damage damage
SUBTERRANEAN TERMITE damage
certain destructive garden pests like caterpillars, moths, ants and other bugs. I think I will keep a few on the payroll. Just don’ t touch them, they will bite, and it hurts! Of course, my sister wants to kill everything that crawls, so there must be a compromise. I put my B & g sprayer down and said NO!
Because of the different climate and the sandy clay soil in Bushnell, subterranean termites really have a party on peoples unsuspecting wooden anything. Just like in the Sarasota area, you must use termite control or you ' re in for an expensive repair. During the summertime, when the rains start, usually the second week of June, it really wakes up everything— skeeters, no-see-ums, ants, most everything. Then the real work begins for all of us. The
giant nests dampness of the summer humidity and heat can leave your homes susceptible to critters wanting to be inside, not out. This is where you really need to be proactive. look around for any openings, broken caulking around windows and doors, open soffits, unpainted areas that can cause deterioration, door sweeps and seals around plumbing pipes, A / C lines, and gutters. If you keep a good preventive maintenance program in place that you check each season— I call it summerizing your home— kinda like they winterize homes up north, you can probably eliminate over 80 % of unnecessary repairs and pests and can sleep well at night. Unless you stayed at a hotel and brought bedbugs home, then no sleep...
painful bite
RED HARVESTER ANT even if you live in a condominium or villa that has maintenance, you can still do your part and can be proactive. Make sure you check your pantry. Almost everyone knows about grain weevils in the industry- we call them pantry pests. It is one of the most problematic critters to locate and there is NO chemical treatment. You must do physical remediation. Find the infested product, bag it up and either freeze it till trash day or put it in the trash— preferably double bagged, especially if you ' re putting it down the trash chute at the condo. Those little rascals love to migrate if they get the opportunity. But when the food source is gone, they are too.
The most important thing to remember is that pests are here to stay unless we eliminate them. And we do need some, as many are beneficial. Not so pretty at times, but all have a function in life. So, let’ s share the environment with them and thank them for helping us on our journey. They have been here a lot longer than we have. I still haven’ t figured out what the cockroach’ s use is, other than major ick factor. I say we can eliminate them with a clear conscience. Have a great summer and hope to see all of you in the fall— hurricane free!
WWW. CAIWeSTFlORIDA. ORg community • June 2025
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