Imagine babies crawling around your house. There are places you will allow them to go and others you want to keep them from accessing. If you say, "The living room is okay, but the stairs are off limits," those babies aren't going to have a clue what you're talking about. In order to exclude them from dangerous areas, you're going to have to use exclusion methods. In front of the stairs you'll put a gate that keeps them from passing. You'll put child-proof locks on your kitchen cabinets where poisonous cleaners are kept. And close doors that lead to unsafe rooms.

Pest exclusion is similar. You don't necessarily want to kill those squirrels and cute little mice. You just want to exclude them from going where you don't want them to be. Wildlife in your attic spaces can be destructive.

• All wildlife leave feces wherever they choose. Some, like bats and birds, can even leave a thick coating on everything.

• Many pests bring parasites in with them. They can be the source of a lice outbreak or a mice infestation.

• Birds, rats, mice, cockroaches and other illness-spreading pests can make your family sick. Besides tainting your food and dishes, they can cause disease to go airborne when they leave bodily contaminants in your air ducts.

• Bugs and wildlife can also be destructive to your home by chewing on wood, severing wires and consuming valuable paper products like photos, bills, and memorabilia.

• These pests can also sting and bite.

Exclusion keeps pests in nature where they belong by creating a barrier they can't get through, and by making your home feel unwelcoming. This requires an understanding of the many exclusion methods available and the professional application of these measures.

By partnering with a pest control company with proper education and expertise you can exclude pests from your property. A company like Thomas Pest Services is committed to coming alongside homeowners and training them in these techniques, outlining the options available, and offering services when and where they are needed. If you have the skill set to pest proof the eaves of your house, you can go right ahead and do it. If you're not a handyman, Thomas Pest Services can do it for you. With this kind of relationship you can learn where your home is vulnerable and get the help you need to keep your home and your family safe from the damaging effects of invasive pests by implementing natural exclusion. Set up your boundaries today.