As the holidays get closer and closer so does the risk of having bed bugs invade your home. You might keep a clean home, but unfortunately bed bugs don’t thrive off of dirt. They thrive off of living human beings and just because your family doesn’t have them that doesn’t mean one of your guests won’t. The holidays are a happy time but as more and more people visit your home and bring their bags and belongings the chance of being infected with bed bugs rises.

Although bed bugs don’t cause any health issues their bites can cause allergic reactions and discomfort. Paranoia, feeling anxious and jumpy are another cause of bed bugs. Imagine having to be scared of going to sleep because at night these tiny pests come out of your walls, headboard, bed posts and other areas to feast on your body during the dark hours.

However, there are a few things you can do before holiday guests visit.  Some precautions you can take are positioning beds away from the wall, tuck in sheets so they don’t touch the floor, use lighter colored sheets and bedding so you’ll be able to see the pests if they arrive, provide a luggage table so guests keep items off the floor and remove all clutter if possible.

Once guests leave you should vacume your home and remove the bag as soon as your done, wash laundry in the hottest water possible because bed bugs can’t survive high heat for more than thirty minutes. For the next few weeks look out for rusty-colored blood stains, black feces and of course bed bug bites on all household members.

If you do end up finding bed bugs you need to contact a professional right away because they will multiple and do so quickly. “While you shouldn’t let bed bugs force you into hiding, it’s prudent to be proactive and take precautions, particularly during the holiday travel season.” Read the rest of the article here and learn about other precautions and treatments.

San Diego recently discovered a new way to get rid of termites, without fumigation! Introducing the Termatrac T3i which identifies hidden termites using detection radar, advanced remote infrared thermal sensor with laser guide and a moisture sensor. This combination allows the Termatrac T3i to locate where the termites’ nest is and where the entry is.

The three types of termites are damp wood, dry wood and subterranean. With the Termatrac T3i it can see any movement going on inside the wood and shows a graph of how much movement there is. The device is about the size of a cell phone and changes the environment so they won’t reappear. To learn more about this new gadget read the article online. 

Should this new product make its way throughout the country? What if you don’t live in San Diego and already have termites? Then you should contact a professional termite expert to eliminate those annoying pests right away!

We all know bed bugs are the worst. Not only do they leave small red bites on your body that lead you to throw everything out in fear that they live there during the day, but they also can cause serious damage to your home. The biggest challenge is that your homeowner insurance won’t cover damage done by bed bugs, or any destructive pest for the matter.

Bed bugs infest your mattress, box springs, tables, curtains, wall paper and more, therefore being very hard to find. Once you find one that means there are many more in your home and you should contact a professional bed bug expert right away. Unfortunately the reason your home insurance doesn’t cover bed bugs is because it’s not considered a ‘sudden’ or ‘accidental’ damage to your home. For example, if there was a bad storm and a tree fell on the side of your house your home insurance would cover that because you had now way to prevent that from happening. Bed bugs are technically preventable according to home insurance companies. In reality there is only so much one can do to prevent them, and this is to have regular inspections in your home. The one thing home insurance will cover is if the damage to your home goes straight to the structure. For example, if termites infest a wall and chew through a joist and it breaks causing the wall to crack then your insurance will cover repairs to the wall, however, you will be responsible to replace the joist  damage.

Read the rest of the article here and contact a bed bug professional today to start your inspections so that you won’t have to worry about your homeowner’s insurance.

Concord residents are suing their landlord because he refuses to treat the bed bugs in their apartment. They want $500,000 in damages from suffering for so long. Twenty tenants claim their landlord refuses to have treatment done for these awful creatures. These problems have been going on and off for the past two years and they are now finally taking action.

When the residents brought the issue up to the Concord City Council they too were appalled but also said it was out of their control because there is a county agency that deals specifically with issues like these (it falls under county health code rather than the city of Concord). However, it turns out that they only provide educational programs to detect the pests, not removal of them. “Concord’s laws mandate that all structures and exterior property shall be maintained free of rodent, insect or vermin infestation, which creates an unsafe or unsanitary environment on the subject or adjacent buildings or properties.” But none of this is actually being followed because bed bugs aren’t considered vermin and the problem is between the landlord and tenant.

