As the weather warms up, you may begin to see more unwelcome visitors around your home.
Here are some frequently asked questions about common critters, and how you can control them.
What can you do to keep small pests (such as roaches, ants and lizards) out of your house?
First, eliminate water and food sources. Pests are attracted to food, crumbs and liquids, so remove these lures and keep your home clean.
Next, seal all thresholds — every crack and crevice where pests could enter your home.
Then, take an all-purpose insect spray and, once a month, go all the around the house, particularly at doorways, and saturate it with spray.
Also once a month, spread boric acid under your refrigerator and anywhere you see roaches.
Flying pests like carpenter bees and woodpeckers can cause real damage — what can we do to protect our homes?
Woodpeckers hate shiny objects, such as old CDs. Hang them up around your yard to prevent them from hanging around.
Carpenter bees are attracted to untreated, soft woods like cedar, cypress and pine. Rotted wood is a delicacy for them. So, paint, stain and use treated wood to deter them.
You also can purchase traps to lure carpenter bees. Wooden traps usually have a hole in the middle, where bees enter before dropping into a mason jar.
No one wants critters — like mice, squirrels and opossums — inside their home. How can we keep those out?
Trim limbs so these critters have nowhere to hang out. Seal all roof protrusions so they can’t enter the attic and wreak havoc.
Then, set humane traps, which you can purchase at many pet and home centers. You can lure opossums into these traps with cat food and tuna fish.
