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Top 5 Termite Questions Answered

termite problems killingsworth environmental charlotte nc

How Much Do You Know About Termites?

More than 600,000 U.S. homes will suffer major termite damage this year because effective termite control was overlooked. Don’t let your house be one of them. Prevent and treat termites with these answers to the top questions we are asked about termites:

1. What Are the Most Common Signs of Termites?

Commonly, the first sign customers see is the sawdust from termites feeding on wood and the wings left behind from these intruders. It’s also common to see ‘mud tubes’ along cracks, beneath flooring, around baseboards, and other fixtures. These tubes are approximately the width of a drinking straw and provide shelter for the termites.

If you suspect you have a termite invasion, try tapping the wood along your walls, baseboards, and windowsills with a screwdriver handle. The damaged wood will sound hollow and may even break on the surface if it is badly damaged.

2. How Do Termites Spread?

Termites live and work in colonies, spreading by way of a ‘swarming’ process. They are almost constantly looking for food and can spread up to 150 feet around their one colony. They then send out winged reproductive termites to start new colonies.

3. Are Termites Harmful to Humans or Animals?

Although termites can potentially bite or sting, these wounds are not toxic to you or your pets. They are not known to carry diseases harmful to humans. However, people who are living in homes infested by termites may suffer from allergic reactions or even asthma attacks.

4. How Many Times Per Year Should I Treat For Termites?

Termites thrive on a combination of wood and moisture. Therefore they are often found near human habitations. However, they need to be eliminated from homes since they can weaken the structure of your home and also damage many of its contents.

Typically, termites are killed using pesticides. The effect of these pesticides can last for some time keeping your home safe from termites for a few years.

However, it is best to have annual termite inspections of your home to ensure that a fresh colony has not been established. In most cases, you need to spray your home for termites only after three to five years.

5. How Can I Prevent an Infestation?

When you are preventing termites, it’s very important to remove their food sources. They require a cellulose-based material that is usually found in the likes of wood, furniture, drywall coverings, books, and boxes. Be sure to keep any firewood away from your foundation and crawl space.

Because termites are preventable, it is a good idea to have your property regularly inspected by a trained specialist.

Killingsworth termite control will come out to your home and do a termite inspection and provide a quote in writing for Charlotte termite control services. We will evaluate your termite situation and plan a course of treatment that fits your particular termite control needs. Schedule a service today!

Top 5 Termite Questions Answered

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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