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The Biggest Threats to your Home During the Winter

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Watch Out For These Winter Threats!

Seems like this weather is getting colder and colder as the weeks go by. Winter is not letting up! Winter can bring on new threats for your home, so you’ll want to be prepared if they happen.

Here’s a quick guide to the biggest threats to your home this season:

Snow Build-Up

Snow accumulating around your home can pose a number of serious threats to its health. Build-up on the roof can cause structural damage and as it begins to melt, water leakage threatens your shingles and interior of your home. Clear out the snow quickly to preserve the health of your home.

Frozen Pipes

Frozen pipes interfere with the delivery of hot water to your home which can be particularly dangerous during frigid temperatures. Be sure to thaw frozen pipes before its too late.

Power Outages

Winter storms can bring down power lines and knock out entire power grids for days at a time. Emergency preparation kits are especially important in order to be prepared if the situation arises.

Rodents

Winter weather means many critters will be looking for a warm place to call home. Food and spilled liquid can attract mice and rats indoors to your home, and if left unchecked, a rodent invasion can be detrimental to the health of your home.

Leakage

During the winter, leaks throughout your home may go unnoticed. Your attic is especially vulnerable to leakage if snow has been sitting on top of your roof. Be vigilant in inspecting areas as untreated leaks can lead to rotten walls or mold growth.

Our professional inspection services ensure your home is fully prepared for the storms to come! If you find that your home has been damaged by any of these threats, schedule a service with us right away! We’ll know exactly what to do.

The Biggest Threats to your Home During the Winter

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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