FAQ
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Areas of Service
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Termites, Moisture & Crawlspaces
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Subterranean termites eat wood from the inside out, following the grain. They also build distinct mud tubes up foundation walls to travel safely and retain moisture. Because things like wood rot or carpenter ant damage look totally different, figuring out if damage is active or old often takes a trained eye. If you want peace of mind, it is best to have us take a look before it turns into a major structural headache.
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Swarming termites have straight antennae, a thick waist, and four wings that are all the exact same length. Flying ants have bent antennae, a pinched waist, and wings of different lengths. If you see a swarm or find discarded wings on your floor or windowsills, a professional treatment is most definitely needed.
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Both are fantastic choices, but it really depends on the home on which will work better. We use a Sentricon baiting system for continuous, year-round prevention, or a Termidor HE liquid treatment to create an invisible, protective barrier in the soil. During your free inspection, we will help you figure out which one makes the most sense for your house.
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A persistent musty odor is a classic sign of trapped moisture right under your living space. When a crawlspace stays humid, dampness builds up and creates that stagnant smell. Since high moisture can eventually lead to wood rot or attract pests, the best next step is to have us do a quick inspection under your home to find the source and help you keep it dry.
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In our humid climate, traditional open foundation vents actually do more harm than good in some cases. During the summer, open vents pull hot, sticky air into a cool crawlspace. That air hits its dew point and turns into actual water droplets right on your wood and insulation. Studies show that sealing, conditioning, or encapsulating a crawlspace is the best way to keep things dry and structurally sound.
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In high-humidity areas, a standard plastic vapor barrier on the ground only does half the job. It stops ground moisture, but it can't control the humid air floating around. A dedicated crawlspace dehumidifier keeps the moisture levels down permanently. This will help prevent wood rot and mold from starting up in the first place.
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General Pests and Biology
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It usually comes down to where they like to hang out. German cockroaches are indoor pests. They love heat and moisture, so you will usually find them infesting kitchens and bathrooms. Larger roaches, like American or Oriental roaches, actually live outdoors or in damp crawlspaces. They just wander into your home by accident.
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This is almost always mice or rats. Mice and rats have teeth that never stop growing, so they constantly gnaw on cardboard, plastic packaging, and wires to keep them filed down. If it is your pantry, they are usually targeting the food itself inside the bags.
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You can tell them apart pretty easily by their droppings. Mouse droppings are small and pointed, about the size of a grain of rice. Rat droppings are much larger and have blunt, rounded ends. You might also notice fresh chew marks, dark smudge marks along your baseboards where they run, or scratching noises in the walls and ceilings at night.
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If you hear scratching after dark, it is usually a sign of mice or nesting in your attic,wall, or crawlspace. Since they look for gaps to find a place the shelter, it is best to have us inspect the home to find where they are getting in and seal them out for good.
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During dry spells or heavy rains, ants flood indoors looking for water and food. They use the empty spaces inside your walls as a private highway to travel through your home, which is why a temporary DIY spray from the store rarely stops the whole colony.
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Technically speaking, almost all spiders have venom to catch their food, but very few have jaws strong enough or venom strong enough to hurt a human. Around here, the only ones to really watch out for are Black Widows and occasionally Brown Recluses. Spiders are actually great for keeping other bugs away, but if you are worried about one, safely snap a photo and we will identify it for you. If you think you have a dangerous bite, go see a doctor right away.
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Yes, they are active 365 days a year. While they do slow down a bit when it gets freezing outside, termites never actually stop eating. Because your home protects them from the winter cold, they keep right on tunneling and eating wood all winter long.
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Mosquitoes thrive on three things: standing water to lay eggs, thick shade or tall brush to hide from the hot afternoon sun, and proximity to woods or water. Getting rid of stagnant water and treating those shady resting zones is the best way to break their cycle and reclaim your yard.
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Fleas need a warm-blooded host to survive and multiply. If you don't have pets, a recurring flea problem means wild animals have moved in. Raccoons, opossums, feral cats, or rodents are likely nesting in your crawlspace, attic, or under your deck and brought the fleas with them. You have to handle the wildlife problem first to completely get rid of the fleas.
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Getting Service and Pricing
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For standard pest control and mosquito treatments, we can usually give you an accurate price right over the phone based on the size of your home. But for things like termites, ants,rodents, crawlspaces, or attics, every single house is unique. To make sure you don't spend money on treatments you don't need, we come out to do a free inspection and build a custom plan just for your property.
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You can definitely buy DIY products at the store if you love doing things yourself. But real pest control is all about understanding bug biology, where they hide, and using the right products to keep everyone safe. Most homeowners find that buying specialized equipment and storing a bunch of different chemicals gets expensive and frustrating. Plus, it is hard to replace the years of hands-on experience and commercial-grade products our team brings to the table.
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In most cases, not at all. Our regular pest maintenance uses precise treatments so you and your pets can stay safely inside. The only times you would need to leave are for heavy-duty services like indoor flea or bed bug treatments because we have to treat the floors themselves. For those, we just ask that you stay out for 3 to 4 hours so everything can dry completely.
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You might actually see a quick burst of extra bugs in the first day or two. Our products disrupt their normal trails and hiding spots, which flushes them out into the open where they run into our treatment. After that, you will see a steady drop-off over the next two weeks. If things haven't quieted down significantly after 7 days, give us a call. We will come right back out for a free follow-up service to make sure the job gets done.
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Different bugs require different treatments, so accurate identification is huge. If you can catch the bug or send us a really clear, close-up picture, we can usually give you a good idea of what it is. But the absolute best way to know for sure, and to figure out how it got inside, is to have one of our pros take a look at the specimen and your home in person.
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