The Best Way To Protect Your Washington D.C. Property From Termites
10/20/2021
What's yellow and white and orange all over? None other than these sneaky insects with a penchant for wooden objects! ...
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Many homeowners in the D.C. area are blissfully unaware of the tiny dangers lurking just outside their doors. While deadbolts, motion sensors, and security systems may be par for the course, most homes remain completely unprotected against the non-human threats that are far more likely to be a problem.
Pests can easily get into many D.C. homes, and once they do, they’ll make things very unpleasant for the people living there. Even so, they are often overlooked or thought of as a seasonal problem- something that must be dealt with a few months a year, then forgotten for the other eight or nine. Unfortunately, that mindset can get homeowners into trouble. To stop problem pests, the best course of action is to get on-going pest control services from American Pest.
Pests By the Season
People often get in the mindset that pests are more of a summer problem. It’s true that more insects are out and active in the hottest months of the year, but does that mean that as soon as the temperature cools, we don’t need to worry about pests until the following summer? Unfortunately, no. Just like the weather, pests have seasons too. Each season of the year brings with it different pest threats, which means pests are a problem all year long.
Spring
After the cold of winter, many pests come out of their winter’s rest when it begins to warm up in the spring. Although in most cases their populations will still be small, you’re likely to start seeing flies, mosquitoes, bees, hornets, and wasps flying around again.
Some bugs spend the winter hiding within your walls and on the first warm day of spring, they’ll come out in droves, crowding around windows as they look for a way to get outside. Common culprits include box elder bugs, stink bugs, and ladybugs.
Although termites can remain active all year, especially if they are inside your climate-controlled home, spring is usually the time of year when you’re likely to see them swarm. The reproductive members of a colony will come out in the open in a swarm, find a mate, drop their wings, and return underground or within your walls to form a new colony.
Summer
Summer is the busiest time of year for most insects since these cold blooded creatures like hot temperatures best. While most are content to remain outdoors during the summer months, some will find their way inside, either by mistake, as they forage for food, or as they seek out shelter from the heat. Common pests to find in your home in summer include ants, flies, spiders, and cockroaches.
Even pests that remain outdoors can cause problems for homeowners. Mosquitoes can make spending time in your own backyard miserable and they’re carriers of many serious diseases. Bees, hornets, and wasps can make walking outside a scary event, made even scarier if you have an allergy to their stings.
Bed bugs are a year-round problem, but are most active in the summer, both because they enjoy the hot weather and because the increase in travel allows them to move from place to place easily.
Fall
As temperatures begin to cool in autumn, many insects start to die off. However, a few, like hornets, survive for a short time before it gets too cold, and they spend these last weeks of their lives in a rather aggressive state.
However, the biggest problem pests in the fall are the ones that seek food and shelter in our homes. Rodents are possibly the biggest fall offender, moving inside as the weather gets cold and food sources dry up. The pests that came out in the spring, such as box elder bugs, stink bugs, and ladybugs, start making their way back inside. Spiders can also become a problem at this time of year as they follow their insect food sources inside.
Winter
Winter may be a slower time of year for insect problems, but that doesn’t mean your home is free of pests. The rodents that found their way inside in the fall will settle in and start causing damage to your home, as well as expose your family to illnesses. Cockroaches may be less likely to walk in from outside, but they can still be carried inside in boxes or bags. There is also an increase in the number of bed bug infestations in the winter due to holiday travel.
The Problems With the Way Most D.C. Homeowners Deal With Pests
Many, if not most, D.C. homeowners take a “wait and see” approach to pest control. They see no reason to invest in pest control if their house is not currently experiencing any issues.On the surface, taking this approach makes sense. Why spend money on a problem that doesn’t currently exist? Unfortunately, as many homeowners have discovered through personal experience, there are several downfalls to this approach.
- Waiting until pests get into your home means you’ll have to deal with pests inside your house. Whether these are simply nuisance pests or pests that cause damage and illness is of little consequence in the moments when you’re dealing with a pest infestation. Knowing that pests are in your house is stressful and can leave you feeling unsettled and unsafe.
