Houses have walls for several reasons, most notably to keep unpleasant weather and insect and rodent pests outside and you safe inside. However, accidents do happen, and holes are created in the drywall of most any wall in your home. If you have kids, then you can’t go twenty-something years without at least one hole in the wall.

As trifling as a hole might seem, it is actually a very big deal in terms of pests. This is no less true of homes in hot and arid places like Arizona, where pests will look to hide from the heat during the day and scuttle out of hiding at night. If those pests are in your walls, guess what? They may find those holes you have and then crawl through to make themselves at home in your home! Here is why these holes in your walls are an invitation to pests and how to fix the problem.

You Have More Comfortable Temps Inside That Pests Like

Along with all kinds of food sources in your home, pests want to get away from Arizona heat during the day and sharp drops in temperatures at night. Entering your home through an accidental hole in the wall gives them the means to live cool and comfortable during the day and cozy at night. The hole in the wall is like an open front door, welcoming everything from ants to scorpions, snakes to rodents inside through the spaces in your walls.

Once Inside, They Stay

A mouse or scorpion that crawls through a hole in the wall is not likely to leave your home the same way. In fact, they are not likely to leave at all. The longer they stay, the more problems you will have with your personal health and safety. Patching these holes and attempting to avoid the creation of new ones is all you can do, aside from hiring pest control to take care of the rest.

Pest Control Can Help After You Fix the Holes

Any hole in your walls larger than a quarter is something most pests (with the exception of full-grown rats) can fit through. Patching these holes immediately after they occur is ideal, since it will prevent pests from coming in and crawling through during the night. After the holes are patched (either by you or a professional drywall contractor) a pest control expert can spray everywhere and set up traps to catch anything that might have sneaked past your watchful eyes.

Traps are monitored for a few weeks and sprays only need repeating every few months. The peace of mind is worth it after a hole is adequately fixed.