At your everyday home, you notice any pests pretty quickly and can take suitable action to get rid of them. But at your vacation cabin, things are different. A pest infestation can go for weeks or even months without being addressed since you're not around a lot. This does not mean you just need to suck it up and live with mice. There are a few distinct steps you can take to keep pests out of your vacation cabin, even if you're rarely there.
Don't leave food behind.
It may be easier to leave basics like flour, vegetable oil, and a few granola bars at your vacation cabin. But doing so can leave your cabin prone to a pest infestation. Mice and rats can easily chew through cardboard containers, especially when there are not humans around to disrupt their activities. Pack up all of your food and take it with you each time you leave the cabin.
Mow and landscape around the cabin.
When your cabin is in the middle of nowhere, you might assume landscaping is a waste. However, doing some basic landscaping in the area immediately around the cabin can help keep pests away. Mice, cockroaches, and most other pests like hiding in tall weeds and overgrown brush. If you keep a 20-foot space on all sides of your cabin clear, there will be few pests around the cabin, which means fewer will also make their way inside.
Set some mouse traps, ant baits, and roach baits.
Before you leave the cabin, set up three things. Set a couple of mouse traps. Use peanut butter as the bait because it will stay moist and smelly for a few weeks. Also, set a few ant baits and a cockroach bait or two. The goal here is for these traps and baits to capture or kill the first few pests that do wander into your cabin before they are able to reproduce or invite any friends along.
Bury or burn garbage far from the cabin.
Ideally, you should take all of your garbage with you each time you leave your vacation cabin. But if you do choose to deal with your trash another way, such as by burning or burying it, make sure you do so as far from the cabin as possible. You don't want pests to first be attracted to your garbage pile and then find their way into the cabin itself.
Pests are not just an inevitability in your vacation cabin. You have to be vigilant in your control methods, but if you are, then you can enjoy a pest-free cabin.
To learn more, contact a pest control service.
Having pests in your home is more than just annoying. Many of the common pests that invade homes are actually dangerous. Rats can bite young children, spreading serious diseases like leptospirosis and salmonella. Cockroaches can spread E. coli, and many people are allergic to proteins in their bodies. Regardless of which pest is bothering you, it is important to get rid of it as soon as possible. Pest control companies can do a lot of this work, but it is also important to be informed. After all, you are the one who lives in your home and needs to take preventative measures against pests every day. Learn the basics here on this blog, and put them to use.