Proper home maintenance is one of the best ways to protect your home against all type of pests that are likely to invite themselves into your home. This is particularly important in the winter and fall season when pests come looking to get into your home so as to keep warm from the cold weather. But just because the seasons are changing, your outdoor property should never be left to fall into disarray or wayside.
If you tend to slack off your maintenance habits during winter or fall, all kinds of pests are sure to take advantage of your mistake. What should you do then to discourage pests from damaging the wood that makes up the deck?
Apply a fresh coat of clear paint on a weathered wooden deck
One section in a home that is commonly infiltrated by pests during the aforementioned seasons of the year is the deck. If the deck is severely weathered or the wooden parts have lost their shine and luster, it becomes an attractive place for pests to invade or get comfortable. If you notice your deck is considerably weathered, you are advised to consider re-sealing it with a stain or a clear coat of paint. Pests find sealed decks harder to penetrate. These pests are constantly looking to get into the grooves of rotting or exposed wood so as to make it their meals.
A layer of stain or clear coat of paint is applied on this type of wood for added protection against these pests. This also decreases the risk over the winter for coming spring season. There is an increase of moisture loving pests such as wood destroyers during the spring season.
Consider installing a screen mesh material underneath
This prevents unwanted pests such as raccoons, rodents, skunks and other wildlife from nesting in the dark and often comfortable area beneath the deck.
Properly seal your shed
The shed is another area in a home that regularly needs to be checked for pests. Pests such as rodents, opossums, skunks, squirrels and other wildlife often seek to hide in sheds, potentially causing damage underneath. Homeowners should screen off these areas so to prevent the pests from invading your home through the deck. You don’t want to offer them an opportunity to wreak havoc, do you?
In a summary, the following measures can be applied to prevent pests from invading your deck and your house.
• Trim back trees and bushes surrounding your home, in particular these near your deck.
• Do away with any standing water, debris or puddles around your home.
• Keep all structures within your home freshly sealed or painted
• Make sure your drains are properly installed and away from the structures
• Level debris or dirt under the deck and other structures at your compound
The local raccoon
This is a good example of a common pest that frequently invades the deck and thereafter the attic. As the leaves start to change, signifying the coming of a cooler weather, it is not only humans who want to snuggle up indoors. But some of the visitors who come invading your home can really steal your sanity. Raccoons make all sorts of a mess within an area they have invaded. If you have recently heard a scurrying noise outside your house or in your attic, chances are that it could be a local raccoon paying you a visit.
Why do raccoons invade a home?
The main reason for raccoons invading a human habitat is to search for food and seek a shelter. They particularly do so during the winter and fall season when the outside temperatures are freezing cold. As these animals are nocturnal, they are constantly looking for food, messing everything they come across while touring your compound. They are fast, strong and some of the best climbers you can ever come across. As result, they are adept to survival in both urban and rural areas. So if you find knocked over garbage bins or hear peculiar noises in the attic at night, the offending party could be no one else but the local raccoon.
The only safe way to remove these animals from your home is to have them trapped and then physically removed. It is recommended to contact a licensed wildlife control professional to handle the trapping and then removal of the offending raccoon.
All in all, if you suspect there is an unwanted wild animal, rodent or any other pests taking up residence in your home, take appropriate action to have it removed. Always take caution when handling or removing these pests from your home. The best way to safely remove them from your deck is to contact a licensed animal removal professional as he has both the expertise and tools to perform a perfect job.