No Chill: Keeping the Heat in Your Home This Winter

Photo Source

Winter is fast approaching. If you've grown used to mild temperatures and amiable weather, but reaching that time of year when temperatures drop rapidly and, more often than not, you will find yourself tackling winds, rain and frost each time you leave your home. Now, there might not be all too much that you can do to heat things up when you’re stood at a bus stop or on a train platform waiting for your transport to arrive. You might have to grin and bear short walks against the elements into the office. But there is one aspect of your life that you can hold a little more control over when it comes to keeping things warm and comfortable: your home. Your home should be your safe haven, where you can kick back and relax without tensing up, shivering and huddling into whatever layers you have on in order to preserve heat. Here are a few hot tips to keep the heat within your property over the coming winter months.

The Problem With Pests- Kick Out These Uninvited Guests!

Tempted into our homes by warmth, shelter, and food- pests are a common nuisance even in tidy and well-kept homes. As well as being unpleasant to be around, pests can cause expensive damage to the home and in some cases spread diseases in humans as well. Insects and rodents can carry bacteria that cause serious health problems in humans and in some cases, even death. Dysentery, salmonella, and gastroenteritis are just a few illnesses that can come about from pests in the home. Plus, if you have respiratory issues or allergies already, pests will certainly make them worse. Here are some things to bear in mind if you’re dealing with pests or looking to prevent them. 

Common Pests

Common pests that you might come up against are insects such as ants, cockroaches, termites, beetles, and moths. Rodents are also common, particularly if you live near areas of wild, undisturbed land such as fields or woods. Even some species of birds can be considered pests, pigeons, for example, can nest in the eaves of buildings and cause damage with their corrosive droppings. This can lead to leaks, structural damage and damage to the outside such as on bricks or rendering. 

photo from this source

Repairing Damage

In many cases, you might spot pest activity before you see the pests themselves. This could be damaged electrical cables, ripped open food in the pantry and droppings caused by rodents- click here for more information on this. It could be dead insects, balding carpets and holes in textiles caused by beetles and moths. As soon as you see any indication of pest activity it’s important to act quickly- since they can multiply so quickly, a small problem can fast become a very large one. There are plenty of DIY products which can help to kill pests. However, it’s often best to leave it to the professionals. Since the problem can re-emerge from just a few eggs or live pests being left behind you can find yourself in a vicious cycle. Contact an exterminator and find out if they deal with the type of pests you have, you will save yourself hassle in the long run. 

Preventing Future Pests

Any home can be invaded by pests, even clean and tidy homes. However it’s always best to keep your home clean and tidy since you reduce your chances of being infested, and you will also notice pest activity more quickly, If you’re surrounded by clutter and mess, it could be long before you spot the signs which mean the infestation has more time to spread. 

Since food is one of the driving forces for pests entering homes, make sure that this is always stored away. In your pantry, put dried food into glass lidded jars since pests aren’t able to gnaw through. Make sure crumbs, general food mess and even pet food are put away at the end of each day to prevent pests targeting your home.

What steps do you take to prevent pests in the home? If you keep away from chemicals, do you use screens, traps, or any other method to stop them from invading?

Winter Family Occasions You Can Count On

It often seems as though once it gets to winter you can’t really go out and do much with the family. But this doesn’t really need to be the case. As long as you use your imagination and widen your view a little, you should easily be able to come across some great family outing ideas which are great for this time of year as well as any other. The good news is that there is plenty to choose between - you just need to make sure you choose one that really works for your family. In this post, we are going to look at some of the best ideas for winter family occasions which you might want to consider.

Pic Credit