In the colder months of the year, fires become a necessity. They can help quickly warm up the house without raising the cost of your heating bill. However, sometimes pests like to hang out in these woodpiles and join the party. Once inside or simply closer to your home, carpenter ants can cause quite the problem. Consider these tips to keep carpenter ants away from your firewood.
This pest is a big fan of wood. They prefer natural, damp wood that they can gnaw through to help make their homes in, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln noted. Normally, they follow the grain of the wood and create small avenues where the colony can hang out and build several nests. In the winter they normally hibernate, but if the season is warmer, or has significant amounts of precipitation, the ants will come out earlier. However, people are unaware of these burrowing ants and will bring the firewood into the house to be burned. Yet these ants are smart and won't be burned with the wood. Instead, they'll crawl out of the wood and make a warmer home for themselves somewhere else inside your house. These ants are incredibly destructive if given the opportunity, and usually go unseen. However, they are one of the more dangerous common pests as they can cause heavy items, such as a back porch, to collapse due to their deteriorative nature. If you're a big fan of natural fires, it's important to keep these pests out of your home.
Use these tips to control these menacing pests.
Though it can be tempting to place wood up against the house in an attempt to avoid trekking across the snow to retrieve firewood, it may not be the smarter action. Keeping the wood propped up against the house gives ants a good entryway to getting in, where they can nibble at the foundation of your house or try to snack on any type of wooden structure you have attached to your house, the University of Iowa noted. Once this occurs, it may cost a significant amount of money to repair your home and fumigate the ants.
Though they may go after it occasionally, carpenter ants are much less likely to take a bite out of dry wood. They would much rather dig into some damp wood, that may even have begun to rot. Though some people know that damp wood only smokes when burned, it may have dried on the outside but still be damp on the inside. Regardless, if you've got a fresh pile of wood, it's important to keep it dry. Place a tarp around the wood, and tie it up in the back to prevent any critters from getting in.
You probably already know that most people are repulsed by the simple sight of cockroaches. If you are personally dealing with a cockroach infestation, the feelings of disgust are probably even more intense. Unfortunately, the cold winter weather tends to be one of the reasons this pest ends up in your home in the first place, according to Any Pest. While you may know that you don't want to share your home with cockroaches this winter, there are a number of interesting facts about this pest that you've probably never heard.
Because of the high amount of traffic and the versatility of the facilities, pests are naturally attracted to long-term care institutions. Many nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and other care facilities include on-site kitchens and cafeterias as well as private rooms and common spaces. All of these places are susceptible to attracting pests because of the presence of food, water and viable habitats.
During the summer months, some people love to go camping with family and friends. Yet this fun trip can be ruined with a few unwanted visitors, most notably different types of bugs. Crawling spiders, hungry mosquitoes and buzzing flies can become annoying quickly. How can you avoid these pests when you're outdoors? Consider these tips to keep bugs out of your campsite.
Carpenter ants can chew through the strongest studs and stringers in a house as they hollow the wooden beams out for nesting. The resulting damage can weaken the home's structural support and require expensive repairs. Professional pest control workers can remove a colony of ants, but the best practice for homeowners is to learn the best ways to keep out an ant colony and prevent the problem before it begins.
As the weather cools, you'll probably see fewer pests than you did during the warmer months, but that doesn't mean they're all gone just yet. Some insects can actually come out in full force during the autumn, while others might seek refuge in your warm home. Here are some key tips to keep in mind as fall gets underway:
As the middle of summer approaches, you need to be vigilant about keeping your garden free of pests. Many insects breed during the summertime, which means they're on the lookout for great places to lay their eggs. For many bugs, that means near a source of food. In fact, some species of insects will lay their eggs inside budding vegetables and fruit so their larvae have something to eat as soon as they hatch. That's why you have to keep harmful bugs out without damaging the bugs that could help you, such as bumble bees.
You might have noticed that, with the exception of the kitchen, you find more pests in your bathroom than in the rest of your home. This is because insects and rodents see the bathroom as a convenient watering hole. Pests love leaky pipes and standing water because these offer them a hydrating oasis in the otherwise dry biome that is your house or apartment. And if your bathroom develops mold, all the better for pests, who may eat fungus or use it to lay their eggs.
The kitchen is largest gathering place for pests in a residential home. The reason is simple: pests can grab a bite to eat and take a sip of water while they're here. And when they find such a bountiful place, they will return home to their nests and report the finding - before you know it, your whole pantry is a buffet for ants! The problem could get even worse if a piece of food falls somewhere and begins to rot. Similarly, fruit and vegetables you bring into your home may be harboring unseen pests waiting to hatch.
