Preventing Pest Risks in a New SLC Garage Door Space

If you’re installing a new garage door for your home or building, protection is often one of the top reasons you’ll be doing so. And while the most well-known protective qualities of a garage door speak to things like wind, rain and other outdoor elements, there’s another category here entirely that garage door owners should be considering: Protection from pests.

At Price’s Guaranteed Doors, we’re here to offer a wide range of commercial and residential garage door installation services in Salt Lake City and throughout Utah, providing you with a garage door that not only meets all your functional and protective needs, but also does so while improving curb appeal and property value. As anyone who has dealt with a pest infestation in their home or building in the past will be well aware, one of the problems that often helps cause such an infestation is the presence of cracks, gaps or other openings that allow pests in to begin with — and if you aren’t careful, the garage door can become one such area.

Here’s a primer on the kinds of pests that are sometimes found in garage spaces, plus some important general tips for preventing their infestation, both in terms of new garage door installation and several other DIY methods.

preventing pest new garage door

Types of Pests Often Found in Garages

One of the main types of pests that can be found in the garage are roaches. These are typically brown or black in color and tend to live mostly in moist environments. Roaches don’t actually eat much and feed primarily on decaying matter and other dead insects, which is why they’re often found living in spaces where food is left out or garbage isn’t taken away on-time.

Many homeowners have also seen ant infestations in their garage space, primarily in the form of fire ants. Ants that are normally found outside might be able to make their way (intentionally or otherwise) into your garage, but these are easy enough to take care of with over-the-counter ant killer treatments.

Another type of pest that sometimes starts living in garages is the wasp, particularly in areas that have a higher than normal concentration of pollen. Wasps are attracted to garbage and food remains, and will sometimes nest within the garage itself — or at least attempt to do so.

Other bugs or pests that are commonly found in garages or similar spaces include:

  • Flies of various types
  • Silverfish
  • Crickets
  • Spiders
  • Moths
  • Mice
  • Certain birds, depending on the size of your garage and how often it’s open

Our next several sections will go over some basic tips on how to keep insects and various pests away from a new garage door that’s recently been installed.

Remedy Prior Pest Infestations

If you’ve dealt with past pest infestations in the garage space that haven’t been completely dealt with, you’re starting yourself off at a major disadvantage when installing a new garage door. A garage door that was installed over a previous infestation will almost certainly continue to experience problems with future pests, so if you have identified any past issues in this area, it’s best to address them as soon as possible.

The absolute first thing you’ll want to do is clean all the areas where pests might have been living. A good place to start is with your garage door itself, as this will naturally be one of the most prominent places that anyone can expect to see in your property. You’ll want to both clean and vacuum any cobwebs or other residue that may be present on or around the door If you have access to a garden hose or other high-pressure water supply, this can be useful as well.

Other Garage Cleaning

Cleaning in the garage space doesn’t have to be restricted to prior pest areas, either. Rather, it should include the entire garage space, from the ceiling and walls down to the flooring if necessary. Be sure to also go over any exposed drains or other plumbing fixtures, as well as your electrical devices such as fuse boxes, circuit boards and more.

Access Points

When you’re cleaning up your garage space and getting rid of pests, it’s very important that you ensure there are no access points that could allow future infestations to occur. If you have vents, crawl spaces or other ways in which insects or pests might be able to gain entry into your property it’s very important that these are sealed up tight, as this is where most of the trouble will come from.

Lay Pest Traps

If you’ve dealt with particularly bothersome pest infestations in the past, or if you’ve recently moved to a new area and you know certain kinds of pests are especially common there, you might consider laying pest traps in advance in the garage door area. One of the best ways to do this is to use glue traps, which are baited and covered in a sticky substance that’s strong enough to trap many different types of bugs.

Long-Term Door Inspection

And while a brand new garage door installed by our professionals will be well-sealed and provide excellent pest prevention initially, it’s important to maintain these qualities over time. Have the door inspected regularly, both on your own and by trained garage door professionals like ours — we’ll advise you if we notice issues like cracks forming, improper gaps or other concerns that might lead to increased pest risks.

For more on keeping insects and pests out of your new garage space, or to learn about any of our new garage door installation services in Salt Lake City, speak to the staff at Price’s Guaranteed Doors today.