Kicking off a new year is an ideal moment to renew your home and establish objectives for a safe, healthy, and cozy space. Although many resolutions center on fitness or tidiness, safeguarding your home from pests should also be a key focus — particularly during winter. Potter Pest supports homeowners in Monmouth and Ocean Counties in maintaining a pest-free home year-round.
Here are our top six winter pest prevention tips to start 2026 on a positive note:
1. Seal Gaps and Entry Points Around Your Home
Rodents and insects look for warmth during winter, often gaining entry through small cracks or openings around doors, windows, vents, foundations, and garages.
Tip: Carefully inspect your home and seal any gaps using caulk, weatherstripping, or steel wool. Remember to check attic vents and around utility lines.
2. Sustain Clean, Clutter-free Indoor Spaces
Winter is the busiest time for indoor pests, as food, moisture, and clutter attract them.
Tip: Store holiday snacks and pet food in airtight containers, wipe up crumbs, and empty trash often. Keeping surfaces clean helps deter ants, cockroaches, and rodents.
3. Check Firewood and Outdoor Storage
Stacks of firewood, sheds, garages, and other storage spaces can attract pests looking for shelter.
Tip: Store firewood at least 20 feet away from your house and keep it elevated off the ground. Regularly check these storage areas for signs of rodents or insects.
4. Trim Vegetation and Maintain Your Home’s Exterior
Overgrown branches, shrubs, and leaf piles create hiding places and routes for pests.
Tip: Trim back vegetation from your house, clear debris, and keep gutters clean. Doing so helps block spiders, rodents, and other pests from getting inside.
5. Inspect Attics, Basements, and Crawl Spaces
Pests tend to hide in undisturbed areas during winter.
Tip: Look for signs of pest activities such as droppings or gnaw marks around areas throughout your home. Install mesh screens on vents and set monitoring traps.
6. Schedule a Professional Winter Inspection
Despite preventive efforts, certain pests remain stubborn. Getting a professional inspection guarantees your home is thoroughly protected.
Tip: Book a winter inspection with Potter Pest now! We provide winter inspections for homes in Monmouth and Ocean County to detect early infestation signs and develop customized prevention plans.
Start 2026 with a Pest-Free Home
A little preparation now can save headaches later. Make protecting your home from pests a New Year’s resolution and enjoy a cozy, critter-free winter.
At Potter Pest Control, we take pride in our long history of helping keep homes and businesses in Monmouth or Ocean County free from pesky spiders and other unwanted pests! So if you’re dealing with a current pest issue or are looking into prevention and inspection services or other pest management services, look no further than Potter Pest Control – it’s what we do best! Please complete a contact form if you have questions about our home treatment plans or extermination services, or if you need a one-time spider treatment. Better yet, call us at (732) 284-7707!