eLocal

There’s something about the approach of spring that just seems to tint everything with a rose-colored tinge of optimism. The days are getting longer and warming up, everything is greener, and the world seems to be waking up from its winter slumber. As a matter of fact, for many species of wildlife in your area, that is literally the case. They are waking up, giving birth, being born, growing up, moving up from underground—and they’re hungry. Some pests, like termites, are even active all year, while other insects remain out of sight during certain seasons.

Unfortunately for homeowners, many of those now-active species would like nothing more than to use homes for shelter. Your home is a source of shelter, warmth, and food. Preventing pest home invasions requires you to be aware, prepared, and vigilant. Whether comparison shopping for the local termite control cost or closing up gaps in doors and windows, a little planning and preparation now can save you a whole lot of trouble and expense down the road.

Mosquitos Awaken

Anywhere it snows in winter or rains more frequently in the spring is mosquito territory. All they need to breed is standing water. They’re as happy to spawn in a tin can filled with rainwater as they are in one of the Great Lakes. To get a good head start on mosquito season, remove any sources of standing or stagnant water that don’t need to be there. If mosquitos become an issue on your property or area anyway, burn citronella candles when outside and wear mosquito repellant when necessary. In addition to being an obnoxious pest, mosquitos can transmit a number of dangerous diseases.

Termites Arise

Termites are one of the most common, widespread, and voracious pests on the planet. There are hundreds of termite species and they’re spread all over the world. In the United States alone, the price tag for termite damage to homes is over $5 billion every year. If we didn’t spend around $7.47 billion annually preventing and dealing with pests, the cost of the damage termites caused would be even greater. Read up on the signs of a termite infestation, and shop around for preventative termite treatment cost ranges to prepare yourself for an active termite season and the potential damage.

Raccoons, Squirrels, and Mice, Oh My!

Rodents and other small-to-medium animals may seem cute to some, but they’re capable of inflicting a lot of damage to your home. In addition to the monetary cost, those rodents and other mammals can chew through the insulation of wires, creating a home fire risk. A number of North American mammals are awakening from a semi-hibernation winter state called “torpor.” They are awakening hungry from their winter fast, and many of them are looking for a place to establish a nest to birth a spring litter. Your cozy, enclosed, heat-controlled home presents an extremely tempting place to settle. Your best defense against invading mammals is closing off gaps, particularly in the roof, attic, and basement areas. If they can’t get in, they’ll seek shelter elsewhere. If your area has a history of pest problems, start looking for preventative treatment early in the season.

About eLocal

For more than a dozen years, eLocal has been in the business of helping people across the U.S.A. connect with local service providers via a simple, user-friendly platform. They effectively connect millions with lawyers, plumbers, roofers, dentists, pest control professionals, and many more service providers across the country. It’s meant better options for customers, who can comparison shop for everything from roofing prices to the cost of termite treatment. If you’re looking for more options from more local businesses, eLocal is here to help.

Shop local and shop smart with eLocal, at elocal.com

Original Source: http://bit.ly/39tW9Dq

It’s natural that you might worry less about pests during the winter months. After all, there’s less wildlife around to be seen as insect populations have died back and much of the bird and other animal life are hibernating or migrating. Additionally, a variety of mammal species enter a period of a kind of semi-hibernation called “torpor” in which they’re less active than usual but still seeking food and shelter. However, the threat of pests infesting, nesting in, or otherwise damaging a home has not gone away. The risks can, in fact, be increased, as critters actively seek out warm places, and simply because you’re thinking less about pest control. Being aware of the risk of pests and shopping around for the best cost of termite treatment or raccoon removal always makes sense, whatever the season.

Pests Are a Year-Round Concern

Virtually everywhere in the U.S. is at risk of pest and animal control issues during every month of the year. In fact, there are some ways in which winter puts homeowners uniquely at risk of pest issues. Most notably is the temperature. When it gets cold, many species of animals, pests included, start looking for warmer places to wait out the weather. Your safe, covered, heated home can prove as appealing to those pests as it does to you. Termites, rats and mice, bats, raccoons, squirrels, skunks, and more may choose to make you an unwilling roommate.

