Summer means pest season: Here’s how to deal with them
The start of summer also means the start of pest season. That means that while school children are back home for three months, there could also be some unwanted guests, such as ants, ticks and possibly even termites.
If bugs do take up residence too close to home, it’s a call to exterminator that can help resolve the problem.
According to Zak Lipniskis of D-Bug, the most frequent household pests to look out for during the summer in Butler County are ants and ticks.
Ticks are especially prevalent in Pennsylvania, which has been rated the No. 1 state for Lyme disease in 11 of the last 12 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Ticks are very, very bad in Pennsylvania right now,” Lipniskis said. “Definitely the No. 1 outside pest right now.”
D-Bug is a pest control company with locations across Western Pennsylvania, including one on New Castle Road in Butler.
While most household pests amount to little more than a harmless nuisance, others can cause real damage to homes and structures. The most dangerous are carpenter ants and termites — especially the eastern suburban termite, the most common termite found in Pennsylvania.
“Carpenter ants and termites can both destroy beams in your house. They can cause structural issues,” Lipniskis said. “The carpenter ant is known as the ‘silent killer’ because they can be behind your walls, destroying the wood, and you never even know it. Whereas termites, you’ll at least see a sign."
Unlike termites, carpenter ants do not eat wood, but they will chew through it, creating tunnels. There may be few signs of their presence.
On the other hand, with termites, someone might notice sawdust at the bottom of a wall, pinpoint holes in a wall, damaged trim or mud tubes that the insects crawl through.
A telltale sign for termites would be the presence of “swarmers” — reproductive members of a termite colony that do not do any actual biting, eating or stinging, and usually look similar to ants with wings. If some sees termite swarmers in the home, it’s already too late; termites are in the building.
“When you first start seeing them, it means you’ve had termites in your house for at least two years,” Lipniskis said. “They don’t come out until you already have them.”
One thing homeowners can do to be proactive this summer is to give pests less vegetation to munch on by frequently mowing the lawn and trimming overhanging tree branches, or by having their lawn pre-treated to keep pests away from the property in the first place.
“With trees overhanging a house, carpenter ants will come down from those trees and get into your attic and your roof,” Lipniskis said. “So vegetation is the biggest thing to keep away.”
Furthermore, if a pest situation gets out of hand and bug spray isn’t doing the job, don’t be afraid to reach for the phone.
“It’s never too early to call an exterminator, because it’s always safer and cheaper to prevent than it is to treat,” Lipniskis said. “No matter who you call, it’s always going to be more expensive if you already have ants, but if you prevent it, it’s usually around half the cost of an actual treatment, if you do it preemptively.”
