A wooden garage is an amazing addition to your property. It adds value and marketability to your home, looks great, and has added benefits like solid construction, better design, and good insulation compared to its metal counterparts. But they come with a drawback: they are a beacon for pests.

Because a wooden garage tends to be warmer, made of a consumable material (thanks to termites), and more natural looking, it’s a hospitable environment for spiders, insects, small mammals, and other critters that will take refuge there if they are allowed.

Here’s your guide on how to protect your wooden garage from all the little critters that might get in.

Restrict wood regularly

The first step in avoiding pests is making sure they have a way to get in. The most common entrance door is through damage to the exterior of your garage, mainly to the wood itself. Over time, your wood can crap, form gaps between plants, heat up, or rot. This allows pests to enter. Repainting the wood every three to five years will keep it healthy and free of cracks.

If you find that any damage has already occurred, fix it as soon as possible to prevent an infestation from occurring.

Keep gutters clean

Your garage gutters can be a haven for bugs and spiders during the drier months. Keeping them away is a good idea, as it gives them fewer places to hide before they enter your garage.

Every season to a cleaning to make sure there are no nests, hives or spider webs. Get rid of debris where they can hide. You may also want to put down gutter covers to prevent them from getting in the first place.

Clear Outer Bramble

Brambles and debris around your garage are another place pests can make their home. This includes old and dead plants and shrubs, old trees, overgrown patches of flora, etc. Cleaning them regularly will not only keep pests away, but could also make your home look a lot better in the process.

Before winter, be sure to clean up old, dead landscaping and other areas around your garage, so it’s ready for the coming winter months.

Repair the damage immediately

As mentioned above, any damage to your wood can allow pests to enter. It might even have been caused by them. Often when there are holes in wood, termites eat them. Other bugs can enter through these holes or hide in the walls. The last thing you want is to go about your business in your lumber garage and not realize there’s an infestation all around you, just waiting to get out.

Regularly check for external damage. The moment you see it, even if it’s a small crack or fracture in the wood, order it right away. That will give pests less time to find it and move on.

Do seasonal checkups

A seasonal checkup is always a good idea. This is when you check the exterior and interior for signs of trouble. The most common problem you will run into is that areas of the wood are worn, often discolored. That’s a sign that the stain on the wood has become too thin and needs a new coat. You can apply a little to that area until you are ready to do a full restore, if you find no other signs of wear.

Know the times of the year for the risks

Different times of the year come with different risks. Your wooden garage will be more attractive in the winter, when different creatures try to escape from the cold. But at the same time, the cold will kill many of them before they can get inside. So your risk is that some pests will get into your garage and breed as the months get warmer. All it takes is two to wreak havoc.

Most of the risks of infestation will be during the summer. There are a greater number of pests, so there is more to defend against.

Your Wood Garage Weatherstrip

Another way to keep pests out is by closing any cracks they can crawl through. Your windows and doors are the big culprits and you can seal them off using some weather stripping. You can find DIY kits at any hardware store. There are also companies that will do it for you.

Remember that wooden garages also have beams and places in the ceiling that could let in pests. You may want to consider redoing the roof from time to time.

Organize and maintain organization

If your wooden garage is cluttered, it’s more likely to harbor pests and keep you from seeing the signs. How will you know there is mouse droppings if your floor is littered? How will you see the cobwebs if they are behind a bunch of packed shelves?

Keep your garage maintained and organized and you can keep it bug free.

increase lighting

Pests, especially bugs and spiders, like to congregate where there is less light. Shadows are your friends and if you can’t see into corners, how do you know if there’s something there, making your home? Installing better lighting is a great defense against this.

Consider stringing large fluorescent lights. These can light up an entire garage no matter what its size.

deal with problems fast

Remember, the faster you address problems, the less time they have to grow. The moment you see the signs of a pest problem, you need to fix it. That means seeing a single mouse, black widow spider, or any other troublesome creepy creature that might be living in your wooden garage.

Some of these can be fixed yourself using traps, spray pumps, and other methods that can be purchased at your local hardware store. But if you are worried that it could be a bigger problem, you should call a professional.