Termites in Winter

Being cold-blooded, termites are required to seek warmth wherever they can in the winter. Termite queens would prefer to lay eggs all year, and will if they can stay warm enough. That often means that the termites dig deeper underground to avoid the colder topsoil. However, the warmer soil around your house or apartment building can present an extremely enticing source of food and protection for a termite colony. That’s particularly true for homes with basements. Study up on termite control cost and keep an eye out for the signs of infestation, even in winter.

Mammals in Winter

The majority of mammalian animal kingdom home invasions are carried out by rodents, primarily rats, mice, and squirrels. Small wonder, as your cozy and comfortable home also provides an excellent source of protection from predators and a wealth of nooks and crannies in walls, attics, and basements to establish nests. They become even more attractive for rodents and larger mammals like raccoons, skunks, and opossums looking for a safe place to birth a litter to be raised in the spring. Heated (or unheated) garages are popular choices, while the spaces under decks can even draw mammals as big as foxes and coyotes in addition to skunks, raccoons, and opossums, none of which hibernate.

Pest Control Options

If there’s one rule to live by when it comes to evaluating, identifying, preventing, and dealing with pest infestation issues, whatever the time of year, it is: Do not attempt to DIY. Pest infestation issues can cause thousands of dollars of damage, undermine the structure of buildings, introduce communicable diseases, and even create a fire hazard from chewed wires and more. Find a service offering a local business aggregation platform, like eLocal, for instance, for a selection of local pest control specialists to choose from.

About eLocal

Over their more than a dozen years of providing service, eLocal has helped people throughout the United States find great deals from local businesses. Their mission is to provide an easy-to-use platform with which anyone can connect with local service providers. It has been a huge success, connecting people with plumbers, lawyers, dentists, roofers, pest control specialists, and a whole lot more. The result has been better options and more of them, including the chance to comparison shop whether you’re looking for the price of a new roof or a termite treatment cost. eLocal offers access to millions of businesses across the U.S., including in your area, helping you find the service you need when you need it.

Choose smart local service searching at elocal.com

Original Source: http://bit.ly/2sVEAwJ 

For anyone who doesn’t already consider termites an issue that should concern the average homeowner, consider the following. Termites live and thrive on nearly every continent on the planet, and there are a lot of them. In fact, the biomass (combined weight) of termites is 445 million tons. Meanwhile, the biomass of all humans on the planet is around 350 million tons.

Termites outnumber us, outweigh us by millions of tons, and they need to eat. That’s bad news for homeowners for a variety of reasons, and one of the reasons the cost of termite treatment by professionals is well worth it. Some of those reasons are obvious, intuitive, and well-known, others you may not be aware of yet… but you should be.

Termite Damage Costs… A Lot

Every year in the United States alone homeowners (wisely) spend billions on termite control treatments. And again, it’s money well spent as the annual cost of damage done by termites in the U.S. alone tops $5 billion. The individual cost of a termite infestation is often pretty high as it’s typically not noticed until visible damage has been done. Treatment and repair can easily cost thousands of dollars.

Termites Can Be Bad for Your Health

Believe it or not, there’s an even better reason to look into professional inspection and termite treatment cost in your area than it being able to save you a whole lot of money. A termite infestation in your house can be bad for your health.

When termites eat the wood used in your home’s construction, the new gaps and cavities they’ve created often draw in moisture. (Wallpaper and paint bubbling up in an area can be a sign of moisture in the wall from an infestation.) Their breaking up the wood can also release and transfer mold and fungi spores. Newly mobile spores and moisture can result in mold growth that can range from irritating to extremely dangerous. The particles they produce from wood, their droppings, their nests, and anything they eat or move through can trigger allergies and even be dangerous for those with asthma.

Termites Are Hungry and There’s a Lot of Food

When they’ve got the choice, the average termite will eat wood, but they’re not all that picky. If wood isn’t available, they’ll eat anything with cellulose. Unfortunately for homeowners, that includes a whole lot of material both used in a home’s construction and stored inside it.

