Pest-Free-Tips: Connor’s Homeowners Tips

Inside Your Home

• Keep kitchen and dining areas clean.
• Store garbage in covered receptacles; empty regularly.
• Repair leaking faucets or pipes to prevent moisture buildup.
• Use a dehumidifier in areas of your home that tend to retain moisture.

Outside Your Home

• Eliminate standing water; pests are attracted to moisture. Keep tree branches and other plants trimmed so that branches do not make contact with the house. Pests can use these branches as a bridge into your home.
• Seal cracks or openings around the foundation of your house. Pests can slip into your home through the tiniest cracks.
• Do not store firewood and building materials next to your home. Pests will build nests in stacks of wood.

Termite Prevention

There are specific actions you can take to assist in termite prevention:

• Avoid water accumulation near the foundation of your home. For example, be sure your downspouts, gutters, and splash blocks are effectively diverting moisture from the foundation.
• Reduce humidity in crawl spaces with Clean Space Crawls space encapsulation system.
• Never bury wood scraps or waste lumber in the yard.
• Most importantly, eliminate wood contact with the soil. Maintain an 8-inch gap between the soil and wood portions of the building.

Signs of Termite Infestation

Common signs of termite infestation include:

• The presence of mud tubes on foundations, walls and other structure parts.
• Evidence of winged “swarmer” termites, or their shed wings. (Check along the edges of floors and on windowsills, where these signs are often found).
• Damaged wood, hollowed out along the grain, often lined with mud.

  Unfortunately, sometimes even the best homeowner is not able to prevent a pest problem. If you see evidence of pest activity, call Connor’s for a complimentary evaluation.