How to Keep Crawl Space Pests Away

Written By Holly Richards-PurpuraPublished on 04/8/2020Updated on 08/21/2024

Spider crawling along the walls of a crawl space.

From mice to bugs, a variety of pests are drawn to the darkness and humidity found in most crawl spaces. Without protection, you’ll face problems like musty smells and structural damage, but there are ways to make your crawl space less attractive to pests. Here, we’ll offer several tips to help keep your crawl space healthy and protected from unwanted visitors.

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Why Pests Love Your Crawl Space

Most crawl spaces have open vents and wooden frames but no proper lining or insulation. This makes them damp because humid air, rain, and groundwater get in. This dampness attracts pests like bugs and rodents because that survive better in moist places.

When water builds up, wooden frames rot, insulation becomes wet, and mold grows. These problems in the crawl space give pests food, a place to live, and materials to build nests. If your crawl space is dark and wet, pests will love it and you might start seeing bugs and rodents in other areas of your home.

Common Crawl Space Pests

We’ve seen pests of all kinds in crawl spaces. Here are the most common ones we run into, and you should keep an eye out for:

Termites
Spiders
Ants

Roaches
Crickets
Centipedes

Beetles
Rodents (mice and rats)
Small animals

3 Preventative Steps to Control Crawl Space Pests

Now that you know what kinds of pests like to call your crawl space their home and why, it’s important to get them out and prevent their return. There are some things you can do to discourage pests from your home, and other steps are best left to the pros.

1. Clear Bushes Close to Your House

Bushes near your house, particularly any crawl space openings like vents or narrow cracks, can harbor all sorts of bugs and animals. These areas also give pests easy access to your crawl space and home. Trimming these bushes and keeping them tidy throughout the year can lower the chances of pests spending much time in them or being able to get into your crawl space.

2. Keep Food Away from Your Crawl Space

You should keep an eye out for how you store and dispose of food and leftovers. Critters and insects will pick up smells of food sources and anything out in the open and gather to feast on your meal from last night. Make sure you keep your garbage in sealed plastic bags. The better you seal them, the lower the chance of bugs and animals finding trash in your home or yard.

3. Set Out Traps

Along with keeping food out of sight, it’s a good idea to place traps for specific pests you’ve noticed around your house like ants or mice. These traps can be placed both inside and outside your house. In many cases, you can opt for non-toxic human and pet-friendly traps.

Pest Prevention Best Left to Professionals

Applying Pesticides or Extermination Procedures

If you have an active pest problem, want to set certain traps or apply pesticides, or have the infestation eradicated for good, contact extermination professionals. A pest control company will be able to safely and effectively use appropriate chemicals, tools, and other gear to take care of the issue.

Encapsulating the Crawl Space

Another effective way to deter crawl space pests is with crawl space encapsulation. Professionals can use various tools to keep your crawl space’s environment dry and controlled, making it much less attractive to pests.

Encapsulation involves installing multiple tools to create one, cohesive water management system. Generally, the tools installed are:

Crew encapsulating crawl space with a vapor barrier.

Once installed, your crawl space will be dry and pests are much more likely to find another home.

Replacing Wet Crawl Space Insulation

Over time, crawl space insulation can get wet, especially if it’s made of fiberglass. This is not good because it can lead to poor temperature control in your home and higher energy bills. Wet insulation can also cause wood in your crawl space to rot and attract pests.

It’s a good idea to replace old insulation with new, damage-resistant materials. You can get these from experts like Ohio Basement Authority. We install thick, foam insulation panels along the inside walls of your crawl space. These panels also protect against termites and are installed with a space for pest control experts to check easily.

Contact Ohio Basement Authority for a Free Crawl Space Inspection

Inspector showing a crawl space issue to homeowner.

Bugs and vermin are harmful to your home and health, thriving in damp crawl spaces. If you’ve noticed more pests or suspect a problem, our team can help.

Ohio Basement Authority team has nearly 15 years of experience fixing and safeguarding crawl spaces across Ohio, including sealing, encapsulation, and insulation replacement. Contact us for a free inspection and make your crawl space healthier and more secure today.

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Holly Richards-Purpura

Content Writer

Holly is a Content Writer for Groundworks who has written and edited web content for the foundation services industry for 10 years. With a background in journalism, her passion for the written word runs deep. Holly lives in Columbus, OH, with her husband. Along with educating homeowners, she also has a big heart for the Big Apple.