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Hello, this is Ben with Ben’s pest control. And today we’re doing another episode of The Ben’s pest control podcast. And today we’re kind of doing a follow up episode on one we did earlier this year. And we’re gonna call this one snowbirds part two. And so in snowbirds, part one, we kind of discuss some of the things that people need to be thinking about when they leave. And I believe we’ve maybe touched a little bit on what they should expect when they get home. But we want to focus on what happens now when you return. So it’s a it’s kind of strange, because one of our snowbirds that we know for sure has already returned it. In their case, when they came back, they had a favorite plant that I guess they had left outside all summer so that we got rain, and water while they were gone. And they brought that plant into the house. And when they brought the plant in the house, they also brought in a wholeness of ants that had moved into the plant while it was outside. So what do I explain to people as plants are great, but ants love plants, I always have this saying I say it’s, there’s a reason that word ant is in the word plant, they just go hand in hand. So in this case, the pot of the plant, the ants had moved their wholeness, then they know that they have some protection, it makes a nice house. And they also know that the pot gets water and water filters through. And that brings water right to their nest where they need it. And in some cases, the bottom of the pot and the little pan, the bottom of the pot hold water. So they get residual water. So the only thing they really have to go out and search for is food. So again, in this case, they had left the plant out all summer, they brought it in, they set it on their kitchen counter. And all sudden they started noticing ants, well, those ants that were looking for food, came out of the plants and started searching the kitchen for food. And we’re going absolutely crazy. And we run at this once in a while we run into people that bring plants inside after leaving them outside and and then the bugs that have moved into the plant are now all sudden inside the house. But when you’re Snowbird and you come back, there could be there could be more than just that. We’ve had some snowbirds who have come back and their waterline says we talked about when they left, they’ve dried out and now all sudden they have flies in their house, we’ve had a couple that they’ve come back and the water lines dried up and they’ve got roaches everywhere in the house that came up from the sewer and the flies came from the sewer. So, you know, in these cases, if you come back and you have flies, let’s say a lot of times if you just refill the water lines, the the drains to flush your toilets, fill up your sinks with water and the traps fill up with water, you’ll be able to stop the flies, the problem is you’re gonna have to go through and kind of clean up all the flies that are now in the house, most of which are probably going to be dead anyways, because flies in most cases don’t have a super long life. But for roaches, I mean we’ve had people that have had to have us come in and do clean outs of whole areas. Sometimes areas that you wouldn’t expect things like dressers or bookshelves that the roaches have infiltrated and moved into and looked for food because there’s there’s no other food while the homeowners are gone. So and in some cases, we’ve had the treat a couple times just to get the those larger roaches then out of the house. So usually getting the water going is a great way to prevent any new entrance. And then just a matter of getting them treated so that way you’re taking care of what’s in the house. Now, that’s not the only thing that can happen, obviously when you’re a snowbird and now you come back and you start cooking and eating in your house again and you bring food in anything that may have been living in the house that wasn’t seen. Now all sudden B could easily become more of a problem because they may have been living there. But without any food or water in the house, there was no reason for them to come out. So the person that was checking the house or even if you had pest control, just kind of walk through while you’re gone. It’s very possible that something could be there and not be seen because you don’t have the other factors to entice those insects to kind of come out and be seen. So now I’ll send you start cooking and they’re going hey, wait a second, there’s something good to eat, and they really start to pour out inside of the structure.
Another thing we tell homeowners is that you really need to be aware and kind of on the lookout for rodent activity. While the house sits empty. There’s a lot of things that can kind of happen. I like to tell people that summer when the plants are growing at their fastest. A lot of times the landscapers are over wellmed are, there’s a lot of rain, they may not be able to keep up with trimming them as frequently. So you have the opportunity for things like rodents to get inside. And if rodents get inside, you’re gonna find droppings, possibly some urine stains, damaged food, and you might go into your pantry and see bags of food that they’ve chewed through to eat. So you always got to keep that in mind and keep an eye on things like that. And if you have that, of course, you you know, you got to call somebody who can come out and trap those creatures and get them out of your house. So that way you don’t have rats or mice or whatever living inside of your structure. Another thing we’d like to tell people is take a very close look at your window sills. So your fish been gone. And for most snowbirds, you may be gone from April through November or April through October and you’ve come home Well, you’ve just missed our termite season here in Florida. And with the termites having the potential to have swarmed while you are gone, when they swarm inside of a structure, they almost always go to windows, any place where they see light shining through and when you come back, you’re gonna see dead bodies and or piles of wings associated with that swarm. So you’re missing out on the worst part of the season and, and hopefully not having to live through that swarm where hundreds or 1000s of winged termites come out of the walls and start flying around. But now you’ve come back and you’ve gotten a gotta be on the lookout for that. Because if you do find those wings or the bodies, you need to call somebody and get them out to take a look to see what’s going on and to determine is it termites I’m, it’s very possible it could be swarming ants. So usually, in my experience, not a lot of ants shed their wings as much as termites do. So usually, you’ll just find the dead ants with their wings on them. But it’s still a good idea to protect yourself. Because if you’re not there to see that major sign of termite activity, they could go on for quite a period of time without you knowing it and the damage could become extensive. So again, this is Ben with Ben’s pest control. And that’s our follow up episode on snowbirds. So if you’re interested in our free 50 Point pest inspection, or you’re just looking for a free estimate, please give us a call 772- 878-1972 Thank you and have a great day.
