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October 20, 2017Pests

5 Ways to Winterize Your Home and Prevent Pests

Winterizing your home has many benefits to your home and your wallet. It’s a great way to prevent pests from invading your home this winter, but many of these tips below will help save energy (and money). Many of these things can even be done on your own without spending much extra cash.

Here are a few ways to winterize your home:

1. Add insulation. Insulating your home adds an extra layer between you and the pests that want to invade your home. You can even find some insulation containing borate, an ingredient that’s safe for humans but deadly to many insects. It’ll also save you money by keeping your home warmer, and energy bills down.
2. Store firewood safely. Using a fireplace can help save you hundreds of dollars this winter by warming up your home without needing to turn up the heat. Just be sure to store your firewood in a dry area away from your home! Carefully check your firewood before bringing it inside to ensure no pests have made home in between logs.
3. Fix leaky faucets. It may not seem like you’re losing much water, but it adds up quickly. Plus, as it gets colder, there may be plenty of nights where you need to keep the faucets running in order to keep from freezing pipes — so conserve your energy now while you can! Plus, remember pests need water to survive, just like we do. A pest loves a good leaky faucet.
4. Seal gaps around your home. This helps keep the warm air in, the cold air out, the pests out, AND saves you money! Check windows, doors, chimneys, and pipes for any gaps or cracks. Read our post on Sealing Your Home for even more tips and tricks.
5. Insulate your pipes. We’ve all heard (or experienced) stories of pipes bursting or freezing as it gets colder outside. Don’t let it happen to you! Insulating your pipes will help prevent this and can also help you save energy and money. As an added bonus, insulating your pipes can help keep pests out! As it gets colder, pests will find any cracks or openings through which they can enter your home — including pipes.

Is your home ready for winter? We’d love to hear the ways you’re preparing your home (and saving money!) with these or any other tips. Head to Facebook to join in on the conversation!