Your alarm clock goes off in the morning…rise and shine! You step out of bed, into your slippers, and sluggishly make your way toward the kitchen. It’s time for your ritual 7 o’clock cup of coffee. You open up your cupboard to reach for your favorite mug when you suddenly see a roach scurry past your hand and out of view. Your heart skips a beat and you let out a quick screech. Well, you’re awake. No caffeine needed today.

A Bit About Cockroaches

Cockroaches can live anywhere from six months to about a year and a half. Unfortunately for us, some can also survive below-freezing temperatures…at least long enough to move into our homes and vacation there until it gets warm outside again.

Cockroaches are common household pests for many homeowners and apartment residents during the winter in Iowa. American cockroaches and German cockroaches are both prevalent in the U.S. They can quickly reproduce and grow to large numbers, hiding out in the dark cracks and crevices of our homes. They often sneak around at night, scouring kitchens and bathrooms for food and water sources. Some cockroaches also carry and spread pathogens everywhere they go, so it’s important to thoroughly and regularly clean and sanitizes all areas where you’ve found cockroaches in your home.

How to Get Roaches Out of Your Home

If easy access to food and water is what attracts roaches to certain areas in your home, eliminating these sources can help you conquer the problem. Make sure you keep your counters clean at all times. Don’t leave food, beverages, or dirty dishes around the house (even in the kitchen) overnight. Store food in tamperproof (preferably sealed, glass) containers.

Vacuum and sweep floors often to rid them of crumbs and any possible cockroach eggs or excrement lying around, and empty vacuum bags outside. Also, take out the trash daily, or make sure you have a lid that seals tightly so insects can’t feed off of its contents. Leaky faucets or fixtures and wet toothbrushes are also attractive for wandering cockroaches.

In general, keep your home as clean as possible so roaches don’t have many places to hide. Try to seal any cracks throughout your home so bugs can’t enter. Many cockroaches thrive in dead trees and woodpiles, so if you have these in your yard, keep them as far away from your house as possible.

How to Prevent Cockroaches from Returning

Cockroaches will keep returning to your home if you don’t target and eliminate the source, which can be difficult to do. Many insect sprays may immediately kill a cockroach running across your countertop, but they won’t kill the ones hiding in cracks and crevices of your home that could emerge at any time. A pest control professional will know what type of treatment will be most effective for your situation and target the colony to destroy the source.

If you have a cockroach problem in your home, call, text, or email Springer for help. This is a very common problem at this time of year, and we know how stressful seeing creepy crawlers in your cupboards and on your countertops can be. Contact us to schedule a pest inspection in the Des Moines area today!

“Honey, how are we going to keep the mice away? I don’t want to deal with them again all winter like we did last year!”

Mice are some of the most common pests to sneak into our homes during the winter to wait out the cold, taking advantage of our heat and food resources. Unfortunately, they’re able to squeeze through tiny, dime-sized holes we often don’t even know are there. To help you ward off mice and prevent them from entering your home this winter, we’ve compiled a list of tips.

5 Tips to Prevent Mice from Entering Your House

Keep your kitchen clean, and store food safely.

Leaving your dishes around the kitchen or food scraps and crumbs on counters, tables, or in the sink can attract mice to these areas. Keep eating and meal prep areas tidy by cleaning up right after meals and doing the dishes as you go. Make sure food is stored safely in sealed, rodent-proof containers—even pet food.

Don’t let clutter pile up.

If you have a storage room in your home or a lot of clutter throughout your living space, you’ve created an environment where mice can easily hideout. Areas located in parts of your home that you don’t often use, such as the basement, garage, or attic, are especially attractive for mice and rats to build their nests without being disturbed. Keep your home clean and organized so rodents have fewer places to hide.

Manage your yard and landscaping.

Take a look around your yard. Do you have bushes or plants growing right up against your home or trees with overhanging branches? If so, you’re giving mice and other pests easier access to your home. Keep trees and bushes trimmed so they don’t act as step stools or ladders.

If you have a wood-burning fireplace in your home and a woodpile in your backyard, keep it as far away from your home as possible. Mice like to hide in woodpiles.

Seal any possible entry points.

Seal cracks, holes, and other drafty areas to keep unwanted visitors out of your home. Check around doors and windows, the foundation, and siding and roofing components. Make sure that seals are tight and that rodents can’t enter through vents, fascia and soffit boards, or chimney flashing. If you have small holes around the house that you need to fill quickly (to act as a temporary solution while you’re waiting for someone to make a permanent repair), you can fill them with steel wool, which mice can’t chew through.

Check the weather stripping at the base of your garage door as well, and make sure it’s free of holes and tears and is effectively keeping out critters, rain, and snow. Sealing all of these areas will not only help prevent pests from entering but make your home more energy-efficient as well.

Keep doors shut, and add brush strips.

