Pest Proofing Your Home: How to prevent invasive pests out of your home or business.
We reside in Florida, which has a lot of insects that are ready to attack our homes because of the warm, humid climate. For hundreds of years, keeping bugs out of our houses has been a challenge. There are more pest control solutions available than there are for the common cold.
Nobody wants bugs in their house, where they sleep, raise their children, and spend quality time with their family and friends. Home is where families and friends make memories that will last a lifetime.
What if those priceless recollections were ruined by a nightmare that came true?
Consider that it is the holidays, and you're looking forward to returning home after a fun-filled but stressful week visiting your in-laws. You only want to calm and rest.
When you finally arrive at your front door, you breathe a sigh of relief, relax your shoulders, and open the door to your castle, anticipating peace.
Instead of being relieved, you are taken aback by the sight of cockroaches crawling across the ceiling. They're on the floors, the walls, the ceiling, and the lighting, to name a few places. They've even made their way into the coffee maker. (You'll learn later that this type of Cockroach is the German Cockroach.)
You instantly call Imperial Pest Prevention for rapid, safe, and dependable pest control service, as you are in shock.
There are far too many genuine stories like this one, unfortunately. Bed bugs can bite us while we sleep. Spiders that hunt crawl out of their webs in pursuit of prey. Ants invade the pantry and feast on crumbs to spilled liquids. Thousands of weevil insects and other pantry pests litter the box of your favorite grains and pasta. There are a plethora of bugs that can enter our lives and attack our homes.
"What can I do?" customers inquire. Fortunately, we can take some simple actions to prevent invasive insects out of our homes.
How To Pest Proof Windows
Every structure that humans construct includes windows. Having an opening that allows us to see the outside world is crucial in both houses and companies.
Historically, the first windows were just huge openings through which sunshine and air could pass through. To block off or allow light inside, paper or wooden shutters were frequently utilized.
The glass was reportedly invented thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt and was used by the Romans in the first century.
This glass was produced by mixing sand and ash into a liquid mixture and superheating it. The molten glass was then flattened repeatedly and allowed to cool slowly until it formed a thin sheet.
This early glass was not smooth, had a lot of bubbles, and was opaque. Looking out of these early windows, you'd see a hazy and distorted view of the world. It was challenging to make glass that was uniformly flat on both sides and free of bubbles.
Machines are producing large sheets of glass. Sodium carbonate and calcium carbonate are combined with silica sand. This mixture has been superheated to a temperature of nearly 3000 degrees Fahrenheit. The molten glass is then put into a liquid tin bath. The glass floats perfectly level on top of the liquid tin because the tin and the glass do not combine (like oil and water). Because the glass cools and solidifies before the container, it can be removed. After that, the glass is ready to be cut into window panes.
Ants, for example, may get into microscopic gaps and crevices around windows. Seal any cracks or spaces with mold-resistant caulk to keep them out. Damaged or rotten wooden window frames should be repaired or replaced.
When window screens have tears or rips, they should be repaired or replaced. Swarming insects are drawn to light, so if you have an open window with a broken screen, hundreds of swarming termites could fly toward it and inside your home.
We can use insecticide products around your windows at Imperial Pest Prevention to kill pests like ants crawling around on the inside windows.
How To Pest Proof Doors
Pests can enter homes and workplaces through doors with small apertures. There are required mechanisms in place for a door to work correctly.
There is enough room beneath it for it to swing freely. Ants, spiders, snakes, and roaches can sneak into a home or company through these spaces.
Rubber seals are put around the door frame to solve this problem. This also serves as weatherproofing, as it prevents air conditioning or heat from escaping out while also preventing draughts or hot air from entering. To seal the space present beneath most doors, specialized door sweeps can be purchased.
Wooden trim around doors can deteriorate if it becomes saturated with moisture. Water-damaged wood around doors should be replaced as soon as feasible. Wet, rotten wood is always less expensive to remove and replace than ignore it until more costly problems arise.
Keep in mind that heavily utilized doors have more insect access difficulties than less used doors.
How To Pest Proof an Attic
The space above your home plays a crucial part in maintaining a comfortable temperature in your home. Warm air rises into the attic, and well-placed vents transport it to the outside. This steady flow of air keeps moisture from accumulating on your roof, which can lead to problems like wood rot and mold.
Asphalt roofing shingles are used on most homes, and appropriate attic ventilation keeps this type of roof in good shape. Homes and businesses throughout Volusia and Flagler counties are subjected to sweltering temperatures and humid weather. Heat in the attic makes air conditioners work harder, which raises energy expenses. It would be tough to maintain living rooms cool and comfortable temperatures without a properly vented attic.
Some attics become so heated that pests refuse to enter. But this isn't always the case. Pests such as ants and spiders generally fall onto the roof from trees and enter through small holes and fractures. Entry locations include attic heat vents and chimneys.
Attic gables are vents put on the outside of attic walls in some residences. Attics allow air to circulate and heat to escape to the outside. Metal screens are commonly used to keep unwanted pests such as squirrels, bats, and birds out of homes. These screens can corrode and crack, allowing wildlife such as raccoons to break in like robbers in the middle of the night.
How To Pest Proof a Crawling Space
Homes have an added level of complexity for pest control exterminators since they have crawl spaces beneath them. Because these homes are built high on pillars, vermin have nearly unrestricted access beneath them. Pests can then creep into the house through plumbing pipes or support structures.
Plumbing lines can produce leaks. A tiny silent drop of water may go unnoticed for months, if not years. This slow, constant trickle pools up in the soil beneath and collects if frequent inspections are not performed. Cockroaches and termites are attracted to the continuous and plentiful supply of moisture.
A vapor barrier is usually installed beneath the home in most crawl spaces. This is usually a big plastic sheet with a thickness of a few millimeters. Moisture from the earth is stopped from entering the home above it, as the name implies. The moisture is absorbed back into the ground since the plastic is placed on top of the soil.
Crawl areas are also ventilated, allowing warm air to rise and escape to the outside through the openings in the floor. This doesn't always work because the wood and insulation can absorb the steady flow of warm, humid air beneath the home. Condensation can form beneath the house as the air inside is cooled, giving a suitable source of moisture for insects, mold, and mildew.
How Humans Transport Insects
One of the most typical ways that insects enter houses is through our unintentional introduction. We can't avoid the urge to bring things into our homes, no matter how many precautions we take to keep bugs out. This includes anything from food and clothing to items of all kinds. Creepy pests can hide in these items, waiting to emerge and take over our home in the dark.
Microwaves, dishwashers, refrigerators, stoves, toasters, crockpots, hot plates, catering equipment, televisions, computers—just about anything electrical—are commonly used to bring German cockroaches in. The warmth provided by the electrical currents passing through appliances attracts invertebrates such as roaches.
Grain products such as breadcrumbs, crackers, pasta, rice, and similar things introduce pantry bugs into the home. Exterminators in Florida frequently encounter drugstore bugs, sometimes known as bread beetles or biscuit beetles.
Grain weevils and wheat weevils are other names for bread weevils.
Feed on grains, wheat, rice, pasta, spices, and flour that have been preserved.
Pantry bug infestations are frequently exceedingly large in number. The female drugstore beetle, for example, can lay up to 100 eggs throughout her lifespan. The eggs hatch into larvae in 9-14 days. They pupate into cocoons after 30-40 days and remain in the cocoon for 8-10 days before emerging as adult beetles.
Imperial Pest Prevention, working for and with you, can create a pest-free environment in which you and your family can enjoy cherished memories of your home and family time year after year. Contact Imperial Pest Prevention today to learn more.