If this has happened to you or someone you know and your landlord isn’t helping, contact a bed bug removal professional today. They will deal with all bed bug needs and treatment! Read the online article to see more about the Concord bed bug issue.

Bed bugs are not just annoying, they can destroy your home as well. A family of five in Shalimar had an unexpected visit from the horrible creatures. They were found all over the home and therefore, the family had to throw out everything. This includes the children’s toys, bedding, clothes, rugs and more. They had only been living in their home for a year before the infestation occurred. According to mom, Allison Hagen, her and her family had been itching for eight months prior to the actual discovery. Unfortunately, this type of case is not uncommon. As soon as you start itching and seeing small red bites on your body you need to contact a bed bug professional to inspect your home and take proper precautions right away.

The Hagen family even had to take out a loan to replace their beds and other furniture, although there is much more to be replaced. Electronics are not being replaced yet due to financial issues.  If you want to help you can donate to the family in Shalimar. Find out more information about donations here. Luckily bed bugs don’t carry any diseases but they can seriously damage homes. It’s a good idea to hire professionals to inspect your home throughout the year, perhaps even before you have suspicions so you don’t end up like the Hagen family.

Residents in Upper Leacock are having problems with stray cats and litters of kittens and they want animal control to get rid of them. This would be enforced by the East Lampeter Township police and would address issues of the noisy animals and cleaning up after them as well. The SPCA charges $45 to remove a stray cat, however, has no charge to remove stray dogs. Upper Leacock isn’t alone, most towns do not do free cat removal. According to this article, Township Manager, Michael Morris, says there is no way to tell the actual number of strays and therefore, they cannot determine the cost of the procedures. Three changes would be included if this were considered for approval at the board meeting. One, it would be changed to “seizure of animals” since it no longer is just dogs. Two, someone specific, most likely from animal control, would be assigned to do this removal. To see what the third change would be read the article online.

Sure, bed bugs can get in your home, but what happens when they enter your work place? Not only is this gross but it can cause real problems for clients and for the people in the company who don’t want to work in such conditions. This infestation needs to be taken care of quickly and discretely.

Is work refusal legal? According to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) employers must make sure the work place is free of hazardous things, so therefore, employees can refuse to work if they feel they are endangered. However, bed bugs aren’t actually dangerous, they are more annoying then anything. Their bites just leave small marks and luckily bites will not cause any diseases.

There are some things an employer can do to prevent bed bugs. This article online reveals some of those things. For one, it would be a good idea to have employees store their belongings in lockers or some other area that is off the ground. It’s also a good idea to keep the contents that travel to and from work and home to a minimal.

If you already see signs of bed bugs then there are things you should also do. Your first step is to call management to have professionals take care of the problem. Keep any valuables in a sealed bag to avoid infestation. When your home, wash all items and dry them with the highest heat setting since bed bugs can’t survive in heat over 122 degrees. Read the rest of the article to learn more about the safety measures after bed bugs arrive.

You wouldn’t want to be settled in your new home and then find out that termites are a common problem, would you? WDIIR stands for Wood Destroying Insect Inspection Report. This report is sometimes required by a bank and the lending institutions before closing a sale on a home. It is a protective document for the family who is moving in. Its purpose: to inform the movers of any termite or other wood destroying insect damage or presence of them. WDIIR is not a necessary report that is always done so be sure to bring it up to your realtor. If you’re about to move into a new home it’s critical that you get this report. The inspector will write up what they find and make note of any conditions that might be subject to termites.If the inspector sees an area that looks like treatment was applied in the past they make note of that as well.

Unfortunately this report does not guarantee that there are no destroying insects around. The inspector might not have access to all nooks and crannies. WDIIR is more of a precaution, however, there are things you can do to prevent these pests from eating away at your home. Make sure all cracks get sealed and all leaks are fixed as well. Insects like moist places and a leaky faucet is practically a welcome sign for them. Flower planters are also a nice home for termites to start. If you have planters make sure to keep them away from the house as termites can get in through spaces in the siding. Continue reading the online article to find out the rest of the preventions.