3 Springtime Homeowner Mistakes That Make Me Money

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

1.  Bringing in new beauty bark.

Nothing looks nicer around a house than a new layer of beauty bark. Nothing rots out a house faster or screams to insects to come infest your home louder, than beauty bark contacting the siding of your home.  Even if your siding isn’t made of wood. There should be a good two or three inch clearance between the bottom of your siding and any material which holds moisture. This includes vegetation, sand, gravel, play chips, and all manner of pavers.

2.  Planting a garden.

It’s spring and I personally can’t wait to plant. Something, anything. From herb gardens, to flower gardens, and especially vegetable gardens. But it could cost you big time. Glossing over the fact that vegetation draws insects that eat vegetation, and insects that eat those  insects, including ants  – that will then move right into your home. The biggest problem with gardens is that so many people plant them up against their homes. Then they water their happy new garden and the side of their home, sweet home. You should never water your home. Unless you want walls full of moisture ants, termites, and rot.

3.  Installing landscaping blocks.

Everybody knows by now that railroad ties rot and breed pests. Now days, most people landscape using concrete blocks. No wood, no worries, right? Not so fast. A lot of people who install concrete blocks use the blocks to change the ground level around the exterior. Changing the ground level, can change the drainage around the exterior of your home. The ground around the outside of your home is supposed to slope away from your home encouraging proper drainage. Leveling the exterior or directing ground water toward your home can cause slab and sub area flooding and in the long term, unseen rot and insect damage.

 

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A Chill in the Air.

Posted on September 17, 2012 by admin

Have you noticed an increasing chill in the morning air? So has the local urban wildlife. Every year at this time, all the wild and fuzzy things that have spent the year living outside, start to look for sheltered places to stay during the approaching fall and winter. It may be an inconvenience for you, but for them, it is a matter of survival.

Passing by your house in the dark, these typically unwelcome guests are drawn to investigate areas where warm air flows out of your home. Spend some time now inspecting your vents and crawlspace access entrances to make sure they are tight and there are no gaps.

A broken vent will let in a raccoon or possum, holes as small as the size of a quarter will let in a rat. Regardless of the animal, they will all damage your home in some way, from chewing on wiring to contaminating your insulation. A few hours spent now can save you a lot of money and effort later.

If you want to take things a step further, consider visiting Safeguard Pest Control’s page on rodent prevention: http://safeguardpestcontrol.biz/rodent-prevention.php Lots of helpful, free information.

 

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Spiders, spiders everywhere!

Posted on September 3, 2012 by admin

Spider mating season is just around the corner. The time of the year when spiders are most active. Funnel web spiders – the large house spiders that run around inside and outside of houses will be on the move. Additionally, it is a time when many insects ‘swarm’. Swarming is when insects create winged reproductives that start new nests. This creates a huge reservoir of food for the web spinning spiders. So you will soon be seeing all kinds of webs hanging from your eaves as well. We are scheduling spider treatments right now!

If you really don’t like spiders, your best spider control option is a quarterly control program. It is a balance of costs and control that many of our customers like. The very best professional spider control materials kill about 80 to 85% of spiders for about 65 to 75 days and remain somewhat repellent for a few more weeks. So just when the populations are poised to get going again, we can knock them back down.

Our quarterly spider control program is very popular!

Our quarterly service program for Carpenter Ants will help control some spiders and we are happy to spray around your entry ways upon request, or if we know you don’t like spiders,  – at no additional charge. To avoid trip fees—please let us know ahead of time that you would like this service at your next Safeguard visit—not all customers want their spiders sprayed. A full regular exterior spider spray, spraying  eaves, upper areas, around doors, and windows, etc… is available at a discount as is an inside spider spray.

The control materials which work the best Odorous House Ants, do not control spiders very well. If you are on service for OHA’s, please let us know if you would like some extra, discounted service for spiders and we will work with you. Odorous House Ants and Moisture Ants travel, nest, and forage below ground, and can enter your home through the tiniest cracks.  These pests are not covered on spider or carpenter ant control programs.

Please note that for the best spider control some preparation is needed on the interior, and we do ask people and pets to vacate whenever we spray the inside.

For information about spider control visit our web page on this common pest: http://safeguardpestcontrol.biz/rid-of-spiders.php

Hobo Spider

As always, thank you for being our customer!!

 

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Wasp and bee season is here.

Posted on July 10, 2012 by admin

Paper WaspEvery year starting in July, our phones start ringing with customers having problems with bees, wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets.

Most calls are about ‘bees’, even though most customers end up having problems with yellow jackets. Yellow Jackets are small compact wasps that look a lot like a bee. Especially if you aren’t willing to get up close and personal and see that they do not have a coating of hairs like most bees do. They also do not have a clearly visible long narrow waist like your typical wasp.

Yellow jackets are quite aggressive though, much more aggressive than bees, and are much more common. Yellow jackets are notorious pests of backyard barbecues.

They are also the most likely to build nests in your walls, attic, or sub area; and they are the most common wasp to build nests in the ground.

