Keeping Pests Out of Your Home

Posted by STN Admin on

When fall arrives, insects and rodents will find their way into your home. The warmth, shelter, and food your home provides naturally attracts pests in larger numbers. In addition to eating your food and damaging your furniture, some of these pests may carry diseases. To prevent this from happening, you will need to take the proper steps to keep the pests on the outside. And, to deal with the pests that have made their way inside. 

What follows are a few tips that will help you address the pest infestation and lower the chances of their presence causing harm. 

Remove All Clutter Inside and Outside

Clutter provides shelter for pests. Remove all clutter that surrounds your home and inside your garage or storage areas. The more places that insects can find to hide and breed, the less likely they are to either enter or stay inside your home. A simple cleaning will help reduce the pest’s presence on your property. 

Seal Cracks

Inspect your home for any cracks or openings that allow pests to enter. By sealing up your home, you can greatly reduce the chances pests can enter. 

  • Use Caulk around Doors, Windows, and Openings 
  • Ensure that Windows & Doors Close Properly 
  • Check All Openings, Including Ducts and Pipes

Use the right type of caulk that is waterproof, so that it can resist temperature changes.  

Fly Traps & Lights

For flying insects, you will need to lower the chances of them clustering around your home when the temperatures start to drop. 

  • Fly Traps
  • Fly Lights
  • Insecticide Spray 

A combination of all three will help keep the flying insects away. Flylights should be set up away from your home. Fly traps should be stationed around areas where flying insects gather, such as near windows and doors. Be careful with insecticides so that your pets are not affected by them. 

Clean & Store Food Properly 

A clean home does not have food lying around for pests to consume. Clean your kitchen, food pantry, and any areas with food storage. By removing the odor of food along with the food itself, you can greatly reduce the presence of pests, particularly insects, in your home. 

  • Store Food in Sealed Containers
  • Wipe Down the Kitchen After Preparing Food
  • Reduce the Places Where People Eat Food 

Reduce Humidity Inside the Attic, Basement, & Crawl Spaces

While adding to the moisture level inside the living areas of the home will help you breathe easier during the cooler days of the fall, you need to reduce such humid areas in places where pests may find shelter. The attic, basement, and crawl spaces should be well ventilated as possible to reduce areas of moisture. Without water, pests will find it harder to live inside such places. 

By doing the basics, you can create an environment that helps keep the pests away from your home. Start taking the right steps now to reduce the pest population before fall fully arrives. 

Contact Brickley Environmental Today 

With numerous dangers facing your home or business, calling the professionals at Brickley Environmental is a good place to start. We offer our knowledge and experience along with the tools to detect and remove infestations of various types. The services provided by Brickley Environmental include the following. 

  • Asbestos Abatement
  • Mold Remediation
  • Lead-Based Paint Removal 
  • Demolition 
  • Hazardous Waste Removal

If you are facing any of these issues, call Brickley Environmental today. Our friendly, courteous staff will take your call and answer your questions, so you can make the best-informed decision about what to do next. At Brickley Environmental, we are here to help you.

Runoff-Induced Erosion

Posted by STN Admin on

Water runoff can cause soil to erode and wash away. While erosion is a natural process, when it occurs on land that is occupied by humans it can become problematic. The urbanization of the landscape, particularly the soil compaction that occurs under buildings, sidewalks, parking lots, etc. has the potential to increase the threat of erosion. 

Four Erosion Types

Of the different types of runoff-induced erosion, there are four that are considered the most prominent.

  • Sheet: This is one of the most common forms of erosion with sheets of water moving across the surface. This can result in the transportation of the soil by raindrops. The sheet effect may also cause the soil particles to become loose due to the movement of other soil particles because of the rain intensity. 

 

  • Rill: A rill is a narrow, long depression or incision in the soil that has a depth of less than 75mm. In essence, this is a micro-channel that when found along hill slopes may allow for a greater flow of water caused by precipitation. 

 

  • Gully: These form as a result of rills that get deeper than 75mm. When the water flows into a gully, it can start to remove the sediment at a faster rate. This is especially true if the gullies are located on a slope. The water flows through a gully at a faster rate compared to flowing over the soil. The result is a dramatic increase in the erosion rate of the soil.

 

  • Channel: This occurs along the banks and beds of stream channels. When the water flow increases, erosion may occur at a greater rate. Such increases in water flow in channels may happen because of soil compaction due to the presence of sidewalks, parking lots, and other hard surfaces that only accelerate the water into streams.

How Brickley Environmental Can Help

The erosion process from sheet to channel is not an inevitable one and is dependent upon several different factors. When left untreated, these may progress over time and become harmful to your environment. Depending on if the property in question is occupied or not will determine the strategy of remediation. Having a great strategy is imperative to find a solution to your soil erosion problem.

For specific recommendations and procedures required to manage your soil contamination and remediation issues, the best solution is to call Brickley Environmental who are the experts and more importantly have the expertise for soil remediation issues throughout all of Southern California.

For more information on soil remediation, visit the Natural Resources Defense Council website here.