How to Prep Your Home for Pest Season in the Hamptons

When you buy a summer home, you don’t think about pest control. You think about fun days spent in the summer sun by the water and with your friends and family. That’s how it should be, but no one can deny that a house left empty October to March is pretty attractive to pests.

Mice found the gaps you didn't seal. Wasps started building in the eaves nobody was watching. Water collected in places you forgot about. By the time you drive out for Memorial Day weekend, months of pest activity have had the run of the place. 

Unless you’re a big fan of mosquitoes and ticks, spring prep isn’t something to skip. So here are a few things you can do to make your pest problems this summer less difficult.

Check for Overwintering Rodents First

When you first go back to your home, before you settle in, it’s worth looking for rodent activity. That means gnaw marks and droppings, as well as shredded insulation and other materials. If you see any of these, you probably have an active rodent infestation and will need a professional to get them out.

A single pair of mice that snuck in last October can turn into generations by March. And all it takes to get in is a dime-sized gap by a dryer vent or frayed door sweep.

If rodents have you concerned, the best thing you can do is seal potential entry points. Check weatherstripping and gaps along the foundation and where utility lines enter the home. These are places rodents like to enter, and if you deny them entry, they can’t come in from outside.

Clear Tick Habitats

Where there are deer, there are deer ticks. And where there are deer ticks, increasingly, there is Lyme disease. This is no joke—there were 521 cases in 2024 on Long Island alone. It’s smart to take precautions to cut down on your exposure to ticks.

Spring tick prep starts at the edges of your property. Rake and remove leaf litter from wooded borders. Mow grass short along lot lines. If there's a natural area adjacent to your lawn, a three-foot gravel or mulch barrier between the two makes ticks less likely to cross into your yard. Trim back anything that contacts fencing or structures, and you’ll find the ticks have fewer places to wait for hosts to pass by.

Remove Standing Water

Walk the property and flush every standing water source. Be sure to check:

• Birdbaths
• Planters
• Wheelbarrows
• Fountain basins
• Sagging pool covers
• Outdoor plumbing that's been stagnant since October.

It’s also important to clean gutters. If your property has mature tree cover, gutter maintenance alone eliminates one of the most productive breeding sources on the lot.

The marshes and bays nearby will produce mosquitoes no matter what you do. But you can absolutely make sure your property doesn’t become a breeding site as well.

Find & Remove Wasp Nests

A house that's been closed up since fall is a gift to wasps. So before you get too comfortable, it’s a good idea to check eaves, soffits, and shed rafters.

Finding a little wasp nest in April is not a big deal. You can knock that down with a broom handle. But if you have a mature colony in a basketball-sized nest in July, that’s a different story and you’ll probably need a pro.

Consider Professional Pest Control in the Hamptons

On a Hamptons estate, there are outbuildings, garden structures, wooded borders, and low areas that may not get visited for weeks at a time. Professional assessment identifies where ticks concentrate, where mosquitoes breed, and where rodents enter. And these are all the things that are easy to miss if you don’t deal with pests all day, every day.

Mosquito Squad of the Hamptons schedules first treatments to coincide with the start of pest season, ideally before Memorial Day weekend. Getting ahead of the curve means your property is covered when guests start arriving and outdoor entertaining begins.

Opening your Hamptons property for the season? Call Mosquito Squad of the Hamptons at (631) 832-4856 or contact us online for a free quote.