Keep Pests From Spending The Winter In Your Crawl Space

One of the best things about the cold winter months is staying inside, bundling up, and making yourself as warm and cozy as possible. A cup of cocoa, a fluffy blanket, and a roaring fire are tempting even for the most avid sun-worshipper. Unfortunately for homeowners, many annoying pests out there feel the same way and aren’t concerned with how you feel about them forcibly sharing a home with them. One of the favorite places that rodents and other pests like to hole up in when things get chilly is the crawl space under your house. It is estimated that 21 million rodents will make their way inside come winter. With about 26 million homes having crawlspaces, and another 200,000 added yearly, that's a ton of options for invaders to choose from.

In Northern States, many snowbirds make their way down south for the winter, that includes human and animals. Non-migratory critters like mice, roaches, spiders, and others see crawlspaces as the perfect place to make their winter homes. There is often food and water nearby, they'll remain relatively undisturbed, and for the most part, they can get in with ease.

Crawlspaces are unoccupied, small spaces underneath a house or building between the ground outside and the bottom floor. Some are used to hold HVAC equipment like air conditioning and heating units, and there is usually just enough space for someone to crawl but not enough room to stand up. They are typically used for light storage and allowing easy access to electrical and ductwork.

During the winter, heat from the equipment warms up the surrounding space, providing a nice place for intruders to escape the elements. Some species lay eggs better when the temperature is warm and humid, such as the seedcorn maggot and the sweet potato whitefly. If a small bug problem starts in the warmth, the problem may have already escalated to a serious infestation by the time it gets cold, and you can shimmy your way under the house to check things out. This is especially problematic for the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug. They can’t survive in the cold outdoors, and the crawlspace makes the perfect conduit for the warmer confines of your home. Luckily, they don’t lay eggs indoors. 

Rodents are also attracted to messy or dirty areas, and crawl spaces are not known for being the tidiest of spots. These often-neglected spaces are usually vented, providing rats and mice easy access to large and multiple entry points. Rounding out a melting pot of mammals (and a marsupial) looking for sanctuary are skunks, raccoons, squirrels, and opossum. Crawlspaces normally have dirt floors, so the humidity combined with dirt makes for a perfect insect haven when it's cold out.

Luckily there are ways to combat having your home turn into a bug sauna or a mouse spa, and Victory Pest Management has the best options for you. One effective way to prevent the underside of your house from having unwanted guests is encapsulation. Encapsulation is a barrier on the floor, walls, and foundation vents. Encapsulation's main function is to prevent moisture and reduce heating and cooling costs. It is an effective pest solution because it prevents pests' entry and removes the climate conditions they are attracted to.

This method is most effective when the entire space is completely sealed, ensuring that even the smallest entryways for pests are closed. Adding a light down there also helps as many pests are nocturnal and avoid bright lights. After it's been sealed up, a dehumidifier can be added, providing the bonus of preventing damage-causing moisture from building up as well. If there's one thing insects love, that's moisture, especially termites and Carpenter Ants. An infestation by these bad boys can cause structural damage, which can result in catastrophic breakage in extreme situations.

Preventing these problems for our neighbors is what we at Victory Pest Management do best, and we'd be delighted to add you to our list of satisfied clients. Many species can't survive winter temperatures once they dip, so finding a warm place is a life-or-death scenario for them. The process that insects use to survive the cold season is called overwintering. The forest tent caterpillar moth forms tightly-packed groupings along tree branches, and some bees, like the yellow-faced bumblebee or the common sweat bee, upon finishing overwintering, immediately seek the best available underground nesting locations, such as open, unvented crawl spaces.

The warmth of a crawl space to a pest is like an oasis for a man wandering lost in the desert. Many pests have quick gestational periods, so that baby nursery under your home can soon turn into Club Med, your-home edition. The best offense in this situation is a good defense, and if you contact Victory Pest Management in advance, we’ll get your crawlspace encapsulated and make sure this nightmare doesn't become your reality.

You can't be sure of many things, but one you can be sure of is that cold weather eventually shows up, and then nuisance pests follow. If you live in Hanover, Chesterfield, New Kent, and the surrounding counties in Virginia, contact Victory Pest Management and let us handle your pest problem or prevent one in the future.