Make sure when you enter or exit your house, you close the door as quickly as possible. Mice are sneaky and can make their move quickly when you’re not looking. Also consider adding a brush strip to the exterior doors of your home to block gaps across the bottom of your doors, where mice often squeeze through. These strips will also help drafty doors keep heat indoors during the winter.

“Honey, there’s a mouse in the house!”

If you find you already have a rodent problem at home, the most effective way to fix it is by calling a professional with proven knowledge and equipment. Springer offers professional residential pest control services for Des Moines and Central Iowa. Contact us by phone (call or text) or email. We look forward to working with you and helping you rid your home of any pesky mice!

Many people don’t think they need pest control services during the winter. Don’t the ice, snow, and freezing temperatures either send creepy crawlers south or kill them off? Nope—certainly not all of them. Mice, rats, cockroaches, and Asian beetles are some of the common pests that can sneak into our homes and make themselves comfortable (sometimes without us even noticing) during the cold season in Iowa.

How Pests Can Enter Your Attic

Pests can sneak into your attic through cracks or holes in your roofing system, gutters, your home’s foundation, or where wood is beginning to rot. The best way to keep pests out of your home is by repairing any damaged areas and making sure your home is sealed tightly so nothing, even small insects, can crawl inside.

Why Attic Pests Can Be a Problem

Pests can create nests in your attic and quickly grow to large numbers, turning into a large infestation before you know it. Rodents can chew through electrical wires, posing fire hazards, and destroy insulation, leaving your home vulnerable to the elements. They can also contaminate your home and spread serious diseases, such as salmonella, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, and rat-bite fever. Keep in mind that some diseases can be spread in ways other than being directly bit or scratched. In some cases, simply breathing in or touching contaminated dust can be enough to infect you.

How to Tell If Pests Are Lurking in Your Attic

If you hear any kind of noise coming from your attic, it’s probably not a ghost. You likely have a pest problem, and by the time you notice the noise, unfortunately, the problem could be a large one. Like we mentioned above, rodents can spread some diseases through the air, so it’s best to let a professional enter your attic and treat the problem if you know you have one. Even if you don’t breathe in toxic dust by going into your attic, you could track contaminants into your living space.

If you decide to enter your attic, look for chewing marks, listen for noises, and keep an eye out for nests and droppings. Be sure to check floor cavities, window fixtures, insulation, wood, and other less obvious areas for signs of life.

How to Treat an Attic Pest Problem

If you’ve heard pitter-pattering above your head or you believe you may have an insect infestation up there (or you want to ensure you don’t), have your top-level treated this winter. A professional exterminator will inspect your home and treat it appropriately. This may including pinpointing and sealing any entry or exit points, applying insecticides, dusting hard-to-reach areas, vacuuming, setting traps and bait stations, and installing pest monitors.

Call Springer!

If you’d like your home professionally inspected and treated, regardless of the time of year, contact Springer. You can learn about our process on our Residential Pest Control page. Call, text, or email us anytime!

Springer Professional Home Services has developed a uniquely designed Integrated Mosquito Control Service to help you get your yard back this summer. This includes our signature program to protect your yard throughout the year, or one-time applications at events like weddings and family get-togethers.

Living in the Midwest has its perks and it also has its fair share of disadvantages.

I was recently out on a spring evening turkey hunt just south of the Des Moines metropolitan area when it dawned on me… I was just bit by the 1st mosquito of the season. But isn’t it too early?! The answer is no! The mosquitoes are becoming active already.

After a somewhat mild winter, the arrival of spring came quite early this year. Record high temperatures in March and ample rainfall in April are prime ingredients for heavy mosquito traffic in the near future.

Did you know that a mosquito can complete its lifecycle from egg to adulthood within as little as 4 days?

(Obviously, this is under ideal conditions…however, most still complete the cycle within 2 weeks). Female mosquitoes can lay up to 300 eggs at one time, and on average each female will lay eggs up to 3 times before dying. After only 2 days as an adult, a female mosquito is able to bite.

Male mosquitoes feed on plant nectar, in fact…you have never been bitten by a male mosquito. It is the females that bite (weird, right?!). Females bite us because they need our blood to help develop their eggs. Once she’s had her fill of blood, she’ll rest for a couple of days before laying her eggs.

What do birdbaths, old tires, drainage ditches, and kids’ toys all have in common?

They are all areas that can potentially hold water, hence they are all areas that mosquitoes can breed and reproduce! Eliminating these areas to the best of your ability is the 1st step in taking back your yard this summer.

Call Springer Professional Home Services to assist you in an effective mosquito control program this season. Springer Pest Control Technicians are all state-certified and undergo continuing education through their onboard entomologist. You can rest assure that you will be greeted at your door by a professional, that is there to help you address any issues that you may be having, and to use integrated pest management practices to get you and your family back outside and enjoying the beautiful weather this summer.