Top 5 Spring Pests and How to Keep Them Out of Your Home
Spring has arrived, and with it comes the onslaught of pesky critters that love to invade homes, particularly in the warmer months of summer and spring. While it’s not always easy to keep them out, there are steps you can take to safeguard your home from pest invasion. Here are the top five pests to watch out for in the spring and ways to keep them out of your home.
1. Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are not only annoying, but they are also capable of causing severe structural damage. Look for areas where they can easily gain access into your house, such as weep holes, electrical boxes, or through unscreened vents. Also, look for trails within 6-8 inches above ground leading toward these openings. If you have any carpentry work done on or around your house, be sure that all gaps in windows, doors, and siding are sealed with caulk.
2. Carpet Beetles
Don’t let those little creatures ruin your beautiful carpet. Carpet beetles are typically dark-colored with a large tuft of white hair on their backs. They measure anywhere from 3/8-1/2 inches long. They feed on all kinds of fibers, like wool, silk, fur, feathers, and even some synthetic fibers. The best way to prevent carpet beetles is by keeping moisture down in your house. You can also contact companies that do pest control in Hollywood to get professional advice.
3. Crickets
Crickets often slip into a home through cracks in windows or doors. With their long, skinny legs and silky antennae, crickets are able to slide into tight places. To keep these pests at bay, seal off any entry points using weather stripping and silicone caulking, which can be purchased at most hardware stores. You can also install magnets or glue strips around windowsills that will trigger an insect-repelling noise when crickets walk across them. As a last resort, place sticky glue boards underneath window sills or inside door frames where crickets like to hide. Be sure to check these regularly, so you don’t accidentally trap any household pets.
4. Millipedes
Millipedes might look a little creepy, but they’re pretty harmless. However, they may wander indoors during wet spring weather. Millipedes will continue traveling until they find somewhere comfortable to burrow themselves. Although most millipedes won’t bite or cause harm, you probably don’t want them taking up residence under your floorboards. For quick relief from millipede infestations, treat areas around windows and doorways with sprayable pesticides that contain cypermethrin or deltamethrin.
5. Bed Bugs
Bed bugs typically hide in cracks in furniture, baseboards, bed frames, and headboards. They’re capable of living for months without a blood meal, which means they can survive at least as long as a year without getting into a new host. That’s why proper preparation is so important before you bring an infested mattress into your home. It’s advisable to hire pest removal services in Hollywood when you spot bed bugs in your home.
Keep Your Home Safe from Pests during Spring in Florida
Pest control in Hollywood should no longer be a mentally draining task. Now that you have an idea about the type of spring pests that might infest your home, you can take precautionary measures. Contact Captain Termite for pest removal services in Hollywood, Florida.
How Much Damage Do Termites Actually Cause?
Every year, termites cause billions in damage in the United States. Approximately 600,000 homes in the US report termite damage, and it costs around $3,000 for each homeowner to repair the damages.
Termites exist in colonies, with the largest one, the Formosan colony, containing 300,000 workers, which exists primarily in Southern US states. They can cause extensive damage, and pest control services need to report these infestations to scientists to help track the spread of these species.
If you ever notice signs of an infestation, consider calling termite control. Hollywood, Florida homeowners, are at greater risk of termite infestation due to the warm, humid environment ideal for Formosan subterranean colonies to thrive.
How do termites cause damage to our home?
Termites live in colonies and love to eat wood. Different species of termites attack wood differently. The subterranean species live underground and gain access to your property trees, flowers, vegetation, or shrubs. They slip through small cracks in the sidewalk or pavements and devour all wooden sources, causing extensive damage to your house. In a year, these colonies can eat one cubic foot of wood.
Drywood termites build their colonies within the dry wood structures and eat more wood to expand their colonies, causing more damage.
The damage can be extreme in warm, humid areas where Formosan termites live. These colonies can consume one foot of a 24-inch board in just 48 hours!
