If you have a real, wood-burning fireplace you know just how cozy it can make your home on those cold winter nights. They do kick out some heat, and it’s nice with two-story homes like ours – because that heat rises and usually warms the upstairs bedrooms.
In cold weather like that, when you get home from work, you’re gonna want to get things heated up – so you’ll grab your kindling, some newspaper, matches, and the firewood you brought in a few days ago – and you’ll get to it.
Winter pests hitching a ride
But you didn’t notice you’d brought in more than just your firewood, and that you’d just opened a new, Buggy Motel overnight hotspot, too. After all, your place is warm and inviting, has lots of cracks and crevices, an ample food supply, and hey, it’s all free!
All the critters were buzzing about it, and the word was out! All they had to do was a hitch a ride on the next armload of firewood, and it was a direct trip indoors from there. Once in, they’d shack up for a bit, and if they could stay quiet enough, maybe they’d get to stay all winter.
It might not have occured to you: Is the firewood you bring into your home is a big contributor to your winter indoor pest issues had it?
But if you don’t want to let these common pests make a mess of your South Jersey home, I have a couple tips & tricks you can use to prevent and/or get rid of them and give those bugs a real good flick at the same time!
With Winter Pests, Leave It to the Pros
if you happen to have a more serious infestation problem, it’s best to leave it to a professional pest extermination and control services provider.
Here are those tips & tricks I promised I’d give you to help you to take control of those pesky pests…
• Only bring in enough firewood at a time for your evening or afternoon fire. That way, those hitch-hiking bugs won’t have time to warm up, explore, or set-up shop.
• Wear gloves when handling firewood (gardening gloves work just fine). You’ll avoid getting bitten by any aggressive buggies that might be hanging out.
• Check individual pieces of firewood for signs of tunneling, burrowing, or something chewing at it (it’ll only take a few seconds). The most common firewood pests are carpenter ants, termites, stink bugs and spiders, although small mice have been known to burrow under the bark or into holes and cracks.
• As you might smack your shoes or boots together to knock off dried mud or caked snow, you can do the same with your firewood to shake out the unwanted passengers.
• Take care in storing your firewood. Instead of laying it on the ground or stacked against your home, create a simple, raised platform and stack your wood on it.
• Cover the stacks with a plastic sheet or tarp to keep your firewood dry – and help reduce the
risk of these buggies getting onto your wood in the first place.
So only keep your “Welcome” mat out for the right guests. Take appropriate steps to prevent these creepy-crawly pests from shacking-up on your firewood or even worse, in your home.
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