People nearby often ask us, “How do these pests even get into my house?” What’s that? In any way that they can. In the California area, many pests can get through tiny holes. Bark scorpions, for example, can fit through a spot about the width of a credit card, which is 1/8 of an inch. It’s evident that roof rats need more room, but they can still get in through tiny holes—the four most frequent methods for bugs and other pests to get into homes in the Valley.
Common ways pest entry your home:
- Improperly sealed doorways
- Cracks in the foundation
- Foundation utility penetrations
- Roof vents
- People
Common pest entry points
Under doorways
This is the most common way for pests to infiltrate your home. Many front doors may not seal properly against the threshold, allowing vermin to enter via a small space. Alternatively, wear and tear on the garage door has caused it to fail to form a tight seal against the concrete.
Many pests, including roaches and scorpions, can squeeze into tight spaces. They’ll exploit any daylight near your doors to break into your home. The same may be said about Windows. A shredded window screen is apparent, but bugs may enter a closed window via gaps around the frame.
These problems may be rectified by applying weatherstripping around the door and tightly fastening it to the frame. The door may also need replacement. If your garage door does not seal with the ground because the rubberized seal—technically called the “astragal”—is torn, fractured, or worn, you must have a garage door specialist fix that rubber seal. Replace any screens with holes or rips and inspect the area surrounding the window for any gaps.
Inside of foundation cracks
Your home’s foundation is where it meets the soil and where most pests enter. It’s only natural for bugs to exploit foundation faults that allow them to infiltrate barriers. Ants, cockroaches, termites, and spiders may squeeze through tiny foundation fissures and gaps. They are drawn to wetness, food, and heat.
They may all be found in your
home. They may cause property damage, contaminate food, and breed once inside. To keep these pests at bay, prevention is essential. Out of your home. In the section below, we’ll go over the benefits of our home sealing service and how we seal foundation cracks.
Penetrations in foundations
Utilities must flow through the foundation in all dwellings. Insects may tunnel up into your home from any of these sites. Termites are notorious in the Valley for breeding under sinks and behind toilets.
Through roof vents
Roof vents near the roof line are typical in California stucco homes. These vents are essential in your home because they allow moisture and heat to escape the roof by going Beginning with the vent at the ridge to the vent in the eve or gable. However,
if left unprotected, they may provide an access route for pests, notably roof rats, into your home.
This is more common when trees overhang or are close to the roof. Rats will climb the trees and then go out on a limb to come to your home. They will then enter the attic via an unsecured vent.
How exactly do you block this access? First and foremost, do not obstruct the roof vents in any way. This might cause significant moisture collection issues in your attic and roof. Place a metal mesh or grate-like material over each hole instead. This allows air to enter and exit while preventing something as significant as a roof rat from entering. Because your home most likely already has these coverings, another critical job is to ensure that this mesh barrier maintains its integrity and effectively blocks access to each vent.
The homeowner
Okay, so there is an aspect of pest prevention that is only sometimes included in our home sealing service. However, you should be aware that the homeowner brings several pests into the house, most notably bed bugs and roaches, crickets, and rodents. These hitchhikers might be in the cardboard box from your online buy or your luggage from a prior journey. Whatever path they follow, they end up there because the homeowner mistakenly allowed them in.
There are a few methods for keeping this kind of bug out of your home:
— To prevent bed bugs from spreading from one area to another, take precautions when traveling, for example, keeping your personal belongings and bags on hard surfaces and
examining your mattress and couches for bugs before sitting or laying down. Also, when you get home, wash and dry your clothes and baggage.
– To avoid bringing in more bugs, open cardboard packages left on the porch and carry the contents inside individually.
– You may want to open boxes on your porch or garage and bring your merchandise inside, leaving the packaging outside in the receptacle.
This is possible with the aid of our experts to prevent pest entrance.
Santee Pest Control offers house sealing, which may help with bug control in your home. This 25-step process starts with an inspection to discover pest entrance points in your home. Our staff then gets to work sealing or blocking them. Entry points. We caulk around air conditioners and electrical boxes, install weatherstripping, screen roof vents, and use caulking to close windows. If your Valley home has been infested, Call us for a free pest check. If you have pests inquire about our home sealing service.