We also get a lot of calls for the yellow jackets close cousins: paper wasps that build the off white or light gray open honeycomb type nests up under eaves, and bald faced hornets.

Paper wasps are often mistaken for yellow jackets but they are longer, with an obvious narrow, wasp type waist, and have long legs that hang underneath, and although their nests are much smaller, there are usually many more nests of these wasps around your home.

Bald Faced Hornets are big aggressive yellow jackets cousins with black and super pale yellow or white markings, that like to nest in rhododendrons and other bushes. Their nests are often gray and very tough. They react quickly and aggressively to vibration and are often found by people trimming shrubs or doing landscaping.

The final common wasps are mud daubers and they make nests that look like dirt clubs or adobe, often up under eaves or in attics.

For more info on these pests or pictures for comaprison’s sake, visit our web page http://safeguardpestcontrol.biz/stinging-insects.php and follow the links there.

We can perform one shot services for these pests, and often guarantee specific nest or activity sites for the service year, or perform prevention services that work to keep your home free of bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, and other insects.

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Job Opening.

Posted on June 20, 2012 by admin

In the 20+ year history of Safeguard Pest Control we have only hired 5 super awesome employees. Four of those employees are still with us!

When we make a hire, we look for someone who works hard to make our customers happy, by doing good work, by meeting our customers needs, and by following our high company standards.

We try to make all of our customers feel that our work is worthy or repeat business and your enthusiastic referrals.

If you know someone who has great work ethic, has good customer communication skills, and doesn’t mind climbing ladders or crawling under houses….

We are hiring!

gary@safeguardpestcontrol.biz   206-718-1987

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From a recent inspection:

Posted on May 1, 2012 by admin

Findings And Recommendations.

Rot fungus

Evidence of an infestation of, and damage from wood decay fungi. Areas of concern:

Roof, roof supports, and adjoining structural members; bathroom walls—behind and around tub / shower surrounds, bathroom floors and bathroom ceilings; window sills (all), and walls around sliding window doorways; exterior walkways-decking, posts, railing, and support members; exterior siding at the base in high moisture areas such as where downspouts empty out or are damaged, where siding meets exterior slabs, and possibly where siding meets soil.

Recommendation(s):

Rot Fungus: Wood rot is a living organism caused by a variety of fungi. Wood fungi need three things to survive: moisture, air, and a food source.  Wood rot spreads out into wood well beyond the point of softness and discoloration. To properly take care of rot, you need to replace all infected wood, well beyond the point of discernible damage or discoloration—by at least a foot or more. Any wood which adjoins these areas needs to be treated with a penetrating fungicide such as tim-bor or boracare to kill the fungus. Replacement materials should be chosen that are resistant to rot naturally, or are treated as well against fungus. Finally, the area should be reconstructed in a way as to prevent future moisture. Wood in the average home may exceed 20% moisture depending on construction. Rot occurs starting at 25% percent moisture.

There should be some sort of documentation, such as a photo history of the extent of the areas opened up, the extent of wood removed, the total area treated with an approved fungicide.

Excessive moisture

Moisture is a primary cause of wood destroying organism infestations and damage.

Recommendation(s):

Obviously the roof needs to be replaced as do the downspouts, additionally, as noted above about the windows, the old aluminum windows are sweating into the walls and should be replaced, bathroom shower surrounds in some units should also be replaced, and the building exterior needs to have the dirt level lowered to keep the siding clear of the soil.  The shed / lean to in the back should be disconnected from the structure.

Comments:

Limitations: Units were occupied. Structure is finished with wall and floor coverings, etc… – refer to the standards (page 2) for exclusions that may apply.  Inspection limited to structure only.  Safeguard Pest Control does not inspect for lead, radon, asbestos, toxic mold or other potential health hazards.

RE: Rot Fungus - A clear final cannot be issued with continued evidence of rot or excessive moisture conditions in the structure. If photo documentation cannot be produced and a final or clear inspection is called for, parties involved in the reconstruction process, and parties engaging the services of repair personnel, must sign that they will be providing a warranty to all parties of any transaction that this inspection is used for.

 

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Pest Inspections

Posted on April 29, 2012 by admin

Buying a home is a stressful experience, between finding the right home, obtaining a favorable mortgage, and planning your move – it can be logistical nightmare. Somewhere in this process you will be signing paperwork that either gives you the right to have certain inspections, or waives that right.

So what type of inspections should you have, and where do you find your inspector?

It seems logical that you would use whatever company your realtor might suggest. However, this may not be in your best interests. A realtor only gets paid if the deal goes through. Everything that gets called out is a possible sticking point in a real estate transaction. The average realtor makes one sale a month. If you don’t buy a home, based on an inspection, the realtor doesn’t get paid.

You want an inspector who is working for you and not for your realtor.

As the purchaser, you want the most comprehensive report possible. This gives you bargaining power, and full disclosure. You can decide what is important or not important to have taken care of based on the results of your inspections.

When choosing a home inspector, I recommend inspectors who belong to ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors. This means the inspector has passed a set of standards, and isn’t someone who just printed up some business cards.

