Protect Your Home with a Vapor Barrier
All buildings, which have an enclosed crawl space underneath and dirt floors, should have a vapor barrier. The vapor barrier should be a 6 mil polyethylene material black in color which lays flat on the ground. The purpose of this is to prevent moisture from the ground from rising up and absorbing into the wooden supports and sub-flooring in the crawl space.
A house without, or with an inadequate, vapor barrier (above picture) is vulnerable to damaging including fungus, rot, mold, and a variety of wood destroying insects.
To correct this, our technicians have installed a 6 mil polyethylene barrier. It is installed to lay flat on the ground and navigates around support post piers, etc. Our technicians carefully lay this out as to not have it carelessly rest against any of the wooden support posts or other materials that would trap moisture. The area is covered 100% by our newly installed vapor barrier. This house is now clean and dry. It has no penetrating moisture or dirt odors.
April Showers bring May….Bugs
April Showers bring May….Bugs
Well, March is over and it was pretty ho hum as far as the weather went. We had our cold days and (record) warm days. The bugs woke up from their winter slumber, especially the ants, and the April showers and (hopefully) a little warmer weather are sure to bring everything else out of hibernation.
Things to Look for
Make sure your gutters are clean, and your downspouts are flowing. Elbows should be in place, as well as splash blocks, to direct the water away from your house. Ants and termites are naturally attracted to areas of excessive moisture.
Take a look at your eave soffits. Are there gaps where siding trim meets the eave? Chances are nearly 100% that these gaps exist. Yellow jackets take advantage of these naturally attractive spots to enter into wall and ceiling cavities to create their nests. I have seen the first signs of this happening already. Now is the time to get out your caulk guns and seal these areas up. I did this at my own house a couple of weeks ago. A trip to Home Depot, an afternoon of work in the pleasant (not too hot yet!) weather and I have decreased my chances of these guys and other bugs getting into my house. I used a clear exterior product from DAP that goes on bright white. But not to worry it turns clear in no time and becomes virtually invisible. Next I sprayed around my perimeter and eaves to further secure my home against unwanted pest intrusion.
Check all of your window screens. Are they in place? Damaged? When the weather gets warmer, you’ll be glad that these are in place, and in good condition, to keep the flying bugs and insects out as you enjoy the nice summer breeze.
Speaking of Flying Insects
Mosquitoes. I’ve seen a new product on the market called Dyna Trap. This is a piece of equipment that is reported to emit carbon dioxide which mimics our exhaled breath which attracts mosquitoes. It also has a light to attract them. I came across this a couple weeks ago and did a little research. It sounds pretty good but comes at a little bit of a hefty price. I think around $180.00 or so. Then I saw them at Costco for about $70.00. I was going to pick one up, but when I looked at my cart and surmised my growing bill, I thought better to stick to my list. This is one of those moments when you say…..“Darn it, why didn’t I pick that thing up when I was there and I knew they had them in stock?” You know how it goes, you don’t have time to get back to Costco and when you do they’re out and probably wont be getting any more. Needless to say the jury’s still out on this product. If I get back to Costco and get lucky enough to get one, I’ll let you know how it works.
Bottom Line
Be ready for spring and summer. Bugs will come and there is a good chance they will infiltrate your home somewhere somehow. If you don’t like pesticides around your home, at least make it more undesirable for pests. Using mechanical means of keeping them out, along with a responsible professional program of applying pesticides, is your sure ticket to a much more enjoyable spring and summer. THIS IS THE TIME TO DO IT!!! Try not to use the approach of doing things after the problem has already surfaced. You are now fighting the battle defensively rather than offensively. Look at it from this stand point. If you’re Pete Carroll, and the Seattle Seahawks are leading by 3 touchdowns in the first quarter, you feel much better about your chances of winning the game than if you are behind by 3 touchdowns, in the fourth quarter, and the other team has the ball.
Remember
April showers not only bring May flowers, they bring a whole lot more to the party! Have a beautiful spring and summer season and let us, here at LIND PEST CONTROL, help you enjoy your homes, decks, and patios in a bug free environment!
My First Memorable Spider Experiences
Last time we left off at telling some stories about spiders.
Childhood Experiences
I was ten years old and had just gone to bed and laying there I felt a “tickle” on my leg. I thought it was just an itch, so I brushed my leg off under the covers. When I felt it again and did the same. When it happened a third time, I felt I needed to examine the situation more in depth so I through back the covers. To my horror, there was a GIANT spider in my bed!!! You can bet that I pulled my covers back, every single night, from then on for a thorough inspection!
Another memorable experience came from my childhood as well. My mom made pickles every year and guess whose job it was to retrieve the old mason jars! You guessed it. And where did we store the jars? In the crawl space of course!
We lived in a tri-level house that had a fairly tall crawl space a kid could “walk” around in if he crouched. This was the handy place my mom stored these old, empty jars. I accessed the area through a small door in the garage and I hated going in there. There were spider webs and it was dark, but I found my way around with a treble light I plugged into the garage outlet. I never would have imagined that years later I would be going into crawl spaces much tighter and dirtier thousands of times as a career choice!! That was my introduction to crawl spaces and seeing where spiders love to hang out!
Skipping Ahead
Quite a few years, I had recently purchased my first house. It was a small 700 square foot house in North Tacoma. I’d been in the pest control industry for a few years now and was very used to seeing and dealing with spiders on a regular basis – just not inside my own home!
I was sitting in my living room watching TV when I caught something moving out of the corner of my eye. It didn’t scare me, but I must say it startled me. My first thought was that it was a mouse! But when I got up to get a clear look, I saw a GIANT house spider scurrying across the carpet. I’m not kidding! That’s how big this thing was!
Coming to an Understanding
Being in the pest control industry for so long, I have come to know the importance and relevance of spiders. I have also come to know the tolerance, and lack thereof, to spiders INSIDE folks’ homes and the levels of arachnophobia behaviors. It is not wrong to fear spiders nor is it wrong to want to have no part of them within the comforts of your own home. Spiders are beneficial creatures feeding upon many unwanted pests in our environment and have a very important role in the balance of nature.
As pest control experts, our job is to keep your home comfortable and free of spiders. This does not mean we are out to make spiders extinct nor kill off all of the orb weaver/garden spiders around the outside environment which are maintaining the natural balance. We have all had the unpleasant experience of walking face-first through an orb weavers web. While it is a little nasty, and uncomfortable, it is not a reason to spray gallons and gallons of pesticides around your yard, trees, shrubs, flowers, etc. in an attempt to extinguish everything that moves! This will only serve to pollute your environment unnecessarily and endanger other insect species that have every right, and importance, to exist.
Keeping unwanted spiders out of your home is a reasonable request that is easily accomplished through professional means. A maintenance spray will ensure that they will be kept out, while other beneficial insects and environments remain healthy and rightfully unfazed. This is the true meaning of integrated pest management.
Your Turn
There are many more stories and experiences with spiders that I’ve had, but those are the ones that really stick out. I think it would be fun to get some of your stories as well. Please send your stories for us to share with everyone! Drop us a line here or send us a message on Facebook.
and when you go to bed tonight remember to……………….”SLEEP TIGHT AND DON’T LET THE BED BUGS BITE”.
