Changes!
Our houses are constantly changing. Constant exposure to the sun and the intense rains we have in Florida have an effect on our houses. This doesn’t even include the wind or Tropical storms we get. I am going to talk about two different situations we have experienced in the last year.
First situation – We have a customer who has been using our services for about 12 years. In the last couple of years when the customer returns from the Boston area they have been finding roaches. Most of the roaches have been dead, however they also find live roaches. These roaches have always been worse when they return. It is very common for the homeowners to think, “What is my pest control company doing wrong?” I explained to the homeowner that we have not changed our treatments, but the problem could be you have a leak(s) somewhere. The homeowner said last year they
found signs of water in the bathroom ceiling. They hired a contractor to figure out what was going on. After extensive research, the contractor found the roof had a leak. When they opened one of the walls there were signs of a lot of roaches. This is very common. Water in walls create a hidden treasure for the roaches to live in. Consider this like a 5-star resort for roaches. The homeowner had the leak fixed along with all the wet areas in the ceiling and roof. This year the homeowner returned to find 1 dead roach in the house.
Second situation – When I worked in Naples, there was a homeowner in Bonita Springs who had a terrible carpenter ant problem. They hired the company I was working for to treat the ants which we did, however they continued to see ants from time to time throughout the house. I went out and spoke to the homeowner and explained that this could be a sign of a moisture problem in the house. The homeowner explained that they knew about a leak in the shower. I told them they should really consider getting it fixed as soon as possible. A couple of weeks later, the homeowner called up begging for help. They had hired a contractor to fix the shower but when they started to take apart the shower the walls had so many ants in it the contractor left. He said he would not return until they got rid of the ants. Thousands of ants were crawling throughout the house. More of the shower had to be torn out and we treated all the ants. I was able to tell the homeowner once the shower was fixed, they should be in great shape. A year later they still had no ants!
These are just two examples that we see. Homeowners need to keep an eye on their homes and mention any changes they see to their pest control technician. This helps us make the appropriate suggestions to keep your home pest free.
Ben’s Pest Control, LLC
www.benspest.biz
