There are many factors that can increase the chance of pests getting into your home. This includes normal wear and tear, the home settling, and even ignoring simple maintenance and repairs. That's why it's so important that you seal off these areas where pests can easily gain access to your home. These tips will help you do it.

Repair Your Home's Doors

An easy way that insects enter your home is through all of the doors. The exterior doors will be used quite often, which makes them prone to wearing down over time. For instance, a wooden door can easily warp and swell, which will no longer form a tight seal in the doorframe when it is closed. As your home settles, the doorframe will shift as well. If you repair these issues, you'll eliminate the insect's primary entry point.

Start by placing weather stripping between the frame and the door to close any gaps. Door sweeps will help create a seal along the door's bottom edge. You can also remove the trim that surrounds the door and pack the opening between your home and the frame with foam or fiberglass insulation.

Repair Your Window Screens

Whenever a window or door is open, screens are essential for keeping out all of the insects. Unfortunately, the screens need to be in great shape in order to do this. Even a small hole in your screen material can make an entry point for pests. Thankfully, this is a very inexpensive repair that you can do on your own by buying a window screen repair kit from your local home improvement store.

You can make the screens on doors less likely to break again by installing a bar on the door where people normally push with their hands. Instead of pressing into the screen, they'll place their hands on the bar and prevent damage from occurring.

Seal Outside Entry Points

Give a visual inspection of the outside of your home and try to identify places where pests can get inside. Using your caulking gun, you can seal gaps that small insects that get through.

Pay close attention to holes where telephone, cable, or internet lines enter your home. The same goes for any plumbing or gas lines as well. Look around ventilation pipes for your dryer, and around the edges of windows and skylights.

If the pests are already in your home, these tips will not help get rid of them. You'll need the help of a professional pest control exterminator that can get the pests out of your home for good.

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