What Not To Do When You Have Fleas

Whether you have pets or not, you will probably experience a flea infestation in your home at some point.  You have probably tried a lot of things to get rid of them and maybe some of them worked for awhile and maybe some of them made things worse.  Let's take a moment to talk about things you should NOT do when encountering fleas in your home.

1)  Don't Set Off Flea Bombs
Probably the most counterproductive thing that you can do is start setting off flea bombs.  Unfortunately, this is the first thing that many people try in their do-it-yourself exterminating.  It seems like it should work, right?  You fog the whole house and get every nook and cranny, killing every flea in the process.  Only, it doesn't actually work.  A flea bomb is just a repellent with almost zero residual.  This makes it the equivalent of spraying mosquito repellent on your body while in the woods.  It doesn't actually kill the fleas, but just pushes them deeper into your furniture, baseboards, etc.  This can give the appearance that it "worked for awhile", but don't fool yourself.  It doesn't work!

2)  Don't Go Cheap On Flea Medication For Your Pets
When it comes to flea medication for your dogs and cats, you really get what you pay for.  You can run over to the dollar store and get flea medication, but don't expect it to kill any fleas.  Instead, spend the extra bucks and get some Frontline or Advantage flea medicine.  It will work great and will stop the pets from continuing to bring in more and more fleas.

3)  Don't Forget To Check The Crawl Space
It seems like a weird thing to suggest when you are dealing with fleas, but in realty the fleas may not be coming from your pets at all.  You could have other animals living under your home that are causing the problem.  For example, raccoons are absolutely loaded with fleas and home owners may not even realize that they have one under their house!  Also, rodents carry fleas as well.  If you don't take care of the source of your flea problem, you will have little success in controlling them.

Things That Are Worth Trying
If you are really stuck on doing the do-it-yourself route, you can try a few things.  If you want to get a product, your best bet is to try some of the powders that you put on your carpet.  They are not super effective, but are better than any other alternatives available to you.  You can also try vacuuming as often as you can stand.  Vacuuming will pick up flea eggs around the house and allow you to dispose of them outside before they hatch.  Lastly, throwing your linens in the dryer on high heat for about 30 minutes can be effective in killing a lot of fleas.  Go ahead and give these things a shot and if they aren't working for you, be sure to give us a call and we can help you.

What's A Vapor Barrier And Why You Need One?

If you happened to look outside your window today, you probably noticed that the rain has returned to us.  We are used to this in the Seattle area, but it was nice to have it gone for a little while at least.  Of course you don't really need me to tell you that we live in a wet area of the country, but what you may need to hear is how all this moisture affects your home.  Water is the enemy of your home.  In fact, your entire home was built and designed to repel water.  You can look up and see the slope of your roof, gutters and siding and see how rain water is moved off of the house, what you don't see is how your water deals with water below your home.

What Is A Vapor Barrier?
A vapor barrier is simply a plastic sheathing that rests on top of the soil underneath your home.  Its purpose is to stop the wet, damp soil from releasing water vapors that rise up and infect the wood underbelly of your home.  By limiting the amount of moisture that can rise into the subfloor, it also cuts down on mold and fungus from forming.

Do I Already Have One?
Probably.  If your home is a newer home, then you should have a vapor barrier that is installed to code.  However, older homes sometimes do not have one and even if they do have one, it may not be up to code.  Currently, the code is to have black (not clear) plastic that is at least 6 mil.

How Do I Get One?
There are a few different ways to go about this.  First (and I recommend this) you can call and have Healthy Homes install one for you.  But, if you are the do-it-yourself type, you can probably roll up your sleeves and do it yourself.  If you do elect to go this route, you should by almost twice as much plastic as you think you will need.  For example, if you have a 1000 square foot home, you should by about 1500 square feet of 6 mil black plastic.  There is nothing scientific to installing it, but you do want to be sure to overlap your seams by 6-12 inches.  It gets tricky around the pier posts, but just cut slits and overlap the plastic. 

If this sounds like too much work (and it really is tough, dirty work) you can give us a call.  It might not cost you as much as you might think to have one installed for you and it can save you money later on by avoiding water damage to your crawl space.

Why Are Spiders So Bad This Year?

At least 3 times in the last week I have had customers call and ask this question, "why are spiders so bad this year"?  Look, nobody likes spiders and it seems that they are out this year in higher numbers than in years before, so the question is "why"?  Is there something that is causing their population to increase or are we all just imagining it?

First of all, I think that I hear this every year, so I don't think the spider population is suddenly much higher this year.  However, it is a little bit higher than it has been in the past, so let's review the reasons why your home might suddenly be crawling with giant, hairy, disgusting eight legged freaks!

#1- Mild Weather Last Winter
We kind of saw this coming because of the mild winter that we just had.  Inclement weather greatly reduces the spider populations and we did not have much of it in the Puget Sound area this year.  It never really got all that cold and there wasn't much in the way of snow and ice, so spider populations carried over a bit.

