Pest Control Tips to Protect Your Home

Summer is here and so is pest season. Beside the obvious annoyance of ants, termites, and mosquitoes, pests can also cause home damage. Damage that is not covered by your homeowners insurance policy.

Most home insurance carriers consider pest control management to be a part of regular home maintenance. So if you’ve had a termite problem for a while and your home starts to fall apart, you will be stuck with the repair bills.

Along with your other home maintenance chores, pest control management will not only stave off the buggers, but avoid surprise expenses to repair a roof or a portion of your home that’s deteriorated as a result of pests.

Know Your Pests

Depending on where you live, you could be dealing with one or more types of household or outdoor pests. Knowing what pests thrive in your state is the first step to understanding what to look for and what to do to stop bugs in their tracks.

In Colorado and a number of other states, termites are a real problem. According to the National Pest Management Association, termites cause more damage to U.S. homes than storms and fire combined. Termite colonies can reach up into the millions, but it only takes 250,000 termites to begin significant home damage.

Over in New Hampshire, Japanese beetles and European chafers cause havoc on gardens and lawns. While these bugs won’t cause structural damage to a home like the termite, they still take money out of one’s pocket to hire pest control and replace a front or back lawn, or both.

Pest Control Tips

In addition to threatening damage to your home, household and outdoor pests such as mosquitoes and cockroaches also bring with them potentially dangerous issues that threaten the health of your family. These pest control tips can help you to ward off pest problems before they get out of control.

• Even one termite, cockroach or mouse can spell trouble. It could mean that infestation has grown and pests are seeking new places to nest. Taking a tour of your home’s basement, garage, and outside area will enable you to assess the situation and decide if a call to pest control is needed.

• Keep a tight seal to keep pests out. Inspect and if needed, replace any worn out weather-stripping or loose mortar around your home’s basement foundation and windows. Seal off entry points for electrical utilities and pipes, and any cracks or holes on the outside structure of your home. Also keep garbage containers tightly sealed.

• Maintain your roof. If you have rotted shingles replace them immediately. This will not only keep out unwanted water and damage, but it will deter insects who are attracted to rotting wood.

• Maintain shrubs and trees. Keeping shrubs and trees under control and away from the home is a precautionary tip for fire prevention and pest control, so you’re killing two birds with one stone.

• Maintain crawl spaces, basements and attics. It’s important to regularly inspect these areas and keep them well ventilated and dry, since they are the favorite camping grounds for many pests.

• Keep out the water. This means clearing out your gutters where water can collect due to built up leaf and foliage. Also empty out or remove any containers that can collect rain water. These are potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other insects.

• Store wood away from your home. Like the worn shingles on your roof, termites and other insects can gather and form colonies in stacks of wood stored for winter fires. A good rule of thumb is to store wood it at least 20 feet from your home and at least 5 inches off the ground. This avoids easy access for pests from a wood pile to your home’s structure.

• Seek pest professionals. When you see signs of pest trouble, it’s best to call the pros in sooner than later. If pests such as termites are a real problem, you may consider getting on a regular pest management program with an exterminator. Prices vary, but for an estimated cost of $500 a year can save you thousands of dollars in home repair costs down the road. You can refer to your state’s Department of Agriculture or your local pest control regulatory agency for information on pest management companies.

In today’s economy, the last thing people need is unexpected home repair bills or cause to bring down a home’s value. By being proactive, you can avoid these headaches and enjoy the summer season knowing your home is protected from costly pest infestation.

See how much you could save today on your home insurance. Get your free home insurance quotes today!

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