We all love the lights that fill the dark nights of the holiday season. Many memories and family traditions have been forged by and around the holiday lights around the home and communities.
If you are like most families in America, sometime in November we go digging in the basement or storage area to pull out the stash of lights. These storage places of your holiday decor are convenient for us to keep these seasonal decorations but are also welcoming locations for insects and pests.
Here are some points to consider when decorating and then packing away in January.
Setting up your holiday decor
You will most likely find many spider webs and possibly scuttling cockroaches in and around your storage area. Prepare yourself with trash bags and a broom.
Clear the way to the items and take advantage of the opportunity to remove pests from their hiding space. Plan ahead and schedule to have Pest Proof on hand to treat your storage area while you have the boxes and decor out the way. This will allow access to the corners and areas that you can not get to easily the rest of the year.
Before packing away your containers and boxes, clean them out and ensure that there is nothing to entice pests back into the home during this cold time of year.
Packing up your decor
No one loves packing up the holiday lights and decorations. The outdoor ones are even worse, especially if you live in the colder weather. As tempted as you may be to leave it up till the warmer spring weather, it is best to pack up the holiday decor.
Since these decorations and lights were outside, be sure to clean them off thoroughly before bringing them inside. Brush and wipe them down to remove soil, webs and posssible eggs. The best way to keep pests under control, is to limit their ability to get inside your home.
Here are 5 tips to help you store your lights more efficiently;
- Use a rectangular piece of cardboard to wrap the lights
- Use the original box that the lights came in to wrap up the lights
- Roll out a length of plastic sheet equal to that of the strand lights. Then roll up the lights encased in the plastic sheet
- Take one of the loose ends of the strand and hook it through one of the strap holders. Then, while keeping the strand taut, begin wrapping it around the clothes hanger vertically
- Bunch the lights. To bunch the lights again, grab one of the lights near one of the ends. Next, grab a light two lights away on either side and group them together.
Pest Proof
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