdoor spots where there is standing water can also attract pests. Because of this, inspect hoses for leaks, and always clear leaf blockages from your gutters. Make sure your downspouts and splash blocks are working correctly. Additionally, if your AC unit is leaking, fixing that leak can make a major difference.

At night, flying insects are often drawn to outdoor lighting. Maintaining some degree of outdoor lighting is helpful for security and visibility purposes, but if you have a lot of outdoor lighting, it may help to reduce it during the fall and winter months.

It’s important to keep outdoor food areas as clean as possible. Additionally, make sure that your outside garbage cans are well maintained and have tight lids, and ensure that they aren’t too close to your home.

Removing Occasional Invaders

When you find occasional invaders in your home, there are a couple of recommended methods of dealing with them. It’s best to exhaust all non-chemical means of control before applying insecticides or having a pest control company perform services at your home. Catching pests and releasing them outside the home is ideal.

Another option, which can be especially effective when there are several pests, is vacuuming them up with a vacuum cleaner. After this, you can remove the vacuum bag, place it in a sealable trash bag, and throw this bag away in an outdoor trash can. This is very useful in cases where the pests create odors or stains when stepped on.

If you’re noticing a large number of pests, it may be an infestation. Rather than trying to handle it yourself, it’s best to contact us for professional pest control services.

Call in the Pest Control Professionals

When it’s time to call on a professional, Noosa Pest in Charlotte, NC, and Mooresville, NC, is here to come up with a plan of attack. We believe in and practice Integrated Pest Management. IPM is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices.

IPM is used to manage pest damage/pressure by the most economical means and with the least possible impact on people, property, and the environment. For additional information about IPM, please visit the EPA’s website here.

Noosa’s pest control strategy includes inspecting the structure, identifying the pest, and exhausting all non-chemical means of control. When necessary, we then build a plan for long-term pest prevention utilizing the industry’s best low-impact products that are safe for family members and pets. We believe this sets our clients up for success and protects their homes.

Contact Noosa Pest Today

Contact Noosa Pest Management online or call us at 704-499-9922 to find out more about the best ways to keep your Charlotte or Mooresville, NC, home from becoming a pest refuge. Our skilled exterminators are standing by.