termites Archives - Page 14 of 23 - Arizona Pest Control - Pest Management Services

Termites are sneaky, aren’t they?

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Termites will do everything in their power to gain access into our homes and businesses. Here is a picture of a cardboard box that was riddled with termites and their damage.

Thanks to Carrie for the picture

I’m not a real big fan of those cabinets in the garage, I find that all they do is coverup the expansion joint and prevent us from getting a good treatment into those areas. So my tip of the day, check your cabinets and the rest of your home often or better yet give ProBest Pest Management a call today at 602-249-7378 or 623-414-0176

Ahhh the rain has come, termites more active – maybe.

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This next week the National Pest Management Association kicks off Termite Awareness Week (March 16-22). The Spring brings a lot more activity for termites on the East Coast, well what about Arizona? Our monsoon (usually in the late summer) brings the rain and this triggers the termites and other bugs to become more active.

So as the cold disappears and the warm weather finally makes it to the Valley, keep an eye out for termites and other bugs. No freezing weather – less death of common food of the scorpions and that means that the scorpions didn’t succumb to the extreme cold either.

Have you really ever thought about termites?

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According to the National Pest Management Association termites do about $5 billion in damage each and every year. Are they eating your home and do you know what to look for.

Subterranean termites enter by way of cracks or foundations here in Arizona. So if you notice soil/dirt/mud trails either outside on the foundation slab, or inside the garage or coming down from the ceilings it’s time to call a Pro.

What exactly is “A Peace of Mind Inspection”?

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My theory is that no one knows everything, period. I can assure you I know bugs and that includes the pests that can damage your home. Termites are right up there and cause about 5 billion a year in damage across the U.S. While our termites here in Arizona aren’t quite the most aggressive in eating your home they still cause damage.

So my advice, get a yearly termite inspection. Most companies provide free quotes for termite treatment options. ProBest Pest Management offers free quotes and we charge a nominal fee ($45) for a regular home inspection. We may also provide some recommendations concerning conducive conditions which might encourage termites gaining entry into your home. This is different from a Wood Destroying Insect Inspection Report ($57-$67) required generally for the sale of a home and we generally provide a free warranty if we don’t find termites at the time of the inspection * disclaimers, to the new buyers.

What do we look for generally? (not inclusive) – You can also look for these signs.

Termite tubes, tunnels, dirt on drywall and drop tubes from the ceiling.
Termite damage, baseboards and wood.
Termite pellets from Drywood termites.
Water damage, including stains from leaks.
In out brief tour of your home we may notice other things maybe or maybe not related to termites such as mold or smells indicative of mildew etc.
Feces (such as rodent droppings).
Screening not in place.
Home-sealing.

The Puzzle of Pest Management.

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I love those shows on TV about crime, I always try to solve it before the end. Probably why I enjoy Pest Management – “the attention is in the detail”, right?

How did those termites gain access into the ceiling?

There is a mouse in the house and how did it get in?

There are moths flying in the pantry, did we bring them home?

Did we pick up our fruit or did we encourage rodents into our yard?

So become a detective and stop those pests from getting into your home, home-sealing is a must plus it will help save money on heating/cooling. Put the puzzle together and solve the buggy issues.

Photo by PPMA

Why is a termite pretreatment important?

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Before you build that new home, the builder generally works a deal with a Termite Company to treat the soil beneath the slab is poured. There are lots of things that can go wrong and lets talk about a few.

Scheduling conflicts and nobody shows up for pretreatment, you may or may not know this happens but it does.
The builder uses the cheapest termiticide.
After the builder does all the work and just after the termite company shows up and treats the soil, somebody decides that there are several pipes in the wrong place. Nobody calls the termite company with an update.
After the termite technician treats soil, the building folks or plumbers walk over the product. I can’t tell you how many times this happened to me, I go crazy and they look at me like – who cares.
The concrete people don’t remove all the form boards.
The termite technician measures or calculates the square footage incorrectly.
It was raining or rained very soon thereafter.

I run into various slabs or foundations that bewilder me on why there are termites so quickly into the houses life. Hire a reputable company and don’t fall for scams that sell pretreats for 3 or 4 cents per foot. Use or insist on a quality termiticide, if you use a quality product and company a pretreat should last. I was going to give a approximate number of years but I’m hesitant because of factors including soil, location of US and rainfall or water table heights. In Arizona I would think that a well performed with a quality termiticide under the slab should last 15 years, the outside maybe, maybe 5 – 7 years. (my opinion)

Photo by PPMA

End of the year – holiday bug photo spread

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I could not help but to pass this along, I’m sure all of us have from time to time run across a bug and thought WOW that is colorful. Well Live Science did a little Christmas photo article “Tis the season: Gallery of Festive Insects“, by Remy Melina. Great article!

My favorite is the Candy Cane Moth or maybe the Antlered Wasp. What is your favorite? Have you ever walked in the woods and instead of looking up, try looking down and spotting the beauty and grandeur of the bug world. There are many insects out there that are just beautiful, I know what you’re thinking – they are bugs. Remember without bugs we might not be here on earth, many pollinate and also turn wood into soil.

Remember there will always be bugs, the key is to keep them out of our homes.

Photo by PPMA

Western Termites

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How do plants and bushes affect termite treatments?

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I truly wish everyone who builds or does work on homes would talk to one another. Here is my list of things I would want to talk about, not in any order:

Don’t plant anything under the roof dripline, it is impossible to stop roots from heading toward your foundation.
Leave the bottom shelf loose when building cabinets in the garage, this way I can see the expansion joint and treat it. Since the bottom shelf just sits there, is there a reason to secure it?
Don’t install water drip or irrigation systems to close to the home, have you ever seen the inside foundation wall just corroded and calcified.
Bear in mind that anything wood or carboard that sets on the expanion joint in the garage could be attacked by termites and that includes books.

Termite patching errors

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This is what happens when patching termites drill holes goes extreme. Patching termite drill holes should be limited to the hole not all the area around the hole. I caught this at a business site the other day and just thought it was amusing and actually sad.

This is on pebble tech flooring, but so easy to just work a little smarter to blend in and only allow concrete to be in the hole not everywhere else.

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