Termites will eat any wood, including wood furniture and molding, as well as wallpaper, drywall, sheetrock, some plastics, clothes made of cotton, cardboard boxes and the documents and pictures inside them, books, newspapers and clippings, and a lot more. To avoid risking your health, losing money, parts of your home, and the things you value inside it, read up on the signs of termite infestation. If you even suspect you may have termites, contact pest control professionals immediately for a home assessment.

About eLocal

Over the course of a dozen years of service, eLocal has proved incredibly effective at helping people across the United States access local service providers at affordable prices. They are committed to providing homeowners with a platform for connecting them and their families with local businesses. The result is easy, convenient access to a great diversity of professionals and services including lawyers, plumbers, roofers, dentists, pest control specialists, and more. That means more options and the opportunity to comparison shop for the best roofing or termite control cost. eLocal allows you to search among millions of businesses across the country and in your area for the right service at the right time.

Search smart by choosing eLocal to connect you to the local services and professionals you need, at elocal.com

Original Source: https://bit.ly/36izHLY

Termite damage is no little thing. While it may not regularly be top of mind for the average homeowner, termite infestation is not a risk that should be ignored. According to the National Pest Management Association, termites cost homeowners more than $5 billion in damage each year.

More homes are at risk of termite infestation than you might think, so it’s important to learn to recognize the signs of termites, and what to do about them. The earlier you catch an infestation the better—termite treatment cost is a lot easier to bear than the cost of repairing the damage those termites do.

Where Termites Can Be a Problem

Unfortunately, the answer is: everywhere. Termites are all over the world and can also be found throughout the United States. They can also be an issue in dwellings that wouldn’t seem intuitively at risk. Too many homeowners assume they’re not at risk because their house is made of brick and concrete, topped by asphalt shingles. But termites will eat anything made of cellulose. That includes drywall, wallpaper, and any wooden framing supporting that brick and concrete, as well as wooden furniture.

The Signs of a Termite Infestation

Termite infestations cost billions a year in damage for two primary reasons: the vast distribution and proliferation of the insects, and because infestations are tough to catch early. The earlier the better, and cheaper, so be on the lookout for the following:

· Termite swarms, which are made up of winged “swarmers,” are signs that termites are searching for somewhere to create a new colony.

· Piles of shed termite wings in or around your home.

· Termite dropping, sometimes mixed with sawdust, called “frass,” which can look just like little piles of sawdust.

· Light clicking sounds inside drywall or wood.

· Wood that sounds hollow when tapped.

· Bubbling paint or localized water damage can be caused by moisture related to an infestation.

· Termite activity on exterior wooden house features.

· Seeing termite damage to the wood near your home.

· Mud tubes built from the ground up on or to your house are a virtual guarantee of termite infestation.

· Termites emerging from a crack, flying, or crawling in your home.

Getting Professional Help

If you see any of the above signs or otherwise suspect a termite infestation on your property, get professional help immediately. Caught early enough, the termite control cost is going to prove a fraction of what it costs to repair termite damage later. If you’re unsure whether or not what you’re seeing indicates termite damage, get a termite inspection. Even if the inspection turns up false, learning the risks of infestation, potential trouble spots on your property, and the opportunity for a quote on a preventative treatment is great information to have. Good luck, and remain vigilant to prevent termite damage to your home!

About eLocal

Over a dozen years of business, eLocal has been helping homeowners all over the US access the local services and products they need at competitive prices. They’re committed to providing a convenient, easy-to-use platform to connect families and the businesses local to them. Their listings allow you to comparison shop for a variety of services and professionals such as plumbers, lawyers, dentists, roofers, and pest control experts to determine the cost of termite treatment and more for your family and home. Search millions of businesses nationwide, or in your local area, to find the right service you need, when you need it.

Find the local services you need with eLocal, at eLocal.com

Original Source: http://bit.ly/373n8Ft