Keeping insects out of your home may often seem impossible, but you can certainly gain some success in bug-proofing. Your home, children, pets, and food will be much better off if you can seal the exterior of your house as much as possible. From that point, it’s more a matter of hiring an exterminator to regularly eliminate any infestations that may be assailing your house.
Window and Doors
Bugs get into your house the same way people do – through the doors. They also come in through the windows, especially if they are flying pests. The first step to bug-proofing your home is to make sure caulk around your doors and windows is in good shape. If it is cracked or shrunken, small insects can work their way into the voids and enter your house. You may never even see some of them. That’s because they will nest in the dead air space between the siding and your interior walls. But, eventually, the spiders and ants will cause enough damage to make their presence known.
To avoid this, cut loose caulk out of the gaps around your windows and doors. Clean the area and make sure it is dry, then reapply caulk to seal the gaps. If the mullions between the window panes have cracks in the glazing, that should be replaced, too.
Brick Weeps
Try as you might, there are just some places that will allow pests into your home. One of these places is the brick weep. In the second or third course of bricks from the bottom of your house, there is occasionally a place where there is no mortar. This is a weep, and is left there on purpose to allow moisture to evaporate. Also to promote a certain amount of air circulation. If you have trouble with mice, see if there are signs of them getting in through the weeps. If so, stuff the weeps with steel wool. That is about the only thing mice will not chew and dig. If you see a trail of ants or other bugs going into the weeps, call your exterminator or pest control professional.
Siding
The siding on your house should be sealed in the seams and corners. Inspect it yourself, or hire someone to check that the joints and trim pieces are doing the job they were intended to do. This will not only provide pest control, it will keep moisture from lodging between the siding and your house, causing mold and mildew.
Debris
Keep all debris and vegetation away from the foundation of your house. Rodents and bugs love to burrow into debris and make their homes there. This keeps them in close enough proximity to burrow into your house or simply come in through the doors. Debris can e a breeding ground for spiders, who like to nest under boards and firewood.
If you seal the exterior of your home, you may not keep all of the pests out, but you will keep a lot of them at bay.
