Although many pests go into hibernation over winter, just as many don't and will seek out warmth and shelter in your home. If you don't want to spend the cold months battling an infestation, here are two preventative things you can do right now to keep your home pest free:

Eliminate Access Points

Pests enter your home and set up camp because they can. If you do an inspection of your home right this moment, you will likely find a number of holes, openings, and other access points pests can use to get into your house. For instance, there will typically be holes where cable wires and pipes enter your house.

Therefore, the first thing you should do is close as many of these entry points as possible. If you have a fireplace, for instance, install a screen over the vent and the interior opening to help keep out mice and birds. Replace any weather-stripping on doors and winders, and repair any damaged screens. Not only will you stop pests from getting into your home, some improvements will probably reduce your energy bill by eliminating drafts.

Get Rid of Clutter

Fall is the perfect time to get your house in order, especially since pests love clutter because it provides them the perfect place to hide and build nests. So another thing you can do to keep pests away is clean up your garage and exterior areas.

This goes beyond just making the areas more orderly. You should throw away stuff you don't use to reduce the amount of places for pests to hide and store the rest in plastic bins. Certain items actually attract pests, increasing your risk of infestation. For instance, silverfish love cardboard, so having this material in your garage raises the chance they'll find their way inside. So using plastic instead of boxes is a better choice, and use racks or shelves to keep those containers off the ground.

As for the exterior of your home, trim bushes to create as much distance between them and your home and cut tree branches so they're not hanging over your roof. Spiders—especially brown recluses—like to hide in foliage and may use them to get to your home. Store firewood as far away from your house too as possible and place it in a bin off the ground to prevent bugs from getting into it.

For more tips on prepping your home to keep pests away or assistance with a pest infestation, contact a pest control company like American Pest Control Inc. 

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