(BPT) - It is that time of year again: time to wage war against the pests seeking entry into your home. So check for small openings around the outside of your house, trim bushes and vegetation, and do any other small repairs, because when temperatures drop, pests start looking for ways inside.

“As the weather cools, rodents and other pests move inside,” says Kim Kelley-Tunis, technical services director at Orkin. “Rats, mice and insect pests, such as cluster flies, Asian ladybugs and boxelder bugs, along with a few other regional pests like stink bugs and kudzu bugs, migrate toward homes, looking for warmth.”

Mice can fit through an opening the size of a dime, so it is important to fix any cracks in and under siding, doors and windows. Inside your home, these animals can go unnoticed, set up a nest and begin reproducing. A single female can have up to eight pups per litter and four to five litters per year.