News & Articles

Fall Pest Control – Preparing Your Home Against Bugs & Rodent Invaders

Posted on September 28, 2022

‘Tis the season of pumpkin spice, trick-or-treaters, and fall pest control. As the weather outside gets cooler you might be finding more spiders inside the house or other bugs in the basement. That’s because fall is a time when creepy crawlies try to burrow their way into your warm home for the winter. So, are you prepared for the fall pest invaders coming your way? If not, we’re here to walk you through the simple steps you can take to secure your home today.

Remember that bugs like spiders, bedbugs, and silverfish aren’t out to get you – they just want to use your home as a safe haven for the winter. Still, it’s not a very pleasant feeling to open your closet and see a spider scuttle off into the shadows. Or to feel the tickle of insect legs crawling up your leg as you’re trying to fall asleep in your warm bed.

Fall Pests You Should Watch Out For

Some pests are more likely than others to seek out the warmth of your home as the degrees start to drop outside and the frost creeps in. Below we’ll quickly go over what you should watch out for and the solutions for each of these pests.

Spiders

Some people might find spiders fascinating, but most homeowners do not see spiders inside the house as being a welcome sight. You might have noticed that from September to October every year there’s a sudden increase in the number of spiders you see indoors. This is not only because they are seeking warmth as the nights get colder, but also because fall is spider mating season. After hatching from their eggs in the spring, spiders have a few months to grow before looking for their own mate in the fall. Luckily, there are a few simple fall pest control tricks to reducing the number of spiders inside the house.

Let natural light in during the day – Spiders love to do their dirty deeds in the shadows so make sure to keep your curtains & blinds open for natural light to come in, especially when you’re not home.

Seal up cracks – This one’s simple; shut off the spiders’ access by sealing up cracks in walls, floors, or ceilings. Make sure your doors & windows are sealed tight, & your bug screens have no rips.

Clean up clutter & foliage – Damp, dark, & cluttered spaces are (in a spider’s eyes) a nice, romantic place to make more spider babies. Clean & vacuum your home regularly indoors & keep the area around the outside of your home clear of foliage & decomposing leaves.

Mice

One of the common issues that many Alberta homeowners face are mice in the house. Mice are especially common in rural areas, burrowing inside homes, trailers, and RVs to hide from the cold. Although they look arguably cuter than spiders, this pest can multiply quickly to destroy your home or make you, your family, and your pets sick. They’re surprisingly tough to keep out of your home as well since they can fit through cracks and crevices much smaller than their body size. There are steps you can take to reduce the headache of dealing with mice in the house.

Don’t make your home a target – Make your home unappealing to rodents by keeping your grass trimmed & your yard clean, eliminating leaky taps, pipes or open drains, & keeping your kitchen organized & clean.

Set up your defences – You can use metal weatherstripping under doors & windows, stuff steel wool around pipes & other crevices, & use fine mesh metal screens around vents & soffits.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches are a notorious pest that homeowners around the world face every day. In Alberta, the most common type we see is the German cockroach. These cockroaches are about 1.3 to 1.6 cm in length and can multiply rapidly. They secrete a nasty-smelling liquid in their feces that is pungent enough to make a whole room stink. This oily liquid can also contaminate food and lead to you consuming harmful bacteria, including salmonella. Here are some simple fall pest control steps you can take to deal with cockroaches in the house.

Keep it clean – Although cockroaches can infest clean homes, they are more likely to target messy & disorganized residences. Clean & vacuum regularly, while also keeping your food stored in tightly-sealed containers. Wipe your pantry & cupboards to avoid having any crumbs on the shelves, but make sure to keep cupboards dry because cockroaches are attracted to moisture. We also recommend fixing any leaky faucets & cracks in your plumbing, or even using a dehumidifier.

Seal everything up – We’re sure you’re seeing a pattern emerge here; keep cracks & crevices to a minimum to ensure pests like cockroaches are less likely to find a way inside as they seek warmth throughout the ever-cooling fall months. Weatherstripping doors & windows is another great solution that will cut back on your bills & keep your home airtight so that cockroaches can’t find their way in.

Sow Bugs

Sow bugs, or pill bugs, are a very common pest often seen outside in yards or hiding under rocks. These bugs can often end up inside the house, especially if your home has high levels of moisture. You will most commonly find these sow bugs in the basement, as this is often the area of the house with the most moisture. Prevention methods for sow bugs are similar to the ones we have already listed above but apply more to the ground level of your home as this is where you will most often find these critters.

Keep humidity levels low – These critters need humidity to survive which is why we often find these bugs in the basement. Use fans or dehumidifiers throughout your home, especially in areas that need to be well ventilated such as crawl spaces & basements.

Seal it up! – Use a caulking gun to close cracks & crevices, especially around the ground level of your home.

Keep everything clean – Sow bugs feed on decaying leaf litter & other vegetation, so make sure you remove excess debris & decaying matter from around the exterior perimeter of your home when you’re doing your fall cleaning. This also includes cleaning rain gutters & downspouts.

Ants

Ants are keeping busy this time of year, with colonies stockpiling food to try and survive the cold Alberta winter. This means ant scouts are going out and searching for plentiful food sources that will never run out – which makes your pantry the holy grail for these colonies. They love sugary and greasy foods like peanut butter and crumbs. If one scout ant finds a source of food inside your home, it will leave a scented trail to it that other worker ants can follow. Luckily, there are a couple simple fall pest control steps you can take to reduce the chances of an ant invasion.

Seal up your food – Do your best to ensure that scout ants return to their colonies as failures that will be ridiculed by the other ants for failing to find a food source. Use airtight containers for ant-attractive foods (carbohydrates, sweets, proteins, fats, & oils), ensuring you don’t have to deal with an infestation of these bugs in the basement or kitchen.

Keep your home clean – Wipe down surfaces regularly to avoid having crumbs on shelves, tables, or kitchen countertops. We also recommend sweeping & vacuuming the floor often, especially around your pet’s food dish if you have one.

General Tips For Fall Pest Control

If you’ve read through our list above of the common pests that are trying to burrow their way into your cozy home as we speak, you’ve probably seen a few reoccurring strategies. We’ve summed it all up into these four strategies you can use to keep as many of these pests out as possible, all at once.

1. Keep Cracks, Crevices, & Drafts To A Minimum

There are a variety of tools you can find at your local department store that will help ensure you keep your home clear of bugs in the basement or other spaces. This includes caulk, weatherstripping, and fine mesh screens for small pests or steel wool for larger ones.

2. Clean, Clean, & Clean Some More!

The one thing almost all pests have in common is their love of the dark, making clutter around your yard, the perimeter of your home, and the inside of your home very appealing. A simple fall pest control tip is to make sure you vacuum regularly to keep dark corners to a minimum. Natural light is great for deterring spiders inside the house, as well as almost any other pest.

3. Store Your Food In Airtight Containers

Don’t give pests a food source and they won’t be able to survive for very long. For critters like cockroaches and ants, storing your food in airtight containers and keeping your pantry clean will prevent you from opening your cereal box or bag of rice to a nasty surprise.

4. Keep Your Home Dry

Some people prefer a bit of humidity in their home, but unfortunately so do most pests. We recommend keeping your home well ventilated with fans or dehumidifiers to reduce the chances of an invasion of spiders inside the house or bugs in the basement.

Do you have a pest that’s getting out of control? Reach out to Martin's Pest Control – a certified pest control company in Calgary and Airdrie. We’ll get to the source of the problem and have you pest free in no time. Call today for a fall pest control quote today.