Even if your house is mostly brick or stone, this can have an impact on its construction. Termites can wreak havoc in the wooden parts of your house.
Termites not only cause structural damage to your property, but they also emit a foul stench. This is because they leave behind feces. Their feces can cause blisters or discoloration on your walls.
How to identify a termite infestation?
You must protect the worth of your home and keep checking for signs of infestation yourself. Termites leave behind many clues that make it easy for you to identify early signs of infestation, such as:
- Painted walls that peel and blister
- Blisters on wooden flooring
- Tapping the wood gives a hollow sound, which signifies that termites have been consuming wood from the inside.
- Walls appear to have water damage
- Spotting termite wings
- Mud tubes outside near the foundation of your house.
- Visible maze-like patterns on wood
Termites can ruin anything made of wood that they come in contact with. If you spot these signs, contact pest removal services immediately.
How much does it cost to repair termite damage?
The cost of termite damage repairs is determined by the size, location, and accessibility of the infestation and the structure of the home.
Repairs are frequently more expensive than the cost of the initial structure and might cost anywhere over thousands of dollars. The damage is so severe that homes need to be demolished in some cases. With additional cosmetic fixes, structural repairs, and repairs to flooring and paint, all of which will have varied costs.
Exterminator charges must also be considered because termites must be controlled and removed before any repairs can be completed. The termite control cost will vary depending on your termite control specialist, but it will often include the cost of chemicals and labor, bait, and service. It will also depend on the type of termite treatment and your location.
If you own a commercial building and face termite infestation, you will have to suffer additional costs, including:
- Customer loss.
- Reputation at stake
- The probability of temporary business shut down if the damage is too extensive.
- Financial loss as a result of business not functioning
- Insurance policy issues. Some business owners assume that their insurance covers termite damage repair, which is rarely the case. It is better to sort out these matters beforehand than face financial problems later.
In Conclusion
There’s no need to be alarmed if you discover termite damage in your property. Termite damage should never be ignored; the sooner you take action, the better. Make sure you contact a licensed pest control professional for assistance.
Call Captain Termite for all your pest concerns if you live in South Florida. We are committed to providing the best services and protection while using eco-friendly products and practices.
Are You Attracting Termites in Hollywood, Florida?
If you have termites on your property, you could be the culprit. There are four ways you could be attracting termites by accident.
1. Poor Firewood Storage
Woodfire attracts damp wood and dry wood termites, so never stack logs near your home. You should always store your firewood at least five feet away from all wooden structures. For extra protection, stack all of your logs on a high table. You can also put a few logs on a platform that’s 8-12 inches off the ground.
2. Ignoring Aged Tree Stumps
When a tree stomp ages, it becomes soft and moist as it decays. For termites, a rotten tree stump can serve as a food source and a home. Termites will eventually build a colony in an old tree stump, and one colony can support millions of termites.
You must get rid of every termite in a tree stomp before you chop it down. To exterminate the critters quickly, pour hot water and an insecticide or Boric acid in the stomp. If you want to eliminate waste, use a stump grinding machine. It can grind an entire stump down to mulch.
3. Using Mulch in the Wrong Places
Mulch is basically dry wood. If you use it incorrectly on your property, it will attract termites, and they will have a feast. What’s the golden rule for mulch? Never put a layer of mulch against your home’s foundation because it will lure termites to your doorstep like a magnet. Then, they will simply enter your home through any crevices and cracks in the foundation. If you’re a fan of mulch, there are good alternatives. Here are five viable substitutes for wood mulch:
• Rubber mulch
• Grass clippings
• Pine needles and leaves
• Rocks and pebbles
• Compost
4. Ignoring Lingering Roof Problems
Termite infestations can also start on a roof. There are three hurdles that can encourage a rooftop termite infestation. The first complication is standing water. H2O causes wood rot, and rotten wood attracts termites. The second issue is if you’re missing flashing. You must keep the flashing on your roof in place because it covers vulnerable wood planks. The final issue is insufficient ventilation. A roof needs proper airflow to prevent heat gain. If a roof gets too hot, some components will become damp. If a cedar, spruce, or pine plank on a roof stays damp, it will eventually rot.
