Pests are the unwelcome house guests that make themselves right at home during the winter. The most common pests that home owner’s experience include thwart mice, squirrels, and spiders. None of which being something that you would like to find in your home. Prepare home owners for these rodents and bugs and they will be thanking you all season!

Mice find a way to shimmy through the smallest of cracks on the outside of the house. As a home inspector, it is important to keep an eye out for gaps between the framing and siding of the house. This is the perfect way for these sneaky rodents to make their entrance. To check these areas, try using a small mirror and flashlight to look for cracks that need to be sealed. These can be taken care of with some insulation.

There are also some more obvious ways that home inspectors can keep mice from kicking up their feet in a home. Garages are a big flashing welcome sign for pests. Encourage home owners to keep their garage door closed as much as possible or to line the garage with traps. If the home owners are animal people, a cat is also never a bad idea when it comes to catching mice.

Spiders, on the other hand, are a little trickier than mice considering their size difference. Spiders live in woodpiles, bushes, windows, and other areas near the base of the home. With that being said, it is important to encourage home owners to keep these things as far from their house as possible. If they have a stock of firewood near the house for the winter, they might as well invite the spiders in for a cup of coffee. It is also important to ensure bushes and trees near the home are trimmed and not encroaching on the home. These precautions combined with simply keeping an eye out for webs and any other small areas like decks where they can enter through, should keep the house spider-free.

Providing these tips to home owners whether it is during the actual inspection or in follow up communication, will keep them happy through the winter. It is much easier to prevent these problems from happening rather than dealing with the aftermath.