Bugs, No More!

I don’t do well with bugs. Whether they creep, scatter or fly, they make my skin crawl! As my toddler would say, “No, yuck!”  

So if I’m going to have to deal with them, and least I get to work with the lovely Phil Kraftofil from Norman’s Pest Control. 

From the first phone call, I knew I was going to like this guy. Phil is very friendly, he took time to chat with me, but not too much. He also answered all of my silly questions in a way I could actually understand. And his answers weren’t all about dollar signs. 

“Some companies play a numbers game,” he told me. “They just try to get to as many houses as possible. That’s not what we do. We really try to take care of the customer and do the job right.”  

Norman’s even offers same day appointments for those bug emergencies!

He walked me through what he was going to do, where he was going to focus and why. He talked over some of my bug issues with me, explaining why that may be happening and what I can do about it.  

There are two bugs Norman’s sees a lot of right now – ants and spiders. But there are simple things home owners can do for prevention.

In The Kitchen 
To keep ants out of your kitchen, put your food away. Even those baked goods in that cake dome can attract ants, especially if it’s sitting by the window. 

“But you need to live in your house, too. You can’t live boxed up to keep the bugs away,” Phil says. The biggest thing to do in your kitchen – wipe the crumbs off that counter. 

The Attic 
Phil didn’t have to go up in the attic. Who would?? A machine did all the work for him. He says this is where homeowners see a lot of spiders and silverfish. Especially if you have a wood roof. A fog insecticide twice a year should do the trick. 

In The Basement 
Downstairs, Phil focused on the sill plate – where the concrete meets the wood on your ceiling.  That’s where the spiders like to hide. 

Phil says people are seeing more and more brown recluses. He’s not sure if it’s because people are coming and going more often, bringing the spiders into the house. Or, if it’s just because more people recognize the little brown spider. Either way, you want to get rid of it. 

He also paid close attention to the foundation behind the porch and garage. The moisture here attracts bugs, especially termites. 

Phil recommends running a dehumidifier in the basement to make it less appealing to the creepy crawlers. He runs one in his own house all year long. 

The Chimney 
We’ve seen some wasps in our house, so Phil took a good look at our chimney. Problemnumber one – the flue is open. Oops. That lets the wasps to move in. He says a fire would help keep away the bugs. He also sprayed an insecticide up there. 

I wish I could say the flue being open was the only silly homeowner mistake Phil caught. He pointed out a few things to me that not only would help keep away bugs, but save me money or better maintan my home.  

How Often Do I Need Treatment? 
As much as I don’t like bugs, I really don’t like to spend money on stuff like this either. So how often do we really need to treat for bugs? Normans suggests that most customers be treated quarterly. The most common factors affecting treatment frequency are; the environment outside your home, the construction of your home, your threshold for insects. Most customers need treatment once every three months. This allows them to maintain a good barrier around your home and in your attic, and prevent insects from entering in the first place. Think of the barrier application, as a moat protecting your castle. Normans prefers to apply their efforts and our products, outside your home to prevent a problem, rather than inside your home to fix a problem.