Friday, August 24, 2012

Saturday Shots: Bugs!

Jon Barron

It's Saturday! Instead of waiting for something to go wrong with your house, be preventive. After a couple shots of morning espresso, let's spend 15 minutes taking a quick look around... and maybe making a couple of quick repairs.

Saturday Shots: Bugs!

It's summer. I was traveling for a month. Honestly, I haven't paid much attention to the house to see if there are any new residents. Bugs and rodents usually move in quickly during spring or fall – or slowly over the summer. 

Today, take a stroll around the house, looking at the surfaces that stuff can fall on. Grab an old broom and a dustpan. Don't bother with the ladder unless something catches your eye that you'd like to investigate. Start at the main door and head around the house... I always go left for some reason.

Many bugs are good housekeepers - and any stuff they sweep out of the house will show up on window sills, sometimes on the siding, ledges, patios, decks, and often on the ground next to the foundation. Look for:
  • fine saw dust, usually made by termites / carpenter ants / carpenter bees. If you do observe some, see if you can figure out where it is coming from. If you think it's old, and you see no bugs, clean it up and check on it next week. If you do see bugs or believe it is fresh, address the situation... quickly.
  • piles of black dirt or mud that look abnormal. These can be any number of bugs, but just assume that they're not helpful to your house.  Clean it up / wash it off. Be careful if you're dealing with mud-dauber bees. Make a note and check on it next week. If it comes back, address the situation... especially quickly if the mud tubes extend to the ground.
  • rodent droppings look like black rice. Generally, small is mice, large is rat, chipmunk, or squirrel. (Round is from rabbit, goat, sheep, deer.) Clean 'em up and make note of where they were. We'll check the same place again next week.
  • cob-webs & nests should be brushed off. An old broom works well. Bird's nests should be taken down, too. If the bee/wasp nest is live, wait until evening to spray it... so the bees are all home. The canisters of bee/wasp spray usually have a 25-30 foot range... just be sure it's not windy when you're spraying. Some people like to use hairspray (or gas) and a lighter... let's just say that's not the best way to kill bees!
  • bugs on the building, watch to see if there's a pattern of where they come from - or where they go... patterns are important. Random bugs are usually inconsequential. Moths and flies like to congregate behind things. Bees... some bore holes, some build on the surface and some just utilize holes already there. Ants with pinchers should be watched carefully, while the others are just looking for crumbs of food. Roaches are hard to find in daylight... they're usually hiding in dark places.
When you're done, I'd recommend making notes in a small notebook or computer file, in case you find something similar in a couple months or years. 

Before you spray chemicals, make sure you've properly identified the pest... Most pesticides are targeted to specific bugs, even particular types. For instance, not all ants will be affected by the "stuff" you get at the local hardware store. There are lots of sources online... npic.orst.edu (the National Pesticide Information Center) is a very thorough resource. 

Until next week's 15-Minute Check-up, enjoy your day off!

Jon



"A shot of prevention is better than a venti of cure." 

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The Fine Print: Because of the general nature of this advice and the individual application thereof, neither the Merriam Agency nor Jon Barron assume any responsibility for any loss, cost, damage, injury or expense which may be incurred or suffered as a result of the use of this information or your own foolishness

2 comments:

  1. Nice Jon....
    Glad to see the shout out to my friends at NPIC as well as hearing you are always moving to the left... Peace Cary..

    ReplyDelete