An indoor or outdoor termite infestation is no joke. It will require immediate action because a big colony can eat a pound of wood every day. If you need good pest control services, turn to Captain Termite. We’re a highly experienced, family-owned pest control business, and we use non-toxic methods to exterminate dry wood, damp wood, and subterranean termites in Hollywood, Florida.
7 Interesting (and disgusting) Facts About Termites
Termites are a nuisance, which is a fact that everybody who has experienced them knows. However, there are a lot of other facts that people don’t know regarding termites, and we guarantee this information will intrigue you. Don’t forget – when you’re in need of pest control in Fort Lauderdale, FL, contact the team at Captain Termite. We are a family-owned business committed to professional, quality service. We will ensure you feel safe in your home again.
Termites Cause Damage
This fact may not be a surprise, but did you know how much damage termites can cause? If we were to put a value on it, the answer would be they cause billions of dollars every year in the U.S. alone. They are more costly than many disasters, such as fires and tornados combined.
There are a few factors that contribute to termite’s level of destruction, the most common being that they are resilient and produce offspring extremely quickly.
They Promote Soil Health
Termites are extremely beneficial as long as they are not in or near your property. They make the best decomposers, breaking down plant fibers and dead trees, turning them into soil. The action of tunneling aerates the soil, which allows water and valuable nutrients to easily get to plant roots. This makes termites a crucial part of maintaining the health and stability of our national forests. So, as long as termites do not go anywhere near your home, they should be considered welcomed members of the environment.
Termites Feed on Feces
Did you know that termites have a lot of bacteria in their gut? This is the result of eating a significant amount of feces – don’t worry, they only consume their own poop, not that of humans. There is a scientific term to describe this, which is called “trophallaxis.” If this fact could not get any more disgusting, trophallaxis is a constant and important part of a termite’s life. Termites must continuously consume feces to supply the microorganisms in their system. Healthy microorganisms will, in turn, allow the termites to eat more trees.
They are Clean
It may seem implausible that the same critters that consume feces to feed microorganisms living in their gut can also be clean. However, termites do not like dirt. As a result, a lot of their time is spent cleaning each other. In addition to their admirable grooming practices, the dirt that they tunnel through and live in plays a role in keeping them clean by destroying parasites and bacteria.
Termites Avoid Sunlight
An extremely interesting fact many people do not know is that termites must not expose themselves to excess sunlight, as it has devastating repercussions. Why does this happen? Termites are so accustomed to living in the dark (i.e., underground tunnels), they can’t handle too much sunlight.
Keep reading! These facts are about to get even more interesting.
Only Kings and Queens Can See Well
When king and queen termites are young, they leave their nests to search for a mate, which aids in developing their vision. Because they are the only termites with wings, this facilitates the efficiency of their exploration (once they have found their mates and settle down, their wings break off). Whereas termite workers and soldiers do not have wings and also don’t need to explore. They stay within the underground tunnels and become practically blind. When you contact our pest control company in Fort Lauderdale, FL after spotting termite activity, it is the kings and queens you are seeing.
Termites and Cockroaches are Related
Termites share a common ancestor with cockroaches (and mantids). Termites have a close relation to one of the cockroach families. This common ancestor that they share dates back to the cretaceous period, approximately 79 million years ago. However, termites (and cockroaches) are much older than that.
Contact Captain Termite
As interesting as these termite facts may be, they can still cause extreme damage to your property. Termite infestation can result in thousands of dollars in repairs. Our team will eradicate the problem and make sure it does not return. We have over 20 years of experience and knowledge in termite and pest control. We deploy the latest techniques with the most advanced technology and only use the least toxic products on the market. For pest control in Fort Lauderdale, FL, contact Captain Termite. Call (954) 391-1726 to schedule your first appointment.