With young kids at home, we haven’t ventured out much since March (ie: the beginning of the longest spring break EVER). So as we get more and more cozy at home, we might also be creating a more enticing spot for pests as well.
After months of all the togetherness, some of the things we’re all doing to keep our littles busy, might also be inviting more pests into our life.
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Standing water & Pests
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been in full on parenting survival mode since March. With all the kid activities shut down in the beginning, including our neighborhood pool, this mama was DESPERATE for ways to get my littles to burn all that energy. In came HEB with their glorious, plastic kiddie pool and the hours of fun it provided. But at the end of all the fun in the sun, and in my rush to get towels wrapped on wet kids and dry clothes laid out for nap-time, it was easy to forget to dump the water. This was a welcomed sight for all the flies and mosquitoes in our area. I learned quickly that dumping this breeding ground of a kiddie pool was essential to keeping pests at bay in our yard.
Bird seed
In an attempt to occupy stir crazy kids, we got creative around here with the art projects. One fun activity we tried was making homemade bird feeders. While we thought it would be fun to watch the birds flock to our yard, we didn’t realize we were also inviting rodents into our yard as well. Squirrels seemed to love this snack even more than the birds. Not only do these little guys steal the food set our for the birds, they can also cause damage to your outdoor furniture or worse, if they make their way into your walls or attic space. They can be tricky to evict once they’ve settled in. And although we still love seeing the birds visit our yard, we’ve now invested in feeders that are squirrel proof.
Crumbs
If you have kids, you’re no stranger to crumbs as a part of your every day life. High five if your kids are rockstars at picking up after themselves, but despite my nagging, mine are NOT. So, it’s not uncommon to find food wrappers, crushed goldfish trails, and half eaten Go-gurt tubes out back near our playscape. These snack remnants provide a buffet for pests right in the backyard.
Sugary drinks and popsicles
One way we beat the heat around here is with juice boxes and popsicles making a regularly appearance in our routine. But my kids aren’t the only ones that love these sugary treats. Stinging insects quickly start swarming as well. In an effort to cut down on the mess indoors, we tend to eat these treats outdoors, and these pesky pests tend to invite themselves in on our sugar high. After being stung a few times this summer, we are all super careful now to eat them quickly and get rid of the trash even quicker to try to outsmart these little stingers.
Eliminating and preventing pests around your home
Some quick and easy changes around your home to help prevent pests from taking up residence within your quarantine circle. But sometimes we all need an outsiders view to bring us out of our quarantined fog.
Sometimes it takes a pest control profession just walking around our property to remind me of all the ways I might be inviting pest over without even realizing it.
Upon Chem-Free’s inspection, they can quickly identify simple changes you can make around your home that could eliminate or prevent pest problems before any treatment may be needed. Their prevention includes sealing cracks and weep holes, checking for nests or other signs pests might be moving in.
These guys know their bugs, and they specialize in knowing their habits too. They also know how to treat pest issues while using the most appropriate products for the job while also minimizing the toxins getting to your family.
And in the middle of a pandemic, isn’t that what we all need?
