Summer weather creates the perfect conditions for many types of pests. The days are longer, the air is more humid, there's an abundance of food and water, and the temperatures are mild. These conditions create breeding grounds that make it easy for your yard or house to be infested with a variety of pests, such as roaches, ants, mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. Here are four pest control tips that may help you have fewer problems with bugs this summer.
1. Remove Standing Water From Your Yard
Some years see worse mosquito invasions than others, but one thing that always makes mosquitoes worse is standing water. Standing water gives the pests a place to breed, so if you keep water off your property, you'll have fewer mosquitoes to contend with.
Getting rid of standing water isn't easy since it takes just a tiny amount for mosquitoes to breed. Remove or turn over anything that can hold water from sprinklers or rain. Larger bodies of water may require mosquito dunk treatments from a pest control company.
2. Keep Your Yard Trimmed
A neatly trimmed yard is more inviting in the summer and it gives pests fewer places to hide. Ticks and mosquitoes like to live and hide in the shade. Even tall grass and weeds can provide shade for these pests. You may want to mow regularly and trim back tree branches so your yard, especially the lawn near your home, gets plenty of sunshine so pests move elsewhere to be comfortable.
3. Keep Bugs Outdoors
You might be willing to put up with ants outdoors, but you don't want ants and other insects taking over your house. A porch light attracts bugs at night, and those bugs attract other bugs that prey on them. You may want to rethink leaving a porch light on all night or switch to yellow lights or other types of lights that don't attract as many bugs.
Close any gaps around windows and under doors. Repair holes in screens and be careful about leaving the door open too long. You may even want to avoid plants and bushes near your home and front door so insects aren't attracted and have a place to hide near the entrance to your home.
4. Have Pest Control Treatments Outside
Many summer pests that invade your house come in from outside, so having regular pest control treatments in the summer is helpful. The treatments can reduce mosquitoes and ants so there are fewer pests to invade your home. Ants and mosquitoes are so tiny, it's easy for them to get indoors, so fighting them outside is a good way to keep them under control.