Now that the colder months has hit us. We all love to get tucked in and bunker down until the warmer months arrive. For us we now have a wood burner and we are enjoying some much-needed additional heat!

But we aren’t the only creatures that think the same! This is a prime time for pests to enter the house to get some warmth too. I know is sounds mean, but the likes of rodents can be the cause of a lot of damage! So it is best to keep them away.

Prevention

There are several areas you can look at depending on the pests you are tackling. Over the years we have had experience of a number of different pests entering the house. The most common has been spiders. Here are the ways I have reduced their unwelcome appearances!

Generally on the run up to winter we will see two to three massive house spiders (and I mean big burly ones!). However since taking these small steps that has reduced to one every three to four days. In fact as I write this, I cannot recall the last time I bumped into one!

First, I moved all the stacked wood away from any of our ventilation grates. I have then used my own strong-smelling spray, utilising a good amount of tea tree oil and sprayed this around access points I can see around the house.

It seems to keep them all away from the general house space!  I have also debated using some mesh around the ventilation grates but haven’t made this step just yet! The final thing I have done is started to dust higher to rid the cobwebs away from our ceilings.

More recently we have had issues with squirrels trying to nest in our house. This can be a hard one to ward off.  However they seem to dislike loud noise.  And luckily, we have three loud noise makers in the form of two boys and one dog. Quite handily we also have a very keen farmer who lives behind our house. With rodents you need to ensure you block all access to the house. Remembering that the likes of house mice can squeeze in a crack as thin as a pencil!

I made a conscious effort to look around the lower level of the house and fill any gaps and cracks. Luckily so far so go we haven’t seen any critters in the house. Keeping your food locked away and a maintaining a tidy clean kitchen can also help as it won’t attract their attention!

Currently we are still suffering with a number of woodlice, something that I think will start to settle when we have finished our renovation projects!

Removal

If you still feel like you are under attack you should call in the professionals. There are plenty of decent companies  out there but try to find a larger well  known one with some decent reviews, a quick search in London, for example, came up with  Empire Pest Control  who fit the bill. I should have looked for one when it came to squirrels as many people don’t see them as pests.  However they can destroy your house, eating through wood and electrical wires.  Then they get comfortable making a nest out of your insulation!

But in this instance the farmer took care of the problem for us, as he told us squirrels can cause sheep to miscarry, something I wasn’t aware of. Our neighbours have had problems with rats before at this time of year they love to come into the home to escape the bad weather, they were able to get a company out to set bait traps.

Not being afraid to get assistance early on can save you money in the long run. I am always keen to learn of more ways to protect the home and welcome any changes I could make!