If you’ve ever ready any pest control prevention tips blogs – including this one – then one of the recommendations that you’ll see the most is to “Reduce Clutter.” Experts will recommend that you get rid of boxes, pick up any clothes that may be lying on the floor, and otherwise make sure that your home is free of excess, messy stuff.

But… why?

Does Reducing Clutter Really Do Anything?

Pests do not spawn in clutter like video game characters. If they’re inside of your home they’re already inside of your home, whether they find clutter or not. Clutter reduces their hiding spots, but it doesn’t prevent the pests in the first place. So what does limiting clutter actually do with regards to pest control?

1. Gives Pests a Home

First, even though the pests may already be on your property, clutter is what gives them a space to call home. They can hide for as long as they need to, and possibly even feed if they find other pests or food items nearby. This will allow them to stay alive, thrive, and spread.

2. Makes it Harder to Find Them

Pests are typically less of a problem when you can see them easily. If you see a spider walking across the floor, you can squish it and move on. But if you can’t see the spider, then it can live for longer, surprise you when you least expect it, and make it harder to eliminate in the future.

In addition, the longer it takes you to find a pest, the more likely they are to mate, attract further pests, or something else – all of which can cause more pest problems.

3. Makes it Harder for Pest Control

Similarly, pest control is more difficult when there is clutter. We cannot spray pesticides on your clothes, for example, even though we do use human-safe pest solutions. That means that the places on your property that pests live may be missed. Similarly, if pests have a place to hide, then they are not walking over or near your pesticides. We need them to be moving for them to come into contact with the solutions.

4. Pests Won’t Leave

Lastly, many pests are transient. They walk from one place to another until they find what they’re looking for. They may even, at times, go in and out of properties. If you have a place for them to hide, they have no reason to leave – so they won’t. Reducing clutter can, at least theoretically, push pests that are on your property to go leave and find some place elsewhere that is safer.

Clutter and Pest Control

Still, despite these benefits, reducing clutter doesn’t really have much of an effect on pest control. It is a good idea for all the reasons listed above, but pests are either on your property or they are not, and clutter isn’t what drives them there.

Instead, think of reducing clutter more as a way of making your life with pests easier overall – since you can eliminate pests faster if you see them, know you have an infestation, and make sure they are always on the move.

But you still need pest control. Contact ExtermPRO for some of the best prices and solutions for pest control in Virginia. We’re family owned and ready to help provide comprehensive pest management for your property.