While traveling is awesome, keeping pests at bay when you’re traveling can be a challenge. Bugs bug me. Creepy crawlies are just icky, and when in my own home, even worse. Whether spiders, ants, moths, flies, or cockroaches — and don’t even start with rodents (ew!), none are welcome in my home. Read on for our tips for pest prevention when traveling.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click through and buy something, TravelingInHeels may earn from qualifying purchases.
Tips for Pest Prevention When Traveling
Table of Contents
Whether traveling for business or pleasure, when you are frequently away from home, the chances of pests infesting your property increases if a plan of action isn’t in place.
Whenever you are at home, there are some helpful tips for pest prevention when traveling that can take care of the interior and exterior to help support a pest-free environment year-round.
Interior Pest Prevention Tips
Once pests have made their way inside your home, they will need food and water to survive.
To eliminate access to food sources, keep kitchen counters clean, sweep and vacuum floors to remove any crumbs, keep food from sitting out, use a sealed garbage can, and keep dishes washed. Use tightly sealed plastic containers to store dry goods since it’s easy for bugs to eat through packaging. Additional pest prevention tips are available from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Check for any drips or leaks from pipes under bathroom and kitchen sinks and have them repaired by a plumber. Fill in any gaps around the piping beneath sinks in the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room to prevent entry by pests. Any room that experiences excessive moisture or dampness can benefit from using a dehumidifier.
Like the kitchen, for items stored in an attic, basement, closet, garage, or shed, use durable plastic containers with secure, tight-fitting lids. Regular cardboard boxes invite pests, such as cockroaches, that prefer dark places to nest. Attic areas are also an attraction for squirrels and rodents looking for warm and safe places to raise their young.
Exterior Pest Prevention Tips
One of the first steps in maintaining a pest-free home is to visually check the property to find areas that may provide easy access to your home. Pests are opportunists and take advantage of any available opening. Check for areas pests can enter, such as holes in window or door screens, crevices, and cracks around windows, gaps under exterior doors, and damaged or deteriorated door or window stripping.
Make repairs by replacing old or damaged screens, replacing weather stripping, and using caulk to fill in cracks and crevices.
Remove items in the yard that can become retainers of standing water that create a place for mosquitoes to breed.
Gutters that aren’t cleaned periodically are another source of standing water and debris that attracts assorted pests. Landscaping should also be kept in control by keeping tree limbs clipped and plants and shrubs trimmed and kept away from the home’s exterior.
For homes with fireplaces, store the firewood as far away from the home’s exterior as possible to deter termites.
Benefits of Professional Pest Control Services
To ensure your home is protected while you are traveling, consider the advantages of hiring the services of a professional company like Aptive Pest control GA, or a similar company near you.
With an ongoing customized plan of action and scheduled appointments throughout the year, trained technicians will inspect the property looking for current infestations. Check for potential problem areas, and apply treatments to prevent future pests from invading your home.
When travel plans are on the agenda, having a pest control maintenance program in place means your home can remain pest-free whenever you’re away.
