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Great for you, bad for bugs.

As nights cool off in North Idaho and Spokane, mice, stink bugs, boxelder bugs and spiders start looking for a warm place to spend the winter. Here is how to keep them out.
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The first cold nights in North Idaho and the Spokane area always bring the same phone calls. The bugs and critters that spent the summer outside have figured out that winter is coming, and your house looks like a great place to wait it out.

Here is what we see every fall, and what you can do about it.

Who is trying to move in

Mice. A mouse can squeeze through a gap about the size of a pencil. Once nights drop near freezing, they head for garages, crawl spaces, wall voids and pantries.

Stink bugs and boxelder bugs. These two gather on sunny south and west walls on warm fall afternoons, then crawl into cracks around windows, siding and attic vents. They do not bite or breed indoors over winter, but they show up by the dozen on the first warm day of spring.

Spiders. Fall is when many spiders mature and go looking for mates, so you notice more of them in basements and garages.

Wasps and yellow jackets. Late-season yellow jackets get hungry and cranky. Nests in walls and eaves are worth dealing with before they get bigger next year.

What you can do this weekend

  • Walk around your house and look for gaps around pipes, wires, dryer vents and the garage door. Seal small gaps with caulk and stuff larger ones with steel wool before sealing.
  • Check window screens and door sweeps. Daylight under a door means bugs can get in.
  • Move firewood, leaf piles and stored boxes away from the foundation.
  • Trim shrubs and branches so they do not touch the house.
  • Store bird seed, pet food and grass seed in sealed bins, not bags.

Where we come in

A fall treatment around the outside of your home creates a barrier before pests settle in for winter. Our quarterly service is built for exactly this: one visit each season, timed to what the bugs are doing right then. And we never charge a sign-up fee.

When you call Property Shield, you talk to an owner, and the same person who makes your plan does your service. Call 208-889-9222 or request a free quote.

Related: residential pest control, the free guide 8 Secrets Pest Control Companies Don’t Want You to Know, or request a free quote.