Firewood Pests—Protecting your Woodpile

Learning how to keep pests out of woodpiles in Northern Utah & Southern Utah - Rentokil, formerly Specialized Pest Control & Lawn CareAlthough we all like to curl up next to a warm fire during the wintertime, the luxury of keeping firewood to do so often comes with unwanted pest problems. If you aren’t careful about the way that you store your firewood, all sorts of insects and even rodents can take advantage of a temporary shelter, and even move inside your home to get warmer. Over our decades of service in Northern Utah & Southern Idaho, we’ve learned the best ways to protect your woodpile and keep pests out of your home. Read on for advice from our expert technicians at Rentokil.

What Types of Pests Do Woodpiles Attract?

A good number of pests that you might find around your woodpile in the winter will do no harm to your family or your home. Boxelder bugs, moths, earwigs, some species of spiders, and other pests might be a nuisance, but cannot cause damage to your property or spread diseases. However, there are a few pests that you should watch out for around your woodpile:

No one likes the sound of having bees or wasps around their property, but with carpenter bees, the potential for property damage is present, too. Additionally, termites, powderpost beetles, and carpenter ants all bore through our homes’ wooden structures, whether to eat the cellulose within in the wood or to make nests. Termites are one of the worst pests you can have in your home—in the United States alone, subterranean termites cause an estimated $5 billion in property damage every year!

How to Keep Pests Out of Your Piled Firewood

If you leave your woodpile in a vulnerable state for too long, you will certainly develop a pest infestation of some sort. Here are Rentokil’s three best pieces of advice to stop this from happening:

  1. Keep your firewood elevated and covered: Woodpiles left on the ground can attract carpenter ants and termites that live in the soil beneath. Keeping your woodpile stored in a rack off the ground will reduce your chances of an infestation developing.
  2. Keep it at a distance: Your woodpile should not be left resting against the side of your home. The further away you store it, the less likely your home will become infested.
  3. Burn older wood first: When you take wood inside to start a fire, make sure you pick the older logs to burn first. Older logs are more likely to be infested, but if you get them into your home and burn them quickly, the pests shouldn’t spread around your home.

Winter Pest Control in Northern Utah & Southern Idaho

If you want to feel certain that your woodpile isn’t the reason for any pest infestations this winter, reach out to your local pest control company. Our technicians at Rentokil can perform a complete property inspection to find any vulnerabilities or potential causes of a pest outbreak. We can also help you take preventative measures to keep pests out of your home in every season.Don’t wait until it’s too late to stop pests this winter—reach out today for a free quote!

Install Chimney Caps to Keep Birds Out

Chimney caps keep birds out in Northern Utah & Southern Idaho - Rentokil, formerly Specialized Pest Control & Lawn CareHaving a bunch of birds around your home might not seem like a problem, and it may even be invited, but birds can actually cause lots of problems for homeowners in Northern Utah & Southern Idaho. Besides the noise that they can come with, birds are capable of causing property damage in many forms, and they can even cause diseases with their droppings. If you have birds resting in or around your chimneys, it’s important to take action to remove them quickly. Read on to learn how Rentokil advises you to do so!

How Birds Cause Problems for Homeowners

Birds in the chimney or on the roof can create problems for homeowners in a few different ways. Here are some things to watch out for if you’re noticing more birds on your property than usual:

Chimney blockage: If birds create a nest that blocks off the top of your chimney, it could trap carbon monoxide fumes inside, creating a health risk for you and your family.
Gutter blockage: When birds nest in your gutters, they could divert water in improper ways that cause water damage to your home’s siding and foundation or waterlogging in your garden.
Dropping exposure: Bird droppings sometimes host a fungus that can cause histoplasmosis in humans when its spores are breathed in. This is a dangerous disease when left untreated.

How to Prevent Birds in Chimney Stacks

Birds that nest on your roof or next to your chimney might want to venture inside for shelter and warmth. As you can see, this has the ability to cause a whole host of problems for homeowners. However, you can avoid these for the most part by installing a chimney cap. Chimney caps allow you to keep fumes from your fireplace flowing safely outside while also preventing anything from coming in. Birds will be forced to find somewhere else to nest, which means your chimney won’t be at risk for droppings, nest debris, and birds flying down inside.

Bird Control in Northern Utah & Southern Idaho

If you have a chimney cap, but birds are still nesting inside your chimney, team up with your local pest control company for expert help. At Rentokil, we train our bird removal team to handle all of the local bird species in our region. Prioritizing humane methods of bird removal, we can take care of birds on your property safely and effectively. For a free quote or to learn about our bird control services, contact us!