How to Have a Pest-Free Egg Hunt

How to Have a Pest-Free Easter Egg Hunt

Happy Easter from Pointe Pest Control! We hope you have a fun and safe day with your family and friends. There are many traditions that come with this holiday for everything from the big meal to the outfits to the main event: the egg hunt! This is a fun time for the kids to use their searching skills to find all of the eggs hidden around the yard and home. Some adults get very creative with the hiding spots, which makes it all the more fun for the kids to frantically search for every last egg. There is nothing more satisfying as a child on Easter than finding the last egg and eating all of the candy. 

Unfortunately, pests do not take a holiday off. And since Easter is in the spring, it is prime pest season. So it isn’t unusual to be swatting away flies and finding ants on this day, no matter what date it takes place on. We do have a couple of suggestions for making the egg hunt as pest-free as possible, as well as for the time afterwards when all the kids are eagerly eating as much sugar as they can. 

A Word of Advice About Egg Hunts

Egg hunts are such a fun tradition since they are completely customizable for every family or party. Some egg hunts are more of an egg gathering, where the eggs are out in the open and it’s a race between every child to grab the most eggs and shove them in their small pastel baskets. Other egg hunts are extensive searches for creatively-decorated or plastic eggs hidden in the most obscure places that often require hints given by sympathetic parents. One thing that you don’t want your kids to find is a pest infestation. Spring is already a popular time for pests, but there are certain factors that attract pests even more. 

We suggest having an exact count of all of the eggs you hide before you hide them. This is a good idea whether you use real eggs or plastic eggs filled with candy. The eggs are completely fine the day of the big hunt. But if eggs or candy are left in the yard past Easter day, it is a major draw for pests of all kinds. Rotten eggs are one of the worst smelling things to us, but attract many common insects. Most types of flies lay their eggs in rotten or overripe organic materials, like rotten eggs, so they will flock to leftover Easter eggs for this. Any kind of candy that is left forgotten in the yard is like an open invitation for pests and critters to invade. Sugar attracts ants, rodents, wasps, and bees, who will all bring their colony or reproduce nearby to plague your yard. By counting all of the eggs beforehand, you can keep track to know that they have all been found. It would also help to double-check all of the hiding places after the hunt, just to be sure.

Another easy and effective way to prevent pests from ruining your Easter is to have a trash can or two readily available. If you are having a lot of people over with many kids, there is likely to be plenty of trash around. Encourage the kids to throw away all wrappers and trash in the cans so that no pests ruin the fun. You can also make a fun game out of the aftermath of the egg hunt by having them search for any loose candy in the yard, just to be sure that nothing is left out for the critters. 

The Worst Places to Hide Easter Eggs

Adults have just as much fun as the children with an egg hunt. Kids get to search for the eggs and be rewarded with delicious candy, but adults get to find the hiding spots and hide the eggs while imagining the delight on their kids’ faces when they finally uncover the precious eggs. But there are definitely some less ideal places to hide eggs, and we’re not just talking about the obvious spots that make it easy for the kids. We mean the spots that potentially put the young hunters in danger of finding a pest instead of a painted egg. We have a few suggestions for areas to avoid when you are hiding eggs so that you don’t have to worry about any children finding some unwelcome party guests. Here are some common areas of the yard to avoid when you are looking for the perfect hiding places for those eggs. 

• Too close to creeks or ponds: If you live close to a small body of water, it might not be the best idea to hide eggs on the banks. Many pests thrive near standing water, like mosquitoes and flies, and lay their eggs in or near the water. So it would be a very annoying hunt for anyone who goes near the hatching sites. 
• In stacks of firewood: This may not be as abundant in April, but stacks of firewood are prime hiding spots for all kinds of pests. Cockroaches, rats, mice, spiders, and ants all love to live in dark and enclosed places. It wouldn’t be good for anyone if a child grabbed an insect or a rodent instead of an egg, so it’s best to avoid any dark covered areas all together. 
• Near any small mound: There are a number of unpleasant creatures that could come out of a mound in the lawn. Ant hills, gopher holes, snake holes, and mole mounds all look relatively similar, which does not bode well for any child looking for the special eggs. Avoid these holes and mounds at all costs when hiding eggs, and maybe consider calling pest control for these when the holiday is done. 
• In trash cans: It’s good to have trash cans available in the yard, as stated earlier, but it is not good to put the eggs around them. Any trash cans with food in it is extremely attractive to all pests because it is a great food source and potential housing. An egg on top of the trash can lid is perfectly fine, but anything inside or near the actual trash is not a good idea.
• In dark, tight spaces: This is another haven for pests of all kinds. They want to live in the most undisturbed spaces that they can, which means any type of dark, hidden, tight, damp space is their dream home. There are great ways to hide the eggs in more difficult spots without putting them right in the homes of some very territorial pests. 
• Anywhere with spider webs: The homes of spiders are typically more visible than other pests. Some species like to stay in the shadows like other pests, but most reside in their webs, waiting for an insect to fly through. If you see spider webs in a corner of the yard or between bushes, maybe avoid hiding any eggs near them. The feeling of walking through a spider web is indescribable in its creep factor, and that’s something that no one should experience on Easter. 
• In thick shrubbery: This is another dark, secluded spot that insects love. There are many spiders and beetles that hide inside and under bushes, which makes it even scarier to come across one. Keep the eggs away from any dense plants, and it will be a good time. 
• In standing water or a bird bath: Similar to the larger standing waters, puddles and bird baths are the homes of mosquitoes and other aquatic insects. They live and reproduce in them, which means that countless nearly-invisible eggs are residing in the water. The moral of the story is to keep eggs away from standing water, and keep the kids in the main part of the yard. 

There are more specific places that you probably recognize as bad ideas for egg places, so use your discretion to know the difference between a great hiding spot and a potential doctor’s office visit. 

Tis the Season for Pest Control!

Easter Sunday may not be a big day for pest control, but the days following are always open for pest control services. We know the habits of all of the spring pests, so we can treat your home in the most attentive way. We hope your Easter is filled with family, friends, good food, and a pest-free day of fun!