The holiday season is upon us. Just yesterday it felt like it was never going to cool off. Now the leaves are falling, the birds are migrating, and you find yourself searching through frozen turkeys at the supermarket, attempting to determine if a twenty-pound bird is large enough to feed thirty plus friends and family for dinner. Then dread starts to set in… just how many pluses are there going to be? And wait… who can’t sit next to whom and why is that again? The last thing you need to worry about during Thanksgiving is pests.
First off, you may want to buy two turkeys, just in case. And if there happens to be any left, you can always have leftovers. Everyone loves leftover Thanksgiving dinner foods. Yes, everyone, especially pests. They live for Thanksgiving leftovers. A discarded turkey carcass is a pest’s idea of five-star cuisine. They can’t wait to dig into your delicious cast-offs as soon as your back is turned. But there are ways to stop pests in their tracks before they start writing out their Christmas feast wish lists.
Uninvited Thanksgiving Guests
Thanksgiving time often has cooler temperatures around the US, but here in Southern California, cooler temperatures can be hit or miss. If Thanksgiving happens to land on a warmer day, you can typically expect guest of the six-legged and two tentacle variety. Ants love to scout your home for any crumbs accidentally knocked on the ground or left on the counter. One little drop of cranberry sauce triggers a happy colony to come running.
Ants
To stop ants from invading your counters and floors, set a small dish outside with a mixture of boric acid and sugar. Mix the two together with a little water into a paste. The ants will be more likely to go to the mixture than into your house. The boric acid poisons the sugar, eventually killing all the ants.
Cockroaches
The one pest no one wants on their guest list is cockroaches. These little pests show up at the least inopportune time. With cockroaches, out of sight is out of mind. Cockroaches seek out food, but if it isn’t easily available to them, they’ll look elsewhere. To prevent them from stopping by, seal any extra food right away in airtight containers.
You can also consider preventative measures by spraying insecticides under your sink cabinets and inside your trash enclosure. You’ll want to do this a few days before to be certain you won’t contaminate your Thanksgiving Day meal.
Rodents
Directly after you’ve finished cleaning up after your meal, take out the trash to prevent any other unwanted pests from stopping by. Trash cans though are another problem entirely. Many pests would rather wait until your yummy cast-offs are packaged up. Raccoons, opossums, and rats love to dumpster dive, so to speak, especially for Thanksgiving leftovers.
For extra tempting, Thanksgiving dinner-type, garbage, use thicker trash bags or double bag your trash to prevent pests from ripping it open. Many cities offer their own trash cans with latching lids, but if you happen to live in an area where you provide your own trash cans, find a good can with a lid that you can latch. Raccoons and opossums are notorious for lifting off trash can lids and diving right in. You can also consider using a brick and a bungee cord to keep your lid in place.
Additional Options
If you have more critters than company this Thanksgiving and they just won’t leave your house alone, then it’s time to call a professional. The professionals at AIPM are trained in handling all types of pest problems. Their talented team of professionals can eliminate any threats to your property, bringing it back to a peaceful environment once again. They can also set up a custom extermination plan to ensure that you never have to face the same type of problems again. Receive a free consultation today (click here).
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