A Pest Free Thanksgiving Starts With American Pest

Thanksgiving is but a day away and we are all busy with the preparations. For the most part, your shopping is done. The turkey is ordered and you purchased that 50 lb bag of potatoes at your local farmer's market. Your freezer is stocked with broccoli, corn, and other delectable vegetables, and the pie pumpkins are perched on the kitchen counter waiting to be gutted and transformed into delicious pies. You have placed your order for yeast rolls and cinnamon buns from the local bakery and stocked your shelves with juice, soda, coffee, and tea. All of that work, though, seems minuscule next to the task of preparing your house for guests.  
 
Obtaining a spotless house for Thanksgiving seems downright impossible with kids. Just as soon as you've cleaned one room you turn around to find that those little tornadoes we call children have blown through and created a disaster zone. This, and you haven’t even begun to break out all those brown, yellow, and burgundy decorations. The linens still have to be washed and the centerpieces made. With endless work ahead, how will you ever accomplish it in such little time?  
 
It is now the night before the ‘big day’. Somehow, though, the work got done and you are just hours away from the doorbell when you decide to take one last ‘walk through’ to be sure you haven’t missed a thing. It is on your second pass through the kitchen that evening that you glance toward the open pantry door and notice something. Not really certain of what you saw, you approach the door and peer inside. At first, you don’t see anything amiss, but then you notice it. There is a chunk taken out of the pumpkin pie! You instantly feel your face flush and think to yourself, my husband! You take a look and realize that if it were your husband the chunk would be much larger. Your second thought is the children, but, no, that doesn’t seem to fit either. As you stand there silently pondering your predicament, you catch a slight movement behind the flour in the back corner. You carefully reach up and move the bag to the side and find yourself staring into the eyes of a tiny, gray mouse.  
 
It is not as uncommon as you may think to have rodents take up residence in your home in the fall. In fact, these mainstay pests are one of the largest offenders when it comes to overwintering. Once overnight temperatures drop and the wind is biting rats and mice will make a cozy home of yours. After all, there is a perfectly toasty house available and it comes fully-loaded with all the food they could ever dream of! These little creatures don’t care how big or clean your house is. All they know is that they have found their way to mouse heaven. Warmth, food, shelter……what more could they want?

Avoid your role in this Thanksgiving scene by following these tips:

• Ventilate attics, crawlspaces, and basements

• Seal cracks and holes – especially where utilities and pipes enter your home

• Replace weather-stripping around doors and windows

• Repair screens on doors and windows

• Store food in airtight containers

• Clean up spills and crumbs promptly

• Keep lids on trash cans in good shape and make sure they fit tightly

• Remove trash and garbage regularly

• Eliminate moisture from leaking pipes, AC units etc.

• Put American Pest to work to exclude pests

That’s right! The best, most effective way to prevent rodents in your home this holiday season is with the help of a pest control specialist like American Pest. Our rodent specialists can route out the tiniest of holes (remember mice can fit through a hole as small as 1/4 inch in diameter) in and around your foundation and identify all of the weaknesses in your defenses in order to exclude mice from your home.  Our technicians also have the experience and training to safely and effectively eliminate any existing rodent colonies. Keep your holiday guest list free from unwanted pests with help from American Pest!