#2- More Food Sources
Not only did more spiders survive our mild winter, but a lot of other insects survived as well.  This means more food for spiders and with more food, comes a higher rate of reproduction.  Remember, spiders are not all bad and they do keep other insects from getting out of control because they eat them all.

#3- Humidity
Remember how hot it was a few weeks ago?  Well, over the last few days we have seen a lot of rain and combining this with the heat creates humidity.  Insects thrive in humid climates and this only adds to my last two points.  The weather is creating an ideal environment for all pests (including spiders) and their food source has also increased.  This makes for a bad combination if you really hate spiders.

#4- Normal Seasonal Changes
As our summer winds down and it starts to cool, you can expect more spiders getting into your home to escape the cold.  October is generally the worst month for spiders (judging by the number of spider treatments we do as a pest control company throughout the month).  Usually by December there are fewer and fewer spiders and then February is the month where many of the eggs start to hatch.  So, if you are seeing a lot now, it might get worse soon.

If you want to get this under control quickly, just give me a call and I will gladly provide a pest control solution for you. 

What Is A Crawl Space Restoration?

If you live in the Seattle area, you are probably aware that we have a bit of a rat problem.  Some areas have them worse than others and some home owners have them and aren't even aware of it.  This is because they are hiding out in your attic or crawl space.  Unfortunately, once they establish their home inside your home, they can do considerable damage.  This is where a crawl space restoration comes in.

In inspecting hundreds of homes in the Seattle, Washington area, I feel like I have just about seen it all, but you never really know what you are going to see when you enter a crawl space.  More often than not, this area is very neglected and in need of repairs.  The warmth of the insulation and relative seclusion of the space makes it a very desirable place for rodents and other wildlife to nest and breed, while home owners are blissfully ignorant that anything is even going on at all.  It doesn't take very long before your nice clean crawl space is contaminated with urine and droppings.

 

What is a crawl space restoration?

Some would argue that crawl space restorations are not entirely necessary and to that I would say, "it depends".  But, first of all, what is a crawl space restoration?  A crawl space restoration is a complete cleaning of the crawl space.  This will usually include removing all of the insulation, vapor barrier and sometimes even the duct work.  Once all of the contaminated material is removed, a high powered ULV fogger is used to decontaminate the area.  After that, new insulation, vapor barrier and anything else that was removed will be replaced.  That might sound kind of easy (it certainly isn't rocket science) but it is a grueling, dirty job.

 

When do I need one?

As mentioned, some people think that it is overkill to do a complete restoration and in some cases, I would agree.  Unfortunately, I have seen it abused within the industry.  There is one local pest control company that will remain nameless that has mentioned to me personally that they suggest a crawl space restoration at every home that they go to!  Now that is overkill!!  I ask my customers to consider a few facts and to make their own decision.  First, about 40% of the air that you breathe comes from underneath your home.  When your home is severely contaminated by rats, mice, raccoons or other wildlife, you can probably figure out for yourself what kind of air that you are breathing.  When contamination levels are high, there just is no other way to clean it up other than a crawl space restoration.

 

At what point do you consider contamination levels high?

This is merely a matter of opinion.  There is no surefire way to determine just how contaminated a space is.  For our company, we will not even suggest a crawl space restoration unless 25% or more of the insulation has urine or feces in it. 

 

How can I avoid needing a crawl space restoration?

The best way to avoid this costly project is always going to be prevention.  A contaminated crawl space did not end up like that overnight.  It probably took months if not years to get that way.  Having a pest control company look at your crawl space, even on yearly basis will avoid this problem in most cases.  We offer this for free (See Coupon above)

If you have any further questions on crawl space restorations or would like a second opinion, please do not hesitate to contact us.http://www.healthyhomes-pestcontrol.com/#!home--healthy-homes-/mainPage

Why Does Seattle Have A Rat Problem?

Believe it or not, there was once a time when you could not find rats in Seattle.  Of course back then, the city that we now call "Seattle" was not named yet.  In fact, it was not until Seattle was actually established as a port city that rats started showing up.  All of the ships that supplied goods and business and made the city thrive also brought us rats. Since then, the rodent population has been quietly getting growing and growing.

Nobody likes a rat.  They are unpleasant, disease ridden animals that infest our homes and businesses.  Yet, we do very little to stop them and many times we do things that just make it worse!  Back in 2010, the city of Seattle released its "Clean Alley" program where they replaced downtown alley dumpsters with new garbage bags.  The rodent population sure appreciated it and quickly started chewing through the new bags, bringing in all their friends.  This created a whole slew of rat problems for businesses and apartments downtown (as if it wasn't bad enough already).

This example would be an obvious reason for the spike in population, but there are plenty of more subtle examples that contribute to the growing problem we now face.  People leaving pet food outside or even a bird feeder in their backyard also draws rats.  When rats find a good food source, there reproduction increases as a result.  In the worst examples, rats will find their way into an attic or crawl space and contaminate the area causing thousands of dollars in repairs before a home owner even realizes that they are there. 

