What’s Trying to Move Into Your Home (or Farmhouse) This Winter — And How to Stop It

What’s Creeping Toward Your Home This Winter in Upstate NY

When the first real cold snap hits Upstate New York, everyone settles in — whether you’re living in a village home, a country farmhouse, or a working farm surrounded by fields.

We shut the windows. Turn up the heat.
Get cozy. Settle in.

But out in the fields, barns, silos, and wood lines?
Something else wakes up.

Little scraping noises along barn walls.
Rustling under the hay bales.
Movement around grain bins, coops, feed rooms, and old outbuildings.
Tiny feet searching for cracks, gaps, and warm places to hide.

Winter doesn’t just bring snow.
It brings migration — straight into your home, garage, barn, or farmhouse.

And whether you run a small hobby farm or a multi-acre operation, pests are looking at your property as their winter headquarters.

Let’s talk about who’s coming…
and how Rossi Pest Control keeps them out.

Why Winter Turns Homes and Farms Into Pest Magnets

When the temperature drops, rodents and insects have one goal:

Find warmth, food, and shelter — fast.

If you own:

• A home near fields

• A rural farmhouse

• A small farm

• A barn or stable

• A workshop or outbuilding

• A chicken coop or grain shed

…your property is prime winter real estate for pests.

Your structures offer:

• Heat — insulated walls and attics

• Food — grain, feed, leftover seed, compost

• Moisture — basements, barns, crawl spaces

• Protection — from snow, wind, and predators

To rats, mice, spiders, and centipedes, your property isn’t just a shelter — it’s a full buffet.

Rats & Mice: The #1 Winter Invaders on Farms and in Farmhouses

If you’ve ever heard scratching in a wall, a barn loft, or a feed room, you know the feeling:

That sudden, cold “Nope… nope nope nope” that goes straight down your spine.

Rodents LOVE rural properties.
They follow:

• Feed bags

• Grain bins

• Livestock feed rooms

• Chicken coops

• Barns and silos

• Wood piles and hay stacks

• Open fields leading to warm homes

Once they get inside your home or farmhouse, they:

• Squeeze through openings the size of a dime

• Chew electrical wires, feed bags, insulation, and stored items

• Contaminate stored goods with droppings and urine

• Breed fast — turning one sighting into a colony

Common signs include:

• Droppings under kitchen sinks or barn shelves

• Chewed corners on feed bags

• Nesting material in tack rooms or garages

• A scurry you hear above the ceiling at night

• The sudden appearance of shredded insulation near a foundation

If you see one rodent in winter, assume you have more — especially on a farm.

Spiders & Centipedes: The Speedy Visitors Who Love Rural Properties

Winter doesn’t stop insects — especially in country homes and farmhouses where basements, mudrooms, and barns stay just warm enough for life to continue.

You may see:

🕷️ Spiders nesting in corners of barns, basements, and crawl spaces
🕷️ Spiders showing up in tubs, sinks, and quiet corners
🕷️ Spiders clustering around windows during temperature dips

And then there are the house centipedes.

Let’s be honest:

There’s nothing quite like flipping on a basement or mudroom light and watching a long, many-legged blur sprint across the floor like it’s training for a track meet.

House centipedes are FAST.
Startlingly fast.
Up to 1.3 feet per second, which feels even faster when it’s coming toward your foot.

They thrive in:

• Damp basements

• Barn corners

• Old stone foundations

• Cellars

• Farmhouse bathrooms

• Well houses, pump rooms, and crawl spaces

And here's the kicker:

Centipedes only stick around if they have a food source.
So if you’re seeing them, you likely have another insect issue at the same time.

Hidden Hitchhikers: How Pests Sneak Into Homes, Barns & Farmhouses

Not all pests walk in on purpose.
Many hitch a ride right through the door.

They come in via:

• Firewood brought in from outside

• Hay bales stored near the home

• Feed bags and grain sacks

• Holiday decorations stored in barns or sheds

• Boxes brought in from garages or outbuildings

• Gaps around bulkhead doors and stone foundations

• Open barn doors or workshop doors

You carry something in…
and something small, fast, and unwelcome slips in with it.

5 Common Entry Points on Farms & Rural Homes

These areas are the biggest culprits Rossi Pest Control sees across Upstate New York:

1. Foundation gaps in old farmhouses

2. Holes near utility lines and well pump systems

3. Gaps under barn doors, greenhouse doors, and bulkheads

4. Broken siding or loose boards on outbuildings

5. Gaps between stone foundations and newer additions

Rodents love rural construction because it gives them options.
Centipedes and spiders love it because it gives them moisture, darkness, and hiding spots.

Your Weekend Checklist to Protect Your Home AND Farm Buildings

You can get ahead of pests by tackling a few simple tasks:

✔️ Seal gaps around doors and windows
✔️ Store feed in secure, sealed containers
✔️ Clean up spilled grain or seed in barns and coops
✔️ Move firewood away from exterior walls
✔️ Check for foundation cracks in older farmhouses
✔️ Declutter barns, mudrooms, and garages
✔️ Install or replace door sweeps in outbuildings

These steps help — but winter pests move quickly.
Once they’re inside, DIY doesn’t last long.

How Rossi Pest Control Protects Homes, Barns & Farmhouses All Winter

Rossi Pest Control is a veteran-owned, local company serving Upstate NY homes and farms with practical, no-nonsense service.

We specialize in rural winter pest issues, including:

🟡 Rodent control (mice & rats — big problem on farms)
🟡 Spider and centipede treatments
🟡 Exterior rodent stations — safe for homes, barns, coops & livestock areas
🟡 Seasonal invader protection
🟡 Full inspections — including barns, feed rooms & outbuildings
🟡 Year-round maintenance plans for both homes and rural properties

We don’t just look inside your house.
We check:

• Barn edges

• Feed storage

• Chicken coops

• Grain rooms

• Workshops

• Porches

• Crawl spaces

• Stone foundations

• Well pump rooms

• Attics & lofts

Pest activity on farms is different — and we treat it accordingly.

If You Live in a Rural Home or Farmhouse, Pay Attention to These Signs

If you’re seeing:

🐭 Rodent droppings in barns, feed rooms, garages, or mudrooms
🐭 Chewed feed bags or grain sacks
🕷️ Spiders collecting in corners or windows
🏃‍♂️ Centipedes sprinting across floors
🔊 Scratching, rustling, or scurrying inside walls
📦 Unexplained damage in storage areas
🚪 Gaps or chew marks around the base of barn doors

…your property is already on a pest’s winter map.

It’s Time to Take Control Before Pests Take Over

Call Chris at Rossi Pest Control today at (315) 694-6805
or fill out the quick quote form on the website.

Whether you live on a quiet street in town or in a farmhouse surrounded by fields —
your home deserves to be pest-free this winter.

And Rossi Pest Control will make sure of it.