- If you wait until you have a pest problem before you take steps to prevent pests, there’s a chance you’ll end up with much larger issues than you anticipated. For instance, if mice get into your house, you may not notice right away. By the time you do notice, they’ll have already started causing damage to your house in the form of chewed walls, damaged insulation, chewed wiring, and damaged pipe work. They may also have contaminated food stores in your kitchen and contaminated your countertops and other food prep surfaces.
Now you don’t just have the cost of removing these pests, you have the added costs of repairs and food replacements. Not only that, but your home could be dangerous to live in, with fire hazards, mold, and more, and your family’s health could be at risk.
- Waiting to have a pest problem before you treat the pest problem can also snowball into more pest problems than you banked on. Some pests get into your house because they follow their food source inside. For instance, if you have an insect problem, it’s likely that you’ll end up with a spider problem as well. If pests make entryways into your house, like rodents often do, other pests may use these same entry points to get into your house in the future.
The Best Way D.C. Homeowners Can Deal With Pests
Instead of waiting until you have a pest problem to get pest control, the best way to deal with D.C. pests is to prevent them from ever getting inside in the first place. Establishing an on-going pest control plan with American Pest has several advantages over the “wait and see” approach.
- By establishing an on-going pest control plan, the likelihood of ending up with a pest infestation is greatly reduced. American Pest will treat your home on a recurring basis, keeping a constant barrier of protection against pests around your house.
- With on-going pest control, you can rest easy knowing your family’s health is protected and your home won’t be damaged by pests.
- When you have an on-going pest control plan, you won’t need to worry about sudden extra expenses that a pest infestation can cause.
- With recurring pest control, if pests should find a way inside, you’ll receive additional service to take care of the pests at no additional charge.
- When you have an on-going pest control plan, you can finally forget about pests. Your home will be protected on a regular basis, allowing you to get rid of the nagging worry of wondering if pests will invade.
American Pest’s Preferred Care Plans
Sometimes it’s the price of recurring pest control that keeps people away from it, but with American Pest’s variety of plans, you can choose an affordable option that works for you. We offer the following Preferred Care Plans:
Preferred Care Pest Control
Our Preferred Care Plan is perfect for the home that has common pest concerns. An affordable option, this plan protects your home from the insects that try to enter from outside. Your initial treatment includes interior and exterior treatments for target pest problems, as well as any other pest problems we uncover during your inspection. From there you’ll receive exterior treatments on a quarterly basis. As with all our plans, our Preferred Care Plan is a guaranteed service that is backed by our Pest Free Pledge.
- Starts at $49/month
- Quarterly service
- Covers 30+ invading pests
- Exterior treatments
- Exterior spider de-webbing
- Exterior rodent prevention
- Year-round coverage
- Pest Free Pledge guarantee
- Preferred Care Plus Pest Control & Termite Monitoring
If you’re interested in pest protection that goes a step further, our Preferred Care Plus Plan is the one for you. Including everything in our Preferred Care Plan, our Preferred Care Plus Plan goes a step further by monitoring your home for termite activity with Halo™ termite monitoring devices.
- Starts at $59/month
- Quarterly service
- Covers 30+ pests.
- Exterior treatments
- Exterior spider de-webbing
- Exterior rodent prevention
- Termite monitoring
- Year-round coverage
Pest Free Pledge guarantee
Preferred Care Complete Pest Control & the Sentricon® System with Always Active™
For around the clock termite protection, as well as our unparalleled pest control, our Preferred Care Complete Plan can’t be beat. Offering all the coverage of our Preferred Care Plan, the Complete Plan also includes installation and maintenance of the Sentricon® System with Always Active™ which insures your home against termites 24/7/365.
- Starts at $69/month
- Quarterly service
- Exterior treatment
- Exterior spider de-webbing
- Exterior rodent prevention
- Sentricon® with Always Active™
- Termite service warranty
- Year-round coverage
- Pest Free Pledge guarantee
Protecting your home against the threat of pests is the smart decision you can make today. For about the same cost as your daily coffee, you can prevent pests from getting inside, which not only protects your family from serious diseases, but also protects your home from costly and dangerous damage. To discuss which on-going pest control plan is right for you, contact American Pest today. We’ll listen to your concerns, go over your options, and help you decide how to proceed. This is one decision you won’t regret making.
