Blog
Enjoying the Holiday Season Pest Free
12/1/10
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Celebrate the holiday season with family and friends. Not with insects and rodents. |
The holidays are filled with joy and laughter as we come together to celebrate with family. Of course it's also a stressful time of year filled with shopping, bills, and cooking, entertaining and other additional chores. Are pests really something that you need to worry about too? Unfortunately yes, but with a few easy steps, you can help keep your holiday free from nuisance and irritating insects and rodents.
Before you decorate for the holidays inspect. If you choose to bring a live tree into your home, be sure to inspect the tree for insects. Try shaking it outside to remove spiders and other insects that may be residing in the branches. You should also look over your artificial tree and other holiday decorations before you install them, especially if they’ve been stored in the basement or attic. Check for moths, mice and other pests who may have created nests during the year in these boxes. When it’s time to take everything down be sure to store decorations in airtight containers that can withstand damaging pests.
Throw another pest free log on the fire. The mood is always more festive with a log burning in the fire, but those logs, along with your wood pile may be infested with insects and rodents. When choosing a location for your wood pile, be sure that it is more than twenty feet from your home and that the wood is up on blocks or poles. When bringing the wood inside, go ahead and bang the pieces together and let those spiders drop off outside your home.
Make sure your holiday traveling plans don’t include bed bugs. If you are planning on traveling you should be on the lookout for bed bugs in airplanes, buses, cabs and of course in hotels and other commercial lodgings. When you arrive at your hotel, make sure you thoroughly inspect the room before bringing your luggage in. Likely places to find bed bugs include on or around mattresses and box springs, on bed frames and nightstands as well as other furniture and even behind electrical outlets, light switches and wall hangings. If your search results indicate a bed bug problem contact hotel management immediately and request new accommodations. On the return trip you should inspect your luggage in the garage or outside the home. Wash any suspect clothing in the hottest water allowable and consider treating your suitcase before storing.
By following these steps, you can ensure that your holiday celebration is full of fun and not pests. However, if pests do make a holiday appearance, contact your local pest control company to eliminate these uninvited guests.