Pittsburgh Pest Control Tips for Back to School Season
Once school starts again, the house gets busy pretty quickly.
Backpacks are dropped by the door. Lunches are being packed every morning. Sports equipment starts piling up in the garage. And somehow there are always a few snack wrappers that don’t quite make it to the garbage.
At Budget Pest Control Services, we’ve been taking care of pest problems around Pittsburgh since 1984. After doing this for more than 40 years, you start to notice certain times of the year when the calls change. Late summer is one of them.
School may be starting, but the bugs certainly don’t know that.
And before too long, mice will start becoming more of a concern too.
Take a Look Around the Kitchen
Back-to-school mornings can be hectic. Somebody’s making lunches, somebody can’t find their shoes and somebody else remembered five minutes before leaving that they need a snack.
Food gets left behind.
It could be crackers at the bottom of a backpack, an open cereal box in the pantry or a lunch container that didn’t get emptied when it came home.
Usually, no big deal. But ants and cockroaches don’t need much.
If ants suddenly start showing up around the kitchen, take a look around before assuming they’re coming from nowhere. Check underneath things on the counter, around the pantry shelves and anywhere crumbs tend to collect.
And yes, check the backpacks once in a while too. You never really know what’s going to be at the bottom of those things.
The Garage Is Worth Checking Too
Around this time of year, garages and basements tend to get shuffled around.
Summer stuff gets moved to the side. Sports equipment comes back out. Boxes get stacked against a wall because you’ll “get to them later.”
We’ve all done it.
Those areas also happen to be good places for mice, spiders and other pests to stay out of sight.
You don’t have to spend an afternoon reorganizing everything. Every so often, move a box or two and look behind the things that haven’t been touched in a while.
Droppings, chewed packaging or even a strange smell can sometimes be the first clue that something has been hanging around.
Don’t Count Out Wasps and Yellow Jackets Yet
There’s still plenty of warm weather left after school starts in Western Pennsylvania.
Wasps, hornets and yellow jackets can remain active through late summer and into fall, so this is one pest problem we definitely aren’t finished with yet.
If the kids are playing outside after school, pay attention to what’s happening around decks, porches, sheds and the yard.
One or two wasps flying around isn’t unusual. What gets our attention is when they’re repeatedly going back to exactly the same spot.
Maybe it’s underneath the deck. Maybe they’re disappearing behind siding or into a small opening around the house.
That’s when it’s worth having somebody take a look.
And Then There Are the Mice
Nobody around Pittsburgh is ready to start talking about winter yet, including us.
But those cool nights will eventually show up.
When temperatures begin dropping, mice start looking for better places to spend their time. A garage or basement can work just fine.
The first sign isn’t always seeing a mouse run across the floor. More often, it’s something smaller. Droppings in the garage. A chewed bag of dog food. Scratching somewhere you haven’t heard it before.
If you’re outside putting things away for the season, take a quick look around the house while you’re at it. Check the bottom of the garage door, around the foundation and where pipes or other utilities enter the house.
Mice can squeeze through openings that don’t look like much to us.
Don’t Make Pest Control Another Back-to-School Project
There’s already enough going on this time of year.
You don’t need to walk around the house with a flashlight inspecting every corner. Just keep an eye on things.
If you’re suddenly seeing ants every morning, don’t ignore them. If yellow jackets keep disappearing into the same opening, figure out where they’re going. And if you find mouse droppings in the garage, waiting until winter probably isn’t going to make the problem better.
That’s really it.
Budget Pest Control Services has been helping homeowners throughout Greater Pittsburgh since 1984. We take care of mice and rats, ants, cockroaches, spiders, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, termites, bed bugs, stink bugs and plenty of other pests we would all rather keep outside.
So get the kids back to school, get everybody back into something resembling a routine and enjoy what’s left of summer.
We’ll worry about the pests.
For help with a pest problem around your home, visit www.budgetpestcontrolpgh.com or text 412-318-4912.
