This Christmas, Bring in the Cheer Without the Pests

It’s almost time to settle down for a long winter’s Christmas nap. But beforehand, be sure there aren’t any creatures stirring in your house. Remember that pest control precautions should be taken all year round. This time of year, there are a few types of common household pests that can thrive during the holiday season. Here are a few holiday things that you can watch out for to prevent pests from making a Christmas appearance in your home:

Christmas Food

Whether it’s gingerbread cookies from the neighbors or you’re baking up a Christmas ham, make sure that pests can’t get to your delicious holiday treats. Any food items that you plan to leave sitting out on the counter for easy nibbling access need to be in tight-sealed containers. After you’re finished cooking up your Christmas goodies, make sure your kitchen countertops are wiped down and floors are swept free from any crumbs that may have fallen.

Christmas Boxes

All of the lights and decorations and wrapping paper that’s been stored away in boxes all year long is a great hiding place for all sorts of pests. Spiders, cockroaches, and silverfish are commonly known to use your Christmas boxes as hiding places while they’re stored in attics, garages, and closets. When you go to bring out all of these holiday delights, the pests can come out with them. Consider unpacking cardboard boxes outside so that hitchhiking pests don’t enter your home. Then, once the holidays are over, consider using airtight plastic containers when repacking all of Mom’s ornaments and Dad’s tangled mess of light strings.

Christmas Tree

Nowadays most people deck their halls with artificial Christmas trees. According to the American Christmas Tree Association, only 19 percent of Christmas trees this year will be real live trees. Still, that’s enough in our eyes to warrant a mention of caution to those of you out there who still prefer the pine-scented glory of bringing a real tree into your home. Unfortunately, live Christmas trees, while out in the wild, can house a wide variety of pests, from spiders and insects to birds and other critters.

Hopefully, most of these unwanted creatures won’t make it to your house after the long journey from the tree farm. But it’s always a good idea to visually inspect your new tree while it’s still outside before you bring it into your house. If you notice anything that looks like it doesn’t belong, like insect egg sacks or old bird’s nests, then remove it. We always like to give our live tree a good shaking while outside too. This will hopefully dislodge insects and it’ll drop a few loose pine needles in the process. Never spray down your tree with canned bug killers as they can make the tree even more flammable than it already is.

If it’s too late and you’ve already accidentally brought in a few unwanted Christmas guests this year, then give the expert exterminators at Emtec Pest Control a call. Our service areas in Northeast Oklahoma include Bixby, Broken Arrow, Catoosa, Owasso, Jenks, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Skiatook, Stillwater, Tulsa, and surrounding areas. In Central Oklahoma, we also service Edmond, Moore, Oklahoma City, Yukon, and surrounding areas.