The holidays are something you are looking forward to! From decorating your house to building gingerbread houses with the children, from creating delectable sweets to distribute to neighbors, colleagues, and everyone you come across to planning celebratory events where the yuletide spirit is rocking, there is so much to do. Remember, pests are present in all the activities of the season. Unlike Snoopy and the Red Baron, the fight between you and the insects and rodents vying over your house will not stop. Magic City Pest Control has a few tips up our sleeves that we would want to share with you to help keep pests from invading your house season (and all year long).

Tips to keep your house pest-free during holidays

• Stow the bugs out of your baking ingredients.

Spend a few seconds looking for any indications of packing damage before you even slide an item into your grocery cart. If the box or bag has a hole, set it down and search for one free of defects, including dents and holes. Likewise, keep on going if you see flies or other insects loitering about food. Before storing your acquired items, give them one more check for any evidence of bugs when you reach home. 

• Store food in containers that pests cannot access

If householders are not careful, flour, sugar, and other ordinary items kept in most pantries or lining kitchen shelves often become bug breeding grounds. Store groceries in airtight glass containers with lids to ward against moths and other stored product pests invading your supplies. 

• Maintaining a clean kitchen will force the bugs to migrate on.

Your house has bugs and rodents because of their feeding habits. Though we can tell you that oil accumulation between the stove and countertop and crumbs under the refrigerator and spread over the floor will draw hungry pests, it’s not always clear where they are obtaining their food. Even your beautifully crafted gingerbread home could be food for opportunistic insects. Keeping a clean kitchen will help to reduce this specific risk. 

• Look for insects that might find your actual Christmas tree appealing.

When you visit the closest tree farm to get a live tree for the holidays, give it a good once-over and a strong shake to dislocate any bugs hiding among its limbs, including spiders. The same is true should you reduce vegetation for wreaths and other purposes. 

• Take great care when pulling your holiday decorations out of storage.

Like most of us, you most likely stored your holiday decorations in the attic, basement, overhead garage, or storage room with little foot traffic—that is, tucked away from the way things are right now for another year. The challenge, or perhaps the issue, is that those usually dark, clutter-filled, seldom visited regions attract a lot of bug activity. 

• Remember bedbugs this Christmas season as well. 

If your college-aged child is returning from the dorms or if you want to have out-of-town guests, you could find yourself with a bed bug issue even if you are not going for the holidays. Bed bugs are well-known in college dorms; hence, if you’re not careful, you will be dealing with filthy clothes and biting bugs. Although your house guests most likely won’t expect you to wash their filthy clothes, they could unintentionally introduce bed bugs into your house if they slept at a hotel on their way to you or flew. 

Conclusion

Following these suggestions and observations, you can enjoy your Christmas season and spend a very contented time with loved ones. If a pest issue develops, see qualified pest treatment companies.