Photo: yanikap (Shutterstock)
As the weather turns cold, you may find that you prefer holing up in your house instead of braving frigid temperatures. Turns out, bugs feel the same way. (About your house.) They’re also looking for somewhere warm and cozy to spend the season, and your home has everything they want (i.e. not being outside).
Unfortunately for the critters, people may not want to welcome them into their homes this (or any) time of the year. In an article for Architectural Digest, Bailey Berg explains how to make your home less appealing to bugs this winter, after speaking with experts on the subject. Here’s what to know.
Lock them out
Bugs can’t take up residence in your home if they can’t get in at all. According to gardening expert Chris Lambton, it’s important to keep doors and windows tightly sealed, and if you spot any cracks in the walls or ceilings, seal those up too.
“Check seals and weather stripping around doors and windows, and caulk any openings you might find,” entomologist Josh Matta tells AD. “Also, remove outdoor wood piles and cut back on climbing vines and overgrown shrubs around your house so spiders can’t use them to access your home.”
Make your home inhospitable
Another way people keep bugs away all winter is using some type of insecticide or substance to deter them from coming in. While there are plenty of chemical products on the market, Berg recommends something easier on the environment and your wallet: Making a solution of equal parts vinegar and water, and spraying it around the potential entry points to your home. Another option is rubbing an orange peel on your windowsills and doorways, Berg explains.
G/O Media may get a commission
Keep it clean
Once bugs get inside your house during the winter, they want to stay there. And the messier your home is—we’re talking clutter, piles of papers and/or clothing, mail accumulating on an end table—the easier it is for bugs to remain hidden, Lambton tells AD. Instead, keeping your home tidy makes these critters more visible when they do get inside, so you can then take the necessary steps to get them back outside.
