5 Tips to Have a Pest-Free New Year

Keep Your Home Pest Free in the New Year With These Holiday Pest Control Tips

This year, why not make a New Year’s resolution to keep your home pest-free? It’s not as challenging as it sounds: just follow these 5 winter pest control tips.

1. Store Your Holiday Decorations Properly

Many of us decorate our homes around the holidays, and that means breaking out the boxes of decorations stashed in the garage, attic, or basement. There’s just one problem: these boxes can harbor unwanted guests, including bugs and other pests. Fortunately, proper storage can minimize the risk of infestations.

When packing up your holiday decorations this year for storage, avoid using cardboard boxes. These attract certain pests, and they’re also easy for bugs to squeeze their way into. Choose plastic storage containers with lids that seal. If you decorate your home with an artificial tree during the holidays, don’t put it back in its original cardboard box: find an appropriately sized reusable container.

2. Check Your Trash Can

We all love to indulge over the holidays, and all that cooking and baking tends to result in more trash in the kitchen than usual. All the more reason to be mindful of your garbage can. Does it have an airtight lid, or is it open to the air? Choose a trash can with an airtight lid that closes automatically, and you’ll cut down on the potential for attracting pests.

3. Declutter Your Home

It’s not uncommon for things to get a bit cluttered during the holidays, especially when we find ourselves with less time than usual for cleaning. But keeping your home clean and clutter-free is important for pest prevention, as clutter can attract roaches, spiders, rodents, and other pests.

Take some time to go through your home and clear out the clutter. Don’t forget about out of the way spaces, too, including your garage, attic, basement, and closets.

4. Tidy Up the Yard and Seal Up Your Home

A messy yard will attract pests -- and from your yard, it’s just a short distance into your home. A tidy yard will greatly decrease your risk of ending up with a pest infestation.

Trim back trees and shrubs, ensuring that there aren’t any branches in direct contact with your home. Make sure your store any firewood away from your home. If you’re raking up fall leaves or collecting yard debris, pile it a good distance from your home to avoid attracting insects.

Once you’ve tended to the yard, it’s time to seal up your home for the winter. Outdoor maintenance goes a long way towards preventing unwanted winter pests: check around the exterior of your home for any gaps or cracks, and seal them up with caulk or weather stripping.

5. New Year, New Cleaning Routine

With a new year just around the corner, why not commit to a new cleaning routine? A quick nightly kitchen clean up can make a big difference when it comes to reducing your risk for a pest infestation.

A simple routine could involve checking your kitchen at the end of the night to ensure it’s properly cleaned from dinner. Be sure all surfaces have been wiped down and that there aren’t any crumbs on the floor, as these can easily attract pests. You could also commit to dusting, sweeping, and vacuuming on a regular basis in order to cut down on the potential for fleas, carpet beetles, and spiders.

Keep Your Home Pest-Free All Year Long

These tips can help you keep your home pest-free in the new year. But here in the South, it’s important to take the right steps for pest prevention all year long.

Looking for year-round help with pest control? As a professional pest control company in South Carolina, Home Pest Control has the knowledge and experience to eliminate any pests in your home and ensure that you never have to worry about an infestation. Our affordable Home Shield Pest Control packages are designed to suit any budget, and we only use safe, environmentally friendly methods.

Want to learn more about preparing your home for the winter months? Click here to download our free guide to winterizing your home.