When most people think of the spring, they think of flowers blooming and the return of the bird and butterflies. Unfortunately, the spring season also brings back ants, termites, and a variety of other pests that can end up in your house causing you all sorts of annoyances. Some of these pests can even spread disease or ruin the food that you have for you and your family. In order to keep the problems caused by these pests at a minimum it's important that you take the time to get ready for them before they arrive. Pest-proofing your house before spring begins can prepare you for the occasional invasion and go a long way toward keeping your home pest-free.

The first thing that you should do is to take the time to examine your home's exterior. Make sure that there isn't any unchecked damage from snow or other winter weather. This includes cracks, leaks, or other small damages that you wouldn't think of when you're trying to determine where pests are coming in at. Look for loose or cracked masonry, especially along the foundation of your home. Check your gutters and drainpipes, giving them a good cleaning as one of your first spring cleaning chores. Look for damaged or rotten wood, damaged or stuck ventilation screens, or any other potential openings that might let insects and other pests into the crawlspace under your home. Basically you should be looking for any potential opening where pests might get in as well as clogged gutters or other opportunities for some pests to set up nests near your home.

Once you've checked the outside of your home, it's time to focus on the inside. Look for any sources of food, water, or shelter for insects and other pests that you might have overlooked during the cold winter months. Check for leaks in your pipes and faucets and make sure that you clean up any standing water that's resulted from them. Give everything a good cleaning, and make sure that you have cleaned up any potential food sources that might have spilled or fallen behind shelves or other surfaces. Make sure that you don't have stacks of paper or cardboard just sitting in dark areas, as this can provide shelter for roaches and other unwanted pests.

It could be quite beneficial for you to consult an almanac or long-term weather forecast as well, as while it may not be completely accurate in regards to the weather on a particular day you may at least get some idea of the type of weather to expect in the spring. If it's going to be a wet spring then pests will try and get in your home in search of food, whereas if it's dry they'll be looking for water. Even a cool spring can bring pests inside who are looking for warmth. Knowing what pests will likely be looking for when they invade your home can help you to combat them since you'll know where to cut them off and what to make sure that you've cleaned up so that they won't find the things that they're looking for.

If you've had problems with specific types of pests before you might want to go ahead and buy traps and baits so that you'll be ready for them when the first ones arrive. Ants and some other pests tend to come back year after year, so being able to stop them early can be important to keeping your home pest-free for the rest of the spring and throughout the summer. Make sure that you have enough bait and traps on hand to be able to handle repeated invasions, as many common pests will try to come into your house on several different occasions before they finally stop showing up.

Should you be concerned about the possibility of pest infestations even after taking some of these precautions, don't be afraid to call a professional exterminator and have them come in to treat your house as a preventative measure. Most exterminators will spray the most common entry points on your house, leave baits where insects and other pests will likely find them, and even treat the entire outside perimeter of your house in order to keep pests from finding their way in at all. You may even be able to set up a regular service schedule with them so that they can keep your home pest-free throughout the year and customize their treatments to different pests as the year progresses.

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About Author: Stephanie Larkin is a freelance writer who writes about large businesses for home owners such as Orkin and Terminix