As the holiday season commences, families across California and northern Nevada are preparing for smaller, socially distant gatherings and virtual celebrations. There is, however, another holiday reveler looking to crash the festivities – pests.
Clark, your friendly pest, rodent, termite, and lawn care expert, would like to remind everyone that homes, apartments, and condos are vulnerable to unwanted pest incursions this time of year. The reasons? Holiday decorating, along with a surge in online shopping that brings about a multitude of packages to be delivered to your front door.
What do holiday decorating and online shopping have to do with pests entering your home or apartment?
- Fresh greenery – trees, wreaths, garlands, and plants – are aromatic and festive, but can also be home to a variety of pests that include spiders, mites, ticks, and even the occasional mouse.
- Decorations stored in attics, sheds, and crawlspaces are unloaded and hung with great care, but boxes of fabric decorations, artificial trees, and wreaths make ideal pest harborage locations, since they go undisturbed 11 months out of the year and are easily accessible unless they are stored in tightly sealed boxes. Clark recommends using plastic storage bins with lids that close tight.
- Packages delivered to your home can also provide pests like cockroaches and pantry pests with a “Trojan horse” method of getting inside with little fanfare.
Clark recommends you carefully examine greenery and boxes of holiday decor for signs of pests before taking them out of storage or bringing them inside. Signs of pest infestation include rodent droppings and gnaw marks or spider egg sacs. If you spot something that looks suspicious, take the box outside for further inspection before bringing it indoors.
To help avoid unwanted crawling or flying pests this holiday season, Clark offers the following tips:
- Shake out fresh greenery to ensure that you’re not inadvertently inviting pests into your home. It’s possible that pests may have laid eggs in your greenery, which could cause a major infestation if not removed before being brought indoors.
- Before unpacking boxes of decorations that have been stored away since last December, bring them outdoors and inspect them for signs of a pest infestation, such as gnaw marks or droppings. When it’s time to pack up those decorations again, be sure to store them in sturdy, plastic containers with sealable lids to prevent pests from gaining access.
- Everyone enjoys cozying up next to a fire, including pests! Inspect firewood for signs of spiders, termites, or ants before bringing it indoors. Any firewood stored outdoors should also be placed at least five feet off the ground and 20 feet from the home.
Clark Pest Control remains committed to safeguarding your home from pests during these challenging times. Our service technicians use such personal protective equipment as gloves, masks, and respirators, they practice social distancing, they call ahead to notify you before a service, and they adhere strictly to all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines when servicing inside or outside your home.
If you’re experiencing an issue with unwanted pests in and around your home, call or text Clark, at (800) WE-NEED-YOU (936-3339) or send an email to clarkcares@clarkpest.com.
Until next time, the pest management professionals at Clark Pest Control thank you for helping to keep unwanted pests out of your home and yard.