Family, Friends & Pest Control: The Perfect Chesapeake Christmas Recipe

Chestnuts are roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost is nipping at our noses. Pretty soon, we may even hear yuletide carols being sung by choirs in our neighborhoods. It is that time of year again, which means it's time to start thinking about holiday baking and holiday gatherings. As you're preparing to cook tasty holiday treats, and as you're preparing your home for gatherings with friends and family, take a moment to consider pest control in Chesapeake. It could keep the most wonderful time of the year from turning into the most frustrating time of the year. Here is our recipe for the perfect Chesapeake Christmas.

A Sprinkle Of Cockroach Control

Nothing can ruin holiday foods like cockroaches. Not only are cockroaches known to spread human pathogens, bacteria and parasitic worms, they can make your food taste terrible without even getting into them. Cockroaches communicate with pheromones. These pheromones smell bad. If you detect a smell in your pantry that seems a little off, you could have cockroaches in your home, and that smell can leach into your foods and make them taste bad.

Here are some Christmas cockroach prevention tips:

• Do an inspection of your exterior foundation wall. If you see any gaps or cracks, fill them in. A caulking gun or some expanding foam can get the job done. This will also help to keep many other holiday pests out.
• Keep your exterior trash in a sealed container. Roaches feed and breed in rotting organic material. If you notice roaches are getting into your trash, be aware that cleaning your trash receptacle may prevent roach eggs from hatching in there, depending on the species. Cockroach species that carry their eggs on them cannot be controlled this way.
• Place glue strips down in dark locations of your home that are high in humidity. This will help you detect cockroaches early and get them treated by a professional.

A Dash Of Pantry Protection

Pantry pests can easily ruin holiday cooking when they show up. If you're not familiar with what a pantry pest is it is a whole category of pests that lay their eggs inside stored foods such as flour, rice, cereal, dry pasta, crackers, cornstarch, powdered milk, grains, and many more. On the pantry pest list are several beetles, a few weevils and one very frustrating moth called the Indian meal moth. If these insects get into your food, you won't get ill, but you're likely to feel ill thinking that you may have just put bugs into your holiday dinner.

Try these Christmas pantry pest tips to contain these insects:

• Check packages closely before you purchase them from the grocery store.
• Check the due dates on the packages in your pantry or kitchen cabinets. Throw items out that are past due.
• Transfer foods that come in paper, cardboard or thin plastic to glass or hard plastic containers that can be sealed.

If you bring a pantry pest home, these containers will prevent them from spreading. If you use glass, you should be able to easily see insects, eggs, or webbing inside the container. This will alert you to a problem.

2 Cups Of Bed Bug Prevention

When people come to visit your home, they may accidentally bring bed bugs with them. This is becoming more and more common. You can protect yourself from bed bugs by doing a quick check of the area your guests slept in. Look for tiny pale or tan insects with a bright red abdomen. These are bed bug nymphs. Look for pale white eggs, shed insect skins and tiny black droppings. If you detect bed bugs, contact a pest control provider like Albemarle that has experience in treating for and controlling bed bugs.

Chesapeake Pest Control

If you live in Chesapeake and you need assistance with any pest problem, remember that Albemarle Termite & Pest Control has over 75 years of experience protecting homes and businesses from pests. We service Southeast Virginia with industry-leading home pest control. We can help you get your holidays back on track.