NPMA Offers New Year’s Pest Control Resolutions

FAIRFAX, Va. – As homeowners everywhere steel their resolve to stick to their pesky New Year’s resolutions, experts at the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) offer easy-to-follow tips for keeping home-related pledges.

“We always hear about New Year’s resolutions to get in shape and stay healthy,” says Cindy Mannes, public affairs director, NPMA. “Typically this type of resolution does not extend to a home. In 2005, homeowners should consider paying the same type of attention to the health of the home as they do to the health of their bodies.”

NPMA experts offer tips for maintaining a healthy, damage-free home in 2005:

1.) Seal up any cracks and holes on the outside of your home including areas where utilities and pipes enter your home. Mice and other four-legged critters love to sneak into your home through these small openings and chew through your electrical wires.

2.) Be aware of standing water. Small pools of water in your gutters and around the outside of your home can be breeding grounds for mosquitoes –transmitters of the potentially deadly West Nile virus.

3.) Store fire wood at least 20 feet away from the house and five inches off of the ground. Not only is it tasty to termites and other wood-destroying insects, it acts as a great hiding spot for them to use while they eat away at your home.

4.) Regularly inspect the exterior of your home for possible pest entranceways. Keep your eyes peeled for things like mud tubes created by termites and long branches that extend over your roofs and gutters.

5.) Contact a licensed and qualified pest control professional at the first sign of pest-related damage. Calling at the first sign of damage typically means a cost-savings for the consumer!