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4 Tips For A Pest Free Holiday
12/9/13
Time to unpack the holiday decorations for the holiday season! It’s the time of year your kids (and possibly you) have been waiting for. The fire place fills the house with a warm glow, while laughter from the children reminds you of a simpler time. The first cardboard box from storage comes out filled with tinsel and lights. You open the top while the young ones jitter with anticipation. Reaching for the first string of lights you notice something in the box that was definitely not there last year. A mouse nest resting atop the tinsel, with its inhabitants peering nervously up at you! Suddenly, the mice make a mad dash for safety, scurrying across the living room. Screams from the kids fill an otherwise joyous night.
Now, this might not be a typical circumstance of holiday unpacking, but it is a possibility. It’s better to know how to prevent an evening like this all together. Here at McCauley Services we specialize in pest control, and have compiled a list of 4 tips for a pest free holiday.
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Be sure to open holiday decoration storage boxes outside before bringing them in. Cardboard boxes make a great home for mice and other unsavory vermin for the winter. When it comes time to pack up decorations for the season, it’s worth the investment to buy heavy duty plastic bins instead of using the traditional cardboard for storage. It will be much more difficult for ants, rodents and spiders to make their home in your cherished Christmas tree ornaments.
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When looking for a tree, be sure to bring only the most newly cut tree into your home. Dried out trees are not only a fire hazard, but they are also an attractive home for spiders in Arkansas, such as the poisonous black widow. Giving your tree a good shake outside before bringing it in is also an important safety measure.
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Pests not only find your tree and storage boxes a place to call home but also your source of heat for the winter; firewood. Be sure to store your firewood at least 20ft away from your home and on a raised platform to prevent mice, ants and other pests from making nests there.
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Storing edible decorations such as candy canes and gingerbread men is a recipe for disaster. Ants, rodents, and other critters just love the taste of your holiday treats. To prevent an infestation, it is probably best throw them away once the holidays are over.
These few tips might make the difference between a holiday to remember and a holiday to forget. A season not infested with ants, rodents, spiders and other unmentionables makes for time well spent with family. While the above tips may not be a solution to all of your problems, it is a place to start, and the professionals at McCauley Services are always only a call away if things get out of hand.