The prevention playbook.

🚪 Seal the entry points

This is the single highest-leverage thing you can do. Most pests are bad at finding entries — they just exploit the ones already there.

Outside the house

• Walk the perimeter and look for gaps where pipes, cables, vents, and dryer ducts pass through the wall. Seal each one with caulk, expanding foam, or steel wool packed tight.
• Replace torn weatherstripping on doors. Add door sweeps to any door with daylight visible underneath. A 6 mm gap is enough for a mouse.
• Repair or replace damaged window screens. Make sure all screens fit tightly in their frames.
• Cap chimneys with stainless steel screened caps. Screen attic, gable, soffit, and crawlspace vents with quarter-inch hardware cloth.
• Check the roofline where soffits meet the wall — a common entry for roof rats and squirrels.

Inside the house

• Caulk gaps under baseboards, behind cabinets, around plumbing penetrations under sinks, and between countertops and walls.
• Repair holes in drywall promptly — they become roach and mouse highways inside walls.
• Install drain covers in basements and laundry rooms. Run water down rarely-used drains weekly.

🍞 Cut off the food

If pests cannot eat, they cannot reproduce. Most homes have far more accessible food than residents realize.

• Store dry goods (flour, rice, pasta, cereal, sugar, pet food, birdseed) in glass or hard plastic with tight-sealing lids. Cardboard and thin plastic do not stop roaches, ants, weevils, or mice.
• Take out kitchen trash nightly. Use a bin with a tight-fitting lid. Wash the inside of the bin with soapy water monthly.
• Wipe down counters, the stove, and the area behind the toaster every night. Grease films feed roaches indefinitely.
• Sweep or vacuum kitchen floors daily — under the table, behind the trash can, under the fridge.
• Do not leave pet food out overnight. Store the bag sealed.
• Take recycling outside frequently and rinse bottles and cans before storing.
• Refrigerate ripening fruit. Store potatoes and onions in sealed bins.

💧 Cut off the water

Many pests need water more than food. Roaches can survive a month without food but only a week without water.

• Fix leaky faucets, leaky toilets, and dripping pipes. Even a slow drip can sustain a colony.
• Run a dehumidifier in basements and crawlspaces. Aim for under 50% relative humidity year-round.
• Repair condensation problems — insulate cold pipes, ventilate bathrooms, fix poor crawlspace ventilation.
• Empty pet water bowls overnight if possible.
• Drain plant saucers after watering. Do not over-water houseplants.

🌿 Manage the yard

The exterior of your home is the first line of defense. Pests that can't get to the building can't get in.

• Pull mulch and groundcover back at least 30 cm from siding. Mulch directly against the house provides moisture and harborage.
• Trim tree branches at least 2 m from the roof. Squirrels, roof rats, and ants use them as bridges.
• Trim shrubs back from windows and walls. Air circulation makes the area less hospitable.
• Store firewood off the ground and at least 6 m from the house.
• Clear leaf litter from gutters and from window wells.
• Slope soil away from the foundation. Extend downspouts at least 2 m beyond the foundation.
• Eliminate standing water — empty buckets, plant saucers, kiddie pools, and clogged gutters. Even a bottle cap of water breeds mosquitoes.

🛏️ Bedroom & laundry

• Inspect hotel beds before unpacking — lift the sheets at corners, check seams for bed bug evidence (rust spots, dark fecal flecks, live bugs).
• Store luggage on a hard surface, not the bed. Inspect and wash clothes on hot when you return.
• Wash bedding weekly in hot water (above 55°C / 130°F) — kills dust mites and denatures their allergens.
• Use allergen-proof zippered covers on mattresses and pillows.
• Vacuum mattress seams and behind the headboard monthly.
• Inspect used furniture (especially upholstered) carefully before bringing it home. Bed bugs and roaches both spread this way.

📦 Storage & clutter

• Store items in sealed plastic bins, not cardboard. Roaches, silverfish, and mice all love cardboard.
• Reduce clutter in basements, attics, and garages — fewer hiding places means fewer pests.
• Inspect grocery bags and boxes before bringing them inside. German cockroaches commonly hitchhike.
• Store off-season clothing clean (especially wool) in sealed bags or bins. Dirty natural fibers attract clothes moths and carpet beetles.
• Check spices, flour, and pet food regularly for signs of pantry pests. Discard anything past its use-by date.

🐾 Pet care

• Use year-round flea and tick prevention prescribed by your veterinarian, especially in warm climates.
• Wash pet bedding weekly on hot.
• Pick up pet waste from the yard daily. Flies and rodents are both attracted.
• Check pets for ticks after every outdoor session in tick country — focus on ears, neck, armpits, and between toes.
• Vacuum frequently in homes with pets. Pet hair and dander feed carpet beetles.

📅 Build a seasonal routine

Spring

• Walk the perimeter and look for new entry points after winter freeze-thaw.
• Inspect eaves and outdoor structures for early-stage wasp nests (the size of a golf ball is much easier to deal with than a basketball).
• Pre-treat ant trails before populations explode in summer.
• Treat the yard for ticks and fleas if pets spend time outdoors.

Summer

• Empty standing water weekly to prevent mosquitoes.
• Inspect houseplants and outdoor furniture before bringing inside.
• Maintain trimmed grass and clear vegetation buffer near the foundation.

Fall

• Seal up the home BEFORE the first cold snap — this is when stink bugs, lady beetles, mice, and roof rats invade.
• Inspect attics and basements for early signs of rodent activity.
• Clean out gutters before leaves clog them.
• Bring in firewood only as needed — never store inside.

Winter

• Listen for nighttime sounds in walls and attic — best time to detect rodents.
• Check stored grain and spices in the pantry; pantry pests breed year-round indoors.
• Watch for stink bugs and lady beetles emerging during warm spells.

📞 When DIY is not enough

Some situations call for a licensed pest control professional. Call one if:

• You suspect termites — DIY treatment is not realistic and the damage is expensive.
• You have bed bugs in more than one room — DIY usually fails for established infestations.
• You see cockroaches during the day — sign of a heavy population.
• You find brown recluse or black widow spiders repeatedly indoors.
• There is a wall, attic, or underground wasp/hornet nest, or anyone in the household has a sting allergy.
• Honey bees have moved into a wall — call a beekeeper or bee removal specialist (not a pest control company).
• Rodent infestations in attics or wall voids — exclusion work is the long-term solution and pros do it best.
• Any infestation that returns within a month after DIY treatment.