Early Spring Pest Prevention: Tips to Keep Your Home Pest-Free

Throughout the winter months, it can be easy to have a false sense of security when it comes to pest problems in the home. But as we approach the spring season, the temperatures begin to rise and lead to an increase in unwelcomed guests, such as ants, termites, wasps, and other pests.

Being proactive at the beginning of the year can help you avoid a full-blown infestation. Here’s how you can prepare your home and yard with effective early spring pest prevention strategies as we enter the spring season.

Seal Off Entry Points in Your Home

Many pests, including ants and wasps, will make their way into your home through small cracks and gaps, such as piping, poorly sealed doors and windows, attached garages, and any problem spots near the home’s foundation. The early spring season is the perfect time to inspect your home for any possible points of entry for these pests, and seal them up to keep them from getting inside your home and wreaking havoc.

Inspect the exterior of your home to spot any potential points of entry, including cracks, gaps, holes, or other points of concern. Seal the openings you find by using weather-resistant caulking and weatherstripping. Make extra certain that you’ve addressed any spots where pests typically enter the home unnoticed, such as pipes, drains, vents, utility lines, bushes, or trees that make contact with or enter your home.

Closing off points of access for pests will make it much harder for pests to invade your home. By taking the steps to apply this sealing work now could prevent a full-blown pest emergency situation later.

Eliminate Sources of Moisture

Early spring pest prevention starts with managing moisture around your home. Certain pests thrive in damp environments, including ants, termites, and mosquitoes. As the spring season kicks off, there may be some residual moisture from ice and snow, as well as spring rainstorms that can cause moisture and areas of standing water that can become a breeding ground for pests.

Pay attention to areas such as basements, crawlspaces, and outdoor areas – especially ones near your home’s foundation or entryways. Reducing the moisture levels inside and outside of your home will make it much less inviting to pests who are looking for a place to nest.

Fixing leaky pipes, faucets, and drains can help reduce moisture levels inside the home. If there are areas in the home that are more prone to moisture, such as bathrooms or basements, keep moisture and humidity levels low by using a dehumidifier where possible.

Looking at your home’s exterior, focus on removing any debris in gutters and downspouts that could cause water to pool near the foundation of your home. Additionally, ensure your yard can drain properly and prevent standing water. By doing this, you can help prevent standing water that will attract mosquitoes and other pests.

Clean and Remove Outdoor Clutter

Debris, such as leaves, firewood, fallen branches, and dead plants, can provide the perfect hiding spots for ants, termites, and other pests that emerge in the spring. Before spring fully arrives, make sure to clean up and remove any of these common places where pests like to hang out.

What You Can Do:

• Rake Up Leaves and Overgrown Bushes: Clean up the leaves and trim any shrubs or bushes that have gotten overgrown and unruly, especially ones near your home’s foundation.
• Prune Branches: Trees and bushes that touch your home form a bridge for pests to enter easily. Make sure to trim the branches to eliminate this bridging point to help eliminate pest invasions.
• Dispose of Piles of Brush: Leaves, brush, dead plants, and mulch that have been left over from any winter landscaping need to be removed.
• Move Firewood: Make sure to place firewood up off the ground and move it away at least 20 feet or so away from your home.

Making this a pre-spring-cleaning task will help prevent pests from nesting too close to your home and causing issues in the spring.

Schedule A Termite Inspection

Termites do not hibernate during the cold winter months. Instead, they adapt by remaining in walls, wooden structures, or burrowing deeper into the ground. If you don’t catch these warning signs of termite activity in your home, a lot of damage can go unnoticed until it’s too late.

Here are some signs to look for:

• Mud tubes near your home’s foundation
• Discarded wings near your windows
• Wood that sounds hollow or like paper when tapped
• Small pellet-like droppings in the attic, under furniture, or in corners
• Soft or sinking floors or bubbling/peeling paint on windows and walls

Our professionals have the expertise to identify and address termite issues that can easily be missed by homeowners. With early spring being the most active time for termites, catching a termite problem in your home early can save you from costly damages later. Contact us to schedule a termite inspection.

Pest-Proof & Maintain Your Yard  

Keeping your lawn well-maintained has benefits beyond curb appeal; it also helps control pests and prevent infestations in your home. Ants, wasps, and mosquitoes thrive in overgrown or unkempt grass, shrubs, and gardens, as well as near standing water.

Keep your lawn and bushes regularly maintained, remove any puddles or standing water in your yard and near your home’s foundation, and consider applying a perimeter or natural treatment to repel pests from your home.

Protect Your Outdoor Structures

Wooden structures outside of your home, such as sheds, decks, detached garages, and wooden playsets, can attract pests in the spring. Wasps, ants, and spiders will often build nests or colonies in or around these outdoor structures.

What To Do:

• Inspect these structures for any damage, such as loose boards, cracks, or rot, and repair them.
• Check for early signs of wasp nests or signs of other pests and safely remove them while they’re still small.
• Apply a fresh coat of weatherproof sealant to protect these structures from infestations and issues with their structural integrity.

Take care of your outdoor structures to help prevent major pest problems later in the year.

Call for Professional Pest Control Services

While DIY spring pest prevention can help, some pest issues require the expertise of qualified professional pest control technicians.

Our pest control experts can identify problems that may be overlooked and can apply safe, effective pest control treatment. Additionally, we can help create a plan tailored to your home’s needs and vulnerabilities to keep pests away.

Schedule a professional inspection and treatment to have peace of mind and long-lasting protection against pests as we enter the spring season. We’re here to ensure your safety and satisfaction while providing high-quality pest control services at reasonable prices.

Take Action Today for a Pest-Free Spring

While the spring weather in Wichita can be unpredictable, we can always count on pests to make their move as soon as the temperatures rise. By taking these steps to prevent spring pest infestations, you can keep your home protected.

Need professional help with spring pest prevention? Every technician at Betts Pest Control is licensed and certified by the state of Kansas and only uses modern, effective, and environmentally responsible products and techniques.

We’re proud to honor the values and reputation that have made us a trusted name in Wichita for over 50 years. As a part of Orkin, we’re dedicated to providing Wichita’s best pest control services. Contact us today to ask about our services or to get an estimate. We look forward to working with you.