Eeeekk-Critter hideouts: Prevent with your fall cleanup!

As the temperatures start to drop, we can enjoy the outdoors, play in the leaves and enjoy the beauty of the changing colors of Autumn.  Meanwhile, while we aren’t looking, pesky little critters are thinking opposite.  They are foraging for their winter supply of food and are finding a place to take up shelter….in your house! EEEeKKK.

You could be aiding this habitat, helping creepy crawly critters find a way into your home.  How you ask???? Your mulch!

We talk about mulch and how it affects your plants, well,  here is how it affects your home!  Every time you apply mulch, it raises the level of the bed.  If you aren’t careful, the bed level will come up to match your foundation. This causes a problem, one for moisture/drainage, but more importantly, that point where the concrete foundation meets the structure of your first floor is the sweet spot for critters to make their way in. Think of it as the welcome mat; just a step into a warm protected environment for the winter.  Mice, spiders, centipedes, termites and even the aggressive chipmunk or squirrel will take up residence in your basement.  Did you know mice can fit through a space the size of a dime!  With the fall leaves dropping and blowing up along your foundation, this creates an even more appealing entrance where the critters can travel undetected to their secret hideout in your home!

So get out there, pull the mulch and leaves back, remove some if you have to before you spot your new roommate…in the dead of the night while you are barefoot! Eeekkkk!