 

What Needs To Be Done

Warning, this is about to be a very self serving statement:  Pest control companies need to be involved.  What I mean is, if you see rats around your property, you should call a pest control company.  The products that you can purchase on your own are just not going to get the job done and professional treatments are needed.  People wait way too long to get rats treated by a professional pest control company and allow the problem to get out of hand.

If you notice rats roaming around a home that you are renting or your place of work, you should get the landlord or the business owner to call someone.  It is unhealthy to have this many rats living among us.

Again, this post is admittedly very self serving, but we do believe that rats pose a health risk and should not be ignored.  If you are dealing with rats, mice or any other rodents and needs some help, please give us a call.

One Crazy Idea To Get Rid Of Sugar Ants

Okay, so you have sugar ants invading your kitchen.  They come in endless streams like rush hour traffic in Seattle and you need to know how to stop them.  Maybe you have tried a little bit of everything and nothing has worked.  In fact, many of the things that you have tried have made the problem much worse!  The truth is, these pests are hard to get rid of (even for pest control professionals), so you have your work cut out for you.  However, I have found one solution that just might help, but it is going to sound a little crazy.

First, let me just make sure that you are not doing something that will make the problem worse.  DO NOT use Raid, Black Flag or any other ant spray inside your home.  Sugar ants have a very negative reaction when you use any store bought sprays.  This is because anything that you can get over the counter is just a repellent based pesticide and repellents do not work on sugar ants.  What they can do is cause panic in the nest and trigger what is called "budding" within the colony.  Basically, this means that the colony will split and move to different areas and will then proceed to reproduce at a faster rate to replenish.  A better choice would be to use store bought bait products like "Terro" which will not have a harmful effect, but also is not the most effective. 

So, what is the crazy idea?

Give the sugar ants some sugar!

I know that it sounds crazy, but where are the sugar ants at right now?  Everywhere!  And, if you were to take a lid or small dish and put some sugary substance like jam or honey in it, where would the sugar ants be?  They would be going for that sugary substance!  Let's say you put that lid full of jam in an area less obtrusive and let the sugar ants crawl all over the stuff, wouldn't that be better than having them all over your counter?

 

Won't that make them reproduce faster?

Yes, it will make them reproduce faster with a good food source, so this is only a temporary solution.  The idea is to gather them in one place.  Within hours, you will see a flood of ants all going for the sugary substance and you will start to see trails form.  These trails can lead you to where their nest is at.

Okay, so how do I kill them now?

Now that you have their nest figured out and have redirected them to a feeding trough, you can do a couple of things.  If you want to be sure to get them wiped out, you can call me or you can now start using a store bought bait.  I realize that I just told you that the store bought baits don't work very well and they don't, but now you have their full attention.  The store bought baits just don't have the draw that gets the ants to take it back to the nests, but with this method, it might actually work.  Here is a product that you can buy from Amazon.com that seems to work pretty well.

If you try this and it still is not working, call me and I will help you figure out a solution.  In the meantime, best of luck in getting these things wiped out!

Photo credit: Jollyboy / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Summer Pests Are Out In The Seattle Area

It is a beautiful Friday afternoon in the Pacific Northwest.  The sun is shining in Seattle, Washington today and temperatures are soaring in the mid 80's without a cloud in the sky.  You were probably so busy having fun in the sun that you haven't even paid attention to the pests that are also enjoying the weather and are all over your home.  So, you just take it easy and let me give a few things to look out for this week and if you see them, be sure to give me a call.

Carpenter Ants:  If you see any large black ants, you are probably seeing a carpenter ant.  They are a wood destroying insect and should be taken seriously.  It is very common to see trails of them around your home when the weather is warm.  Since they do not actually eat the wood in your house (they just through it to make nests), you will see them gathering food like plants and other insects around your yard to take back to the nest.  If you see just one ant, know that others are not far behind.  Try following it back to its nest and you will see his friends.  If that trail leads back into your house, you are going to need to call me.

Wasps, Bees and Yellow Jackets:  These guys are everywhere at this time of year.  In fact, probably half of the calls I get are for one of them.  We are always happy to treat for wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, etc, but be on the lookout for honey bees.  Nobody really knows why, but they are dying off at an alarming rate.  We do not want to contribute to this decline and will not treat honey bees unless they pose a serious risk to humans.  Since about 3% of the population is fatally allergic to bee stings, we would have to exterminate the nest if it was in a high traffic area.  But, even in that scenario, we would probably first refer you to a local bee keeper to see if they could safely remove the nest.  If you have anything that is not a honey bee and need it taken care of quickly, safely and effectively, you can definitely give us a call.

There are  a few other pest issues that we have been hearing about this week, but those are definitely the most common right now.  I could go on, but like I said, it is Friday afternoon and the sun is shining, so I think I will call it day.  Enjoy the nice weather and be sure to call us for Seattle Washington Pest Control.