Is Pest Control Needed in Winter?

Pests are something you really want to avoid at all costs when it comes to your home because they can actually do a lot of damage to your home, not to mention the stress that it brings when having to deal with them. When the weather gets colder, a lot of animals, in general, will seek shelter from the cold, and if they don’t thrive in cold weather, then any warm spot is going to be a welcome haven for them. That warm haven can also include your home or other building if you’re not careful.

What Are The Most Common Pests in Metro Vancouver winters?

The most common pests are your mice and rats. Neither is very pleasant to have in the home, and usually, they leave telling signs that they’ve been in your home through the droppings they leave, and they’ll eat anything that’s left open or is within a packaging that is easy to get access to. There are also a lot of other pests that are most common here such as Gray Squirrels, Fleas, Beetles and Moths. Bed bugs are quite common too, and they can often be bought in if you have any household pets, and even more common, from your suitcase after travelling somewhere that had them. None of these pests is something you want in your home but if your home is warm and moist in some places, then this can be a place that pests will try and inhabit when they can. Although you can’t stop them completely from getting in, there are a few preventative measures that can be taken in order to deter them.

How To Prevent Winter Pests From Getting In

The best thing you want to happen when dealing with pests is to deter them from even trying to enter the property. There are a number of precautions that you may wish to take to stop pests from entering but to also keep them out in a humane manner. Firstly, when it comes to pests like mice, rats and squirrels, you want to take a regular walk around your property and to look for any entry or exit points that might be big enough to allow these pests to enter. Remember that mice tend to have very soft bones which makes it extremely easy for them to fit through even the tightest of spaces. Meaning that even if you think the hole is too small, it’s worth getting it sealed up. Just some loose siding can lead them to a hole behind the siding that you can’t see.  A pest control company can inspect, find, and have these entries sealed up for you as well. Be wary of any food you’re leaving out both inside and outside of the property. Make sure that everything is in sealed containers and then outside, for bird feed, it’s not getting dropped onto the floor where other pests can get at it.

Commercial Pest Management In The Winter Months

Educational buildings, hospitals and other commercially owned buildings need to be also looking out for regular pest management. For any businesses or buildings where large groups of people are in, you want to ensure that regular attendance is made by pest control, even if there are no signs of pests. It’s always worth it to proceed with caution regardless, so make your visits a quarterly thing.

What To Do When You’ve Got An Infestation

When your property gets infested with pests, the first thing you want to do is call a commercial pest control or domestic residential pest control, depending on what type of building you’re calling about. To control the infestation yourself, remove all food sources and try to find any of the entry points that have been mentioned above. It’s important not to use any inhumane traps as this can not only be cruel to the animals but also dangerous to other animals, including any household traps. Laying down poison may mean that other animals pick it up and if you have small children crawling or running around, you don’t want them to be accidentally ingesting anything.

Try to keep calm, even though for some, it might be a little terrifying. They are going to be more scared of you than you are of them. A pest control service is usually quick to respond and will be able to lay down the right traps in order to catch them humanly or give them a humane death if the bait isn’t working.

Pest control is certainly needed over the winter, even more so than any other time of the year. Make sure you put all the precautions in place to keep pests away and if you’re suspicious of pest activity, get a pest control service done as soon as possible.  If your building is in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, Tsawwassen, or Maple Ridge area, call 604-805-0278.  If you reside in Surrey, Langley, Delta – call 604-239-1615 – for White Rock pest control, call 604-239-3051