The tradition of spring cleaning has been around for centuries. The Jewish people once cleaned their homes in preparation of Passover. The purpose was to clean the home of any crumbs of unleavened, and therefore non-Kosher, bread. People in the Christian faith were known to clean on ‘Clean Monday,’ the first day of Lent. The day before Good Friday, Roman Catholic churches conducted a full cleaning of their altars. To celebrate the Persian New Year known as Nowruz, Iranians perform a ritual known as khooneh takouni which translates into “shaking the house” or, conducting a thorough clean.
Regardless of a person’s religious beliefs or lack thereof, house cleaning is an important task for anyone and there is no better time to get into all the nooks and crannies than this time of year. Making sure your home is completely clean will ward off pests and make your home less attractive to them.
Why Does Spring Bring an Increase of Pests?
Homeowners tend to see an increase in pests during the spring months for two reasons. The first is that when temperatures begin to drop in the winter, pests will either remain hidden or they will go into a state similar to hibernation. As the temperatures start to rise, the pests will start to emerge, even if they have been in your home all winter. For this reason, it is not uncommon for homeowners to start to see an increase in pests in their house during the spring months.
Of course, before a pest can enter a home, it has to come from outside. With spring comes much warmer weather that is also attractive to pests outdoors, but that want to enter a home in search of food and shelter. Mosquitoes, ants, termites, and cockroaches are just some of the pests seen more commonly in spring.
Spring Cleaning Tips
Spring cleaning typically refers to cleaning every area of a home, which is overwhelming for many. To break it down and make the task a little more manageable, tackle the following tips one at a time.
- Clean out all closets: Closets are a constant source of clutter. Take everything out from all closets in your home, organize items you want to keep and discard those you do not. Dust and clean all surfaces before replacing the items you will keep in an organized manner.
- Place food in airtight containers: Clean out your pantry and kitchen cupboards and remove any food stored in open packaging into airtight containers. This will make it more difficult for pests to get into the food, which is a major attractant in your home.
- Close off access points: Pests will never become a nuisance if you do not allow them into your home. Inspect the perimeter of your home, both inside and outside, and seal any gaps, cracks, and holes pests may use to make their way inside.
- Examine all window screens: Just as pests will use small gaps and cracks in foundations and other areas of a home to get inside, they will also use loose or damaged window screens. Examine all screens to ensure they do not have any holes or tears and replace them if they do, or if a screen is loose.
- Clean the entire basement and attic: Basement and attics are great places for pests to hide out because humans are not in these rooms as much as they are in other areas of the home. As you are spring cleaning, make sure your basement and attic are cleaned thoroughly and while cleaning, keep an eye out for pests and their nests.
- Repair leaky faucets: Pests enter homes looking for food, shelter, and water. They will also look for water outside of a home and often, it comes from a leaky faucet. Make sure you repair any leaky faucet so pests are not attracted to the water that flows from it.
- Clean your yard: You may first think about cleaning the inside of your house when it is time for spring cleaning. However, the outside of your home is just as important. Dead leaves, melted snow, mud, and debris are all attractive to pests as they provide shelter, food, and water, so clean the yard of these items and keep pests at bay.
Our Professional Pest Control Experts Can Eliminate Your Pests
While the above spring cleaning tips are very useful, they are not always enough to keep pests out of your home. If you have a pest problem, our experienced pest control technicians at Pointe Pest Control can get rid of it for you and make sure it does not come back. Call us today at (866) 633-1573 to request a quote so we can eliminate your problem as soon as possible.
