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Pest Control Tip: Mulch, Bark, and Bugs
Adding bark or mulch to landscaping beds is a great idea to beautify your landscape, keep the weeds down, and retain plant moisture. Yet, it can create unwanted pest problems if you’re not careful.
Remember to keep about 3 inches of clearance between the bottom of your siding and the mulch. You should be able to see your foundation. Bark, mulch, soil, etc. which extends over and “buries” the siding tends to hold moisture in and rot your siding.
This creates a highly desirable conducive condition and a direct access for termites and other wood destroying organisms. Consider having the immediate perimeter of your house sprayed after your bark/mulch has been laid. This will offer protection against organisms which may be within, or attracted to, the purchased product.
A Warning: Beware of Door to Door Pest Control Sales
A Buyer Beware Story
A longtime customer of ours recently called to relay an interesting story. A “representative” from another pest control company rang his doorbell. They were “in the neighborhood” and would like to offer a free look around his home. Amusingly, he took them up on their offer. About 10 minutes later, the representative knocked on his door and told him that they had found a dampwood termite and showed him the specimen. Our client informed the representative that he had been with LIND PEST CONTROL for several years. He asked if he could keep the specimen so he could show it to us. The representative replied that he could not let him keep it because they needed it. Our client thought this to be very peculiar and immediately gave our office a call.
Our Follow Up
When we went out to the property, we performed an inspection and found nothing amiss. We explained that if he had dampwood termites, the problem of wet, rotting wood would be the condition conducive to their presence. No such conditions were found, nor dampwood termite presence. We serviced his home, as we do every quarter, and continue to protect and inspect it.
Please Do Your Research
Every year we see many pest control companies come out of the ‘woodwork’. We’ve seen “representatives” in our own neighborhood, knocking on doors trying to sell their product. Many times we see two or three guys park their personal car and get out to canvas the neighborhood. They’re mostly working on a sales commission basis. While we typically don’t have much of a problem losing customers to this kind of sales tactic, we do occasionally lose one to the lure of cheaper prices and false promises. I recall a couple of customers, in the past, who have immediately come back to us due to receiving poor service, or the company failing even showing up.
We are Dedicated Pest Control Professionals
LIND PEST CONTROL, INC. is dedicated to doing the best job we can do at a price that is fair to all. Our professional TEAM consists of FULL TIME/PERMANENT office personnel to take your calls and offer advice and education and our PERMANENT field team consists of PROFESSIONAL/LICENSED technicians who are fully trained. Our company vehicles are nice, clean, and maintained. They are of uniform color (bright yellow and black) and branded with our logo, as are our technician’s full uniforms. We are a professional company and will not compromise the safety of your home, business, family, pets, employees, etc. You can be assured you receive this consistency each and every time.
Saving $10.00 or so per service is truly not worth the gamble of going with a company fishing from door to door trying to build a customer base by promising things they can’t and won’t deliver. Please be aware that these tactics are commonplace. If you run into this situation, please give us a call and speak to one of our qualified staff before you sign anything you might regret later. You may be convinced you have a pest problem you which never really existed.
