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How to keep pests out of your home: Common entry points you should know

Ever wonder how to keep pests out of your home?

How to keep pests out of your home: The first step is Exclusion

Pest control experts call closing off entry points for pests into your home, exclusion. Doing this yourself can be very time consuming. If you don’t know what you are looking for, it can be easy to miss spots. The best way to keep pests out of your home would be to contact a professional pest control service. There are several places to look for and seal. Below are some common entry points to consider and look out for around your home.

How to keep pests out of your home: common entry points around your home for pests

There are several different entry points that you might not think to check around your home. Here are a few:

Dryer vents – Dryer vents are rather large entry points for potential pests to enter your home. These can be locations larger pests such as mice and rats or squirrels can get into your home. You should check over these to make sure the screens are intact. Make sure the flaps open and close properly to make sure they are closed when not in use.

Exhaust fans – Exhaust fans are usually located in the kitchen and bathrooms in your home. They remove excess steam, smoke, or smells from your home. Make sure that there are screens or covers to prevent entry of pests when they are not in use. Also check for holes and damage to screens or covers. It only takes 1/4 of an inch gap for some rodents to fit through.

Pipes and wires into your home – There are several entry points into your home where pipes or wires enter your home. Often times there are gaps around these entry points into your home – especially if you have had a recent installation of something into your home. Rarely will the technician that installed the pipes, electronics or cables be thorough and seal up around that entry point. If you have had something installed into your home recently, this could be another entry point you didn’t know about.

Doors and windows

Garage doors – If your home has an attached garage this could be another entry point you might not have thought about.  Make sure your garage fully connects with the driveway and there aren’t gaps. Another common thing people do is leave their garage door open throughout the day when they are home. If you do this, you could be letting the pests right in and not even realize it.

Windows and door frames – Be sure you check out your windows and door frames to look for gaps and cracks. There could be several cracks and tiny gaps around your door frames and windows that could be letting pests in. A great feature to add to doors are door sweeps. Sweeps help close the gaps and keep a tight seal around the doors in your home. With your windows, be sure there are screens that don’t have holes if you are using windows for ventilation and temperature control.  A simple fix for windows is to add a layer of weather stripping to make sure there aren’t gaps big enough for pests to get in when your windows are closed.

Trees

Tree branches – Be sure to check around your home for plants or tree branches that are near or touching your home. Plants, trees, wood piles, etc. are homes for insects and pests, and if they are touching your home, pests can walk right in through those contact points. If tree branches are near your roof or windows for example, this allows bigger pests like squirrels, rats, and mice, to jump into or onto your home and make their way inside.

With all of these different entry points, it could take a long time for you to check them all and are likely to miss some points. You can save yourself a lot of time and headaches by letting a professional pest control expert do this for you, point out the potential entry points, and seal them for you. The professionals at Rove Pest Control have a service to find and locate and help seal such entry points, so if you are in the greater Minnesota Metro area, be sure to reach out and take a pro-active approach to protecting your home from pests.

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