Your home inspector may call out for additional inspections. One of those may be a pest inspection.  A pest inspection is something everyone should call out for every time they buy a structure.

A pest inspection, sometimes referred to as a termite report, is actually, by law : A Uniform Wood Destroying Organism Report. It looks for the presence of wood destroying organisms, damage from a wood destroying organism, and conditions which are conducive to having these organisms in a structure.

The most common and damaging wood destroying organism in the Northwest is ROT. Wood rot is caused by a fungus. It is not just caused by wood getting old. It causes millions of dollars of damage every year in the Northwest.

The home you are buying, like all homes in our area, exists with a moisture level in it. If you plug a moisture meter into the framing of your home it is likely to read from 14 to 20%.  Wood rot, also known as wood decay fungus, starts attacking wood at a moisture level of about 25%.

So a ‘pest inspection’ looks for rot and anything which raises the moisture level of your home: Insufficient ventilation, lack of vapor barriers, good clearance around the exterior, proper caulking, the list goes on and on.

Additionally, the inspection looks for signs of carpenter ants, termites, wood boring beetles, etc… It does not look for spiders, other types of ants, and general everyday pests – unless they damage wood or are a sign of conditions which favor wood destroying organism infestations.

A quality pest inspection can save you thousands of dollars in home repairs. Every home should be reinspected by a pest inspector every 3 to 5 years. Just like with home inspectors, you should be careful with your choice of inspector, it should be someone with a pest inspector’s license, not just a pest control license, and preferably with many years experience in performing Uniform Wood Destroying Organism Reports.

 

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Winter Time Pest Control

Posted on January 18, 2012 by admin

Most of our regular customers understand the need to provide service for rodents during the winter when rodents REALLY really want to get inside where it is warm and where there could be food.

Spiders are active all year round and get really active any time it warms up – waiting until after you start seeing spiders, guarantees that you will have bigger infestations. Customers with spider issues understand that the best spider control is achieved by spraying every quarter to control AND prevent spiders.

We sometimes get asked: Why service for Carpenter Ants during the winter?

Carpenter ants don’t look for food outside or try to infest homes during the winter, so why is it important to treat for them then?

Three times a year, Spring, Summer, and Fall, we spray the exterior to repel ants from your home and eliminate them should they try to infest. While this goes a long way toward keeping you ant free – it does not address all infestation and activity areas.

Carpenter ants can find some very tricky ways to infest a home. Carpenter Ants eat other insects, including aphids and other insects that live below ground level and attack tree roots and other vegetation. Carpenter Ants are at home in the soil and it is not unusual for them to tunnel under a home and come up from underneath, bypassing our exterior sprays.

Carpenter Ants will infest via tree limbs and utlitity lines to get into attics. They have been found traveling under sidewalks and patio slabs and infesting homes both from underneath and between the areas where these features meet your home.

When Carpenter Ants infest a home, infesting ants carry mature larvae, pupae, and other adult ants into a home. Carpenter ant workers can live for 8 to 10 years.

For most homes with Carpenter Ant issues we try to get inside to treat the void spaces in the home. This treatment typically takes longer to perform than the normal exterior spray service. It is actually worth more than a regular exterior service.

These treatments protect your home from infestation and make it possible to quickly control an infestation should they find a way around our exterior treatment. These treatments will last a year.  While this treatment could be done at any time, because of the time involved, we prefer to do it during the winter. Performing this work during the rest of the year would require us to double your regular service fee for that service.

Additionally, inspecting your home allows us to look for other pests such as rodents, and moisture issues which are hugely contributing factors in ant infestations.

This year alone we have pointed out numerous gutter and downspout problems, standing water problems, plumbing leaks, and this email sums up the problem we found for one of our customers in woodinville:

Hi, Gary,

Thank you so much for looking in our attic with a sharp eye and discovering the leak in our roof before it bacame a major headache and expense.  J* K*, who was recommended by Susan, came out and fixed the roof this morning and I couldn’t be more pleased with his work.  I very much appreciate your work and professionalism.

All the best for 2012!
Jonilou H*

 

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Roach Control

Posted on June 27, 2011 by admin

Another new video!

Roach Control.  Roaches are big in the Northwest.  You can get them from where you shop, work, or live.  They don’t live outside, but they in our shops, restaurants, apartments, and the places we work.

Our new page on roaches is here  roach control

Our new video is below:

Roach Control

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New video about rodent control

Posted on June 22, 2011 by admin

We have developed and uploaded a new video on rodent control.  It is a slide show of various access areas that we commonly encounter while performing rodent control inspections.  It doesn’t cover every possibility – every home is different.

I uploaded it without a sound track, please let me know what you think of the video!

It should be helpful to anyone who is looking to get rid of rats, get rid of mice, or get rid of squirrels.

Rodent proofing is the most important aspect of rodent control.  If rodent shave free and easy access to other outside and preferred food sources, they may ignore traps and baits completely.

Conversely, if they can’t get to any other food source, they will quickly turn to whatever control methods you employ.

The new video can be seen here  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo3qsxlL5jE

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