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Fixing Winter Damage Checklist

winter ice

Have You Checked For Water Damage?

As we wrap up the last days of winter, we want to highlight the damages you might have encountered in our brief, cold weather experience this year. Here are some common issues you might find and how to fix them:

Frozen Pipes

When water freezes, it expands, which puts pressure on the things it interacts with. Mostly, your home’s pipes.

This can lead to the pipes leaking and breaking, which creates costly repairs and damage to your home. A crack as small as1/8th of an inch can spill out over 250 gallons of water a day. As you can imagine, that would cause a lot of damage. Check your pipes regularly and give us a call if any of them have noticeable cracks or are leaking.

Roof

The roof is arguably the most important part of any house. So it’s vital that we keep them strong and sturdy. After the past snow, ice, and hail from winter, it’s time to seal any cracks and damages on the roof to prevent leaks in the spring.

Aside from it being uncomfortable to feel frequent drips, wet houses can breed mildew and mold. If a leak does occur, use air movers and dehumidifiers to dry the affected areas until you can get help in there to seal the crack.

Gutters

Gutters are great for keeping the rainwater away from the house year-long, but when that water turns into heavy ice, your gutters can be easily damaged and cause more problems.

In addition to heavy ice separating the gutters from your house, water freezes inside the gutters and downspouts can lead to damages on your house. The water expands as it freezes, putting pressure on the walls and potentially leading to cracks. Then when the ice melts, the water leaks onto the house.

Driveway

Small cracks develop naturally on your driveway over time due to the high traffic. However, these cracks collect water that often freezes in the winter. When that water freezes and expands, it turns minor cracks into large cracks and potholes in your driveway.

Prevent this in the future by sealing any minor cracks before they have a chance to expand.

Trees

Lastly, be aware of your trees! Snow, ice, and high winds can knock down limbs, causing house damage and even potentially interfering with power lines or commutes.

Getting your trees trimmed can help prevent this type of damage, as well as keep your trees healthy and looking great.

We know you can’t always predict what winter will bring, as damages occur with nature. But you can get a home inspection to minimize any causal incidents in the future. If you experience any water damage, schedule a service with us right away.

Fixing Winter Damage Checklist

Bedbug inspection

How to Know if Your Hotel Has Bedbugs

Upon entering a hotel room, do you typically reach for the tiny toiletries, take a leap onto the bed, or perhaps start by inspecting for bed bugs? Knowing what to look for is essential. Anticimex Carolinas Service Manager Christian Tweed has shared valuable insights on identifying bed bugs in your hotel room and preventing them from hitching a ride back home with you. And if bed bugs do become an unexpected part of your vacation, remember that Clark’s Pest Control is here to assist!



Q&A with a Pest Professional


How do bed bugs get inside hotels?


Bed bugs are primarily hitchhiking insects as opposed to foraging ones, meaning that they get carried around on people’s clothes and belongings. Someone with an active infestation in their home can easily bring bed bugs to their hotel, but they can also be picked up during travel (airplanes, taxis, and rideshare services) and brought to a hotel room.


What do people misunderstand about bed bugs in hotels?


From a probability standpoint, all hotels will deal with bed bugs at some point in time. If you think about a bed bug’s method of travel, there’s literally nothing a hotel can do to stop them from being carried in. What I have realized is that luxury hotels are more likely to have an aggressive response to dealing with a bed bug case once it’s identified as they tend to have a higher quality of service and a reputation to protect. While this isn’t always the case, it has been my experience more often than not.

Got bedbugs? Call Clark’s at 866-781-4991 today!

What do you recommend travelers do when they get to their room to check for bed bugs?


Most hotel headboards hang directly on the wall. I start my inspection here before even looking at the bed itself. I have found bed bugs, their exoskeletons, and the telltale black stains they leave behind around the edges of or in the crevices of headboards. If the headboard looks clean, move on to looking over the pillowcases and comforter for any signs or stains. You can dig into the bedding as deep as you want here, but I encourage people to look over the top layer of things at the very least.


What are some lesser-known signs of bed bugs in your hotel room?


The specifics of the black stains they leave behind, which as gross as it sounds, are just digested blood as that’s all that bed bugs feed on. If the stains are on a hard surface, they will be small dots as if left behind by an ink pen and will smear into a brownish gray when moisture is applied. If they’re on fabric, they will usually bleed along the fibers making a small diamond, square or X shape.


If there are bed bugs in your hotel room, can they travel home with you?


They absolutely can, however this is easy to prevent. While staying in a hotel, keep as much of your clothing and luggage off the beds as possible. Storing suitcases in the bathroom might sound odd, but it’s an effective method of prevention.

Don’t tackle bedbugs yourself, call Clark’s at 866-781-4991!

What should you do with your suitcase if you suspect your hotel has bed bugs?


When arriving home from a trip, leave your luggage in the garage or on a porch and bring your clothes in one load of laundry at a time. If the clothes are dirty, wash them like you normally would, if they’re clean then run them through the dryer for at least forty-five minutes. Once your suitcase is empty, vacuum over it meticulously (don’t forget to empty the vacuum when you’re done), or if you’re in the right climate, expose it to heat for a few days by placing it in your vehicle (parked in the sun) or for a few weeks in your attic.


The Clark’s Solution


If you brought bed bugs back to you home, Clark’s is here to help. Our Bedbug Control service is designed to eliminate bedbugs and create a safe, comfortable environment.


A Clark’s Pest Professional will do an inspection and recommend a plan of attack to get rid of bed bugs now and prevent them from hatching in the future. Call Clark’s at 866-781-4991 today for more information.



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