A New Year rolling in right around the corner means that a new batch of pests, critters and rodents will try to find a way to roll into your home and spend time with you and your family in 2013. They can create even bigger problems for you just with their mere presence, such as introducing new illnesses, sicknesses and allergens into your environment.

That is why it is so important for you to make the necessary precautions now to make sure that those pests stay as far away from your home as possible next year. What can you do? Here are the top 5 things that you can do to keep them away.

5. Work United With Your Neighbors

Even if your house is the shining example of effective pest control, rodents and pests can still find their way into your home because of your neighbors allowing them to enter theirs first. It is recommended, then, that you work alongside your neighbors so that you both can make sure that your homes are protected from these pestering creatures. Instead of focusing on maintaining just your yard, for example, work with your neighbors to clean up their yards as well. You can even work with them to set traps in the common areas between your homes to stop these creatures dead in their tracks.

4. Set Traps in Their Favorite Places

Instead of rushing to use poisonous baits, set effective traps for rodents and pests in their favorite places throughout your home. Each insect is different, so it is imperative that you understand the behavioral patterns of the specific pests that your particular area has a problem with throughout the year. Cockroaches, for example, love cold, dark and moist places in your home. By placing traps in your kitchen and bathrooms, then, you will effectively be able to trap them before they spread to other areas of your home.

3. Keep the Inside Clear of Your Home

These rodents and pests use your trash and leftover food as nourishment for their families, so regularly dispose of these items instead of allowing them to accumulate. Get rid of any old wooden boards, dirt deposits and any other area of debris throughout your home that these creatures can use as hiding places. By keeping them out in the open, you will be able to easily identify their entry points and stop them before they proceed any further.

2. Protect the Outside of Your Home

Make sure that the outside of your home is properly sealed tightly and secure. Patch up any holes or cracks that you may have in your walls, doors, windows and floorboards. Keep the outside of your house cleaned and cleared throughout the year of any signs of growing nests, hives and other insect homes.

1. Know When It is Beyond Your Control

The most important way that you can keep pests away from your house in 2013 is to humbly know when the problem has escalated to a stage that you can no longer handle on your own. Do not let pride or ignorance take over your decisiveness when it comes to pest control, because these two elements can only worsen the problem instead of make it any better. Trust in the expertise of professional exterminators and pest control specialists to take care of problems that are clearly beyond your control.