All homes have cracks and holes, but the older the home, the more they will have. Moisture causes rotting, and pests exploit those rotted places. Ants burrow, termites eat, rodent gnaw, and creepy crawlies push their way into the hollow spaces of your walls–like you’re living in a giants block of cheese. In fact, termites see your home as nothing but a giant piece of food. So when spring comes, and all those pests become active again, there are some things you need to know to protect yourself.

Moisture is your enemy. Moist soil and moist wood is the ideal habitat for bugs, and enticing to wildlife that like to chew.

• It is time to look at your gutters and make sure there are no obstructions. You don’t want spillage running down your walls and moistening your wood. This will cause rotting.

• Make sure downspouts are clear of debris and that your gutters are channeling water away from your foundation walls. It is never good to have puddles of water, or moist soil, near your foundation.

• Consider putting crushed rock around your home instead of mulch.

• If you have water collecting on your lawn, fill those areas in with soil. Mosquitoes breed in puddles, and pests of all kinds use them to get a drink.

Food sources lure pests in and make them strong. You’ve probably heard that a clean house is resistant to pests. There is a lot of truth in that.

• Keeping toast crumbs cleaned up around the toaster, sugar spills cleaned up around the sugar dish, splotches of jelly from lingering on the counter, and a host of other spills from providing a buffet for bugs, is a good start.

• Keep floors swept and mopped. Juice spills are especially enticing to insects.

• Vacuum regularly. You would be surprised how many particles of food get into your rug, that is, unless you have a rule that food is only eaten in the kitchen.

• Don’t leave fruit out.

• Leave dishes soaking in a sink of soapy water. This will prevent pests from having a meal, and also make those dishes easier to clean later.

It is time to fill up all the holes in that chunk of cheese. When things are clean inside your home, many bugs will stay in your walls. Some will not. Sealing your walls can keep stray pests and scout insects from passing through.

• Use a caulking gun to seal holes in your kitchen and pantry.

• Seal up your exterior walls too. If you find a rotted place, fill it until you have the money to repair it.

• Seal up around window frames, fixtures, outlets, pipes, air conditioning units, and other objects in your exterior walls.

• Check all your window screens, door screens, door sweeps, and weather stripping.

Before you do all that spring cleaning you’re planning, consider making your home resistant to all of the pests that will be looking to use your home as their home base for summer. If you find pests living in your attic, basement, or walls, contact a company like Schendel Pest Services to safely remove or eradicate them. An experienced pest company has the knowledge base and technology to make your home pest free. Make 2015 the year you start living without pests.