Pestproof Your Home
By Alexandra
Bandon
Published: May 3, 2007 in Parade
Insects,
rodents and other pests are not only repulsive but also can seriously
damage your home's structure and make your family sick. Here's how you can
make it hard for these unwanted visitors to move in:
Mice and Rats
The problem: Ground critters don't
understand that your house is not part of their natural habitat. Once
inside, they can chew on wires, eat through food stores, crawl into
heating equipment and spread diseases like hantavirus, salmonella or Lyme
disease.
How they get in: In search of food,
water and shelter, ground inhabitants like mice and snakes will enter your
home through any opening they can find.
How to keep them
out: Move garbage cans away from the house and cover tightly to
keep out raccoons. Fix leaking outdoor faucets. Fill any siding or
foundation holes 1/4 inch or larger. (Use mortar on masonry cracks and
plug larger holes with copper wool.) Cover dryer vents with a tightly
woven metal mesh, such as hardware cloth.
Getting rid of mice and
rats may be as simple as setting out traps or poison (keep both far from
kids and pets). To stop a severe rat infestation, call an exterminator.
Birds and Squirrels
The problem: Animals that
get into your attic may build nests that block vents and flues. They also
can tear up insulation, and their droppings can harbor disease.
How they get in: Many common house pests enter
from above. Even bats can get up under the eaves of your house, into the
attic through vents or down the chimney.
How to keep
them out: Trim tree branches that can act as squirrel highways to
your roof. Cover vents with hardware cloth. Install a chimney cap with a
grille. Watch for birds landing at the eaves and clean out nests.
Have a pro trap squirrels, which can put up a fight. And hire a
licensed control specialist to humanely drive bats away, because they're a
protected species in most of the country.
Termites
The problem: Termites cause $5
billion worth of damage to U.S. homes annually. The common subterranean
termite munches 24/7 on anything made of cellulose (wood, paper, fabric).
A colony of Formosan termites, which are rampant in 10 states, can eat
through an entire floor in two years.
How to keep them
out: Most termites and carpenter ants like damp wood, so keep the
framing dry. Clean gutters and make sure downspouts empty away from the
foundation. Never store firewood against the house.
Drywood
termites, a pest in the Gulf Coast and Southwest, don't eat wet wood. The
only way to protect against them is to build with pressure-treated wood or
lumber treated with borates, minerals with low toxicity.
Whichever
termites you have, call a licensed professional to evaluate the problem. A
pro may apply insecticides, inject wood with borates or fumigate the
entire house. But, warns Cindy Mannes of the National Pest Management
Association, " beware of anyone who insists your termite problem
cannot wait. There are people who will say your house will fall down unless they do
something tomorrow," she says. "That's just not true. You have
time."
Keeping pests at bay takes vigilance, but the extra effort
will keep your family healthy and your home safe, sound and yours alone.