Fall Invaders: How to Prevent Mice and Spiders from Entering Your Massachusetts Home

Massachusetts homes are resilient; they must stand up to the bright sunlight and storms of summer as well as snowy winters. However, many homeowners find that damage from the weather isn’t the only thing threatening their house.

No one wants to find pests in their home, but in Massachusetts, it’s more common than you might think, especially as the weather becomes colder for the year. Fall bugs such as spiders and roaches can turn the festive season from relaxing to stressful in a hurry.

Bugs are not the only invaders, either. Mice are another common fall pest, and they can also cause damage to the home. In addition, mice are vectors for disease, carrying potentially dangerous illnesses to every place they inhabit.

Here are some tips to prevent mice and spiders from entering your home this fall.

Why Do Mice and Spiders Choose Homes?

Before homeowners can determine how best to make their home rodent-proof or bug-proof, they must understand why these pests are entering in the first place. There are a few reasons:

Temperatures

Bugs and mammals can sense temperatures dropping, and they need a place to shelter over the winter. Otherwise, the frigid air can harm or even kill them. Human homes are temperature-regulated, so they are an ideal choice to escape the fall chill.

Food

As fall transitions into winter, food sources become scarcer. Bugs and mice need consistent access to food because they eat frequently, and this might be hard to come by outdoors as prey leave or die and food items degrade. Instead, it is easier to steal from food items that are left unsecured in human homes.

Security

Predators abound outdoors, from sharp-eyed hawks that can spy a mouse from far away to small birds that eat dozens of insects every day. Homes provide shelter from these threats, as spiders, mice, and other pests make their homes in the walls and dark places of a residence.

The Risks Pests Bring

Most people want to eliminate pests because they are disturbing or bothersome. However, they can also pose a health risk. Spiders such as black widows and brown recluses can cause injury in humans through their venom, which may result in severe pain around the bite site or even death in those sensitive to the venom.

Mice can carry a wide range of diseases that can infect humans, including hantavirus. They might even bring ticks and fleas, which can infest a home separately and bother pets and humans alike.

How to Prevent Pest Invasion

Pests pose a significant threat to safe and comfortable home living. However, they do not need to be an inevitable part of living in Massachusetts! A few ways to prevent mice and spiders from entering a home include:

Sealing entry points

Spiders and mice are small, but even they have limits on what spaces they can squeeze into. Check the outside of the house and around doors and windows for small cracks or gaps that could be providing entry into the home, then seal them. (Just remember to keep the weep holes of the windows unsealed, as these allow moisture to escape.)

Removing attractants

Spiders are often drawn to places with plenty of prey sources, such as gnats and pantry moths. Similarly, mice love easily accessible foods such as stray dog kibble or items stored in cardboard boxes. Keeping the home clean and storing food in glass containers can deprive pests of the easy food they seek.

Using professional services

Not every pest infestation is something a homeowner can (or should) handle alone. Mice can reproduce extremely quickly; in fact, by the time homeowners come up with a plan and implement it, it is often too late to stop a full-on infestation.

Calling on professionals is a smart choice to get the job done right the first time before pests can gain a strong foothold in the home. Professionals also likely have access to tools homeowners don’t, and they can provide insight into areas of entry and other risks that DIYers might not have spotted.

Get Pest Control Help to Eliminate Mice and Spiders

Mice and spiders are common intruders during the fall weather in Massachusetts, but it is important for homeowners to stay vigilant and address the issue quickly before winter sets in. Otherwise, you could be spending the Christmas season in combat with unwanted invaders rather than cozying up with family.

The professionals at Spartan Animal & Pest Control can help you tackle spiders, mice, and other pests quickly so you can get back to what matters most .Contact Spartan Animal & Pest Control to schedule a visit and eliminate pests before their numbers grow.