| How much would you say you pay for your | | | | unless you've purchased a special policy designed |
| homeowners insurance a year? Two hundred? | | | | to protect your home from death by snacking, |
| Three hundred? A thousand? Whatever you pay, | | | | and if you're like most Americans at the heart of |
| you pay it in the good faith that when a natural | | | | today's slumping economy the hundreds of dollars |
| disaster strikes you, your home, your family and | | | | it's going to cost you to call in an exterminator is |
| your property are going to be protected. What | | | | money you just don't have. |
| you may not know is that most homeowners | | | | So what can you do? |
| insurance companies are sitting back and letting | | | | The most obvious solution is to stop these |
| Mother Nature's smallest natural disaster wreck | | | | vermin in their tracks so before they have the |
| havoc with as many homes as they like-and they | | | | chance to cause a problem. Remember that any |
| aren't lifting a finger to help. | | | | opening into your home, regardless of how small, |
| Studies show that in 2008 over 10% of | | | | is an open invite for mice and other uninvited |
| homeowners had to repair damages to their | | | | guests. The average mouse can squeeze through |
| homes caused by pests inviting themselves in out | | | | a hole in your wall that's less than ¼ of an |
| of the rain. Mice, rats, wasps and termites have | | | | inch wide, so you want to make sure that these |
| done hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of | | | | holes are well plugged with steel wool or some |
| damages to homes across the U.S., and in some | | | | other inedible materials. |
| instances have sent homes tumbling to the | | | | Keeping termites and wasps out is a little more |
| ground if not more quickly than at least more | | | | problematic. Try to avoid leaving tissue paper and |
| efficiently than the windstorms, hail, leaking pipes | | | | stuffed toys lying around in your attic, as these |
| and kitchen fires that your homeowners insurance | | | | attract wasps looking for a place to set up roost. |
| policy was designed to protect you against. | | | | Termites love damp wood, so make sure there's |
| The catch is, these little critters are considered to | | | | no moisture lingering around your foundation and |
| be an avoidable peril-in other words, if they've set | | | | dig up any stumps or trees that are too close to |
| up roost in your foundation they're there as a | | | | the house. Don't leave firewood or other wood |
| result of something you did and you should be | | | | products lying on the floor where they're an open |
| able to get them out. | | | | invitation to any creepy crawly that happens to |
| Whoever invented that policy clause quite | | | | come crawling past. |
| obviously never actually had to attempt to | | | | Your homeowners insurance company isn't going |
| remove a termite colony from their floor joists. | | | | to do much to help protect you from these |
| Regardless, if your home suffers damages as a | | | | miniature invaders, but that doesn't mean you |
| result of something these tiny invaders have done | | | | have to sit back and take it. Remember, the best |
| you and you alone are responsible not only for | | | | defense is a good offense-and when you consider |
| repairing the damages but also for taking steps to | | | | the price of an exterminator an ounce of |
| evict your uninvited guests to begin with. Your | | | | prevention really is worth a pound of cure. |
| homeowners insurance isn't going to help you | | | | |