This is Roger Tinker, Owner and General Manager of All Star Pest Control located in Columbus
Georgia.
There is sometimes a tendency to overlook paint that is not in good condition on a house only to
discover other problems because of bubbling or peeling paint.
Painting is a valuable resource to protect and to keep wood from rotting due to moisture that is
absorbed when good painted conditions are not maintained. It is a lot cheaper to paint the siding and
other parts of the house than it is to replace wood damaged from moisture.
A case in point is that carpenter bees will not attack wood that is painted properly. Carpenter Bees
are prevalent for about six weeks in the Spring and then they go back into the woods. I only seem to
get complaints from customers that have poorly painted houses with bubbling or peeling paint.
It is cheaper for people to fix the bubbling or peeling paint than to pay for a Carpenter Bee treatment
each year.
Bubbling or peeling Paint can indicate a roof leak. Water running inside the exterior walls from a
leaking roof can damage the unpainted side of siding. Exceesive moisture can create wood rot and
cause the paint to bubble or peel.
The same condition can happen if there is excessive moisture in the crawl space of your home.
Moisture can rise up through the inside of the exterior walls creating wood rot that will cause the paint
to bubble or peel.
And of course, old paint just needs to be scrap and repainted.
Paint that is bubbling or peeling provides a good habitat for many pest that will then venture into your
home. Some but not limited to, are America Roaches, spiders, earwigs, silverfish, ants as well as
rodents.
Please feel free to contact me if I can help you.

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This is Roger Tinker, Owner and General Manager of All Star Pest Control located in Columbus,
Georgia.
Our subject is mulch and leaves that has built up around the bottom on the house and why it needs to
be removed.
Usually when I inspect a house and find mulch and leaves around the bottom of the house, all kinds
of problems are discovered.
Rotted siding from moisture build up is caused by the moisture that is held by leaves or mulch that is
around the house. Once the siding is rotted the only way to fix it is to do a costly replacement of the
rotted siding.
Moist conditions provide an ideal condition for termites to establish a colony near your house.
These same conditions are also ideal for the American roach to thrive in which is going to attract
other pest as well.
Silver fish are found in leaves and mulch that hold moisture.
Earwigs only live where there is moisture and will then work their way into areas of the home like the
bathroom.
Some spiders thrive in an environment that provides high moisture. I do want to note that the brown
recluse and the black widow DO NOT like a moist environment.
Centipedes are attracted to mulch and leaves around the perimeter of a house..
Mulch and leaves help provide moisture for ants to build their colonies in.
Mosquitos are always going to search for areas that provide moisture for them so survive in.
Not having mulch or leaves would be the ideal setting around your home. If you need mulch or leaves
I suggest that you look at the alternatives such as rubber mulch or rocks that will at least reduce the
moisture built up around your home.
Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any service to you.

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Prest Prevention # 14 Ivy growing up the side of the house needs to be removed.
This is Roger Tinker, Owner and General Manager of All Star Pest Control located in
Columbus, Georgia.
The Pest Prevention tip for today is Ivy growing up the side of your house needs to be cut. I am going
to cover just a few of the pest that ivy will attract.
Our company serviced a home for many years, and we began to notice rodent droppings in a
bathroom on the 2 nd story of this home. I told the homeowner that the roof rats were using the ivy as a
highway to get into the bathroom. We suggested they cut the ivy down. The lady of the house refused
to allow the ivy to be cut down and the rodents continued to invade the bathroom. Finally, against her
wishes, the husband removed the ivy from the side of the house. The rodent invasions immediately
disappeared. The lady of the house forgave her husband but still insisted that it looked so nice. Once
the ivy was removed, rooted window frames were discovered because of moisture built up from the
ivy around the windows. Several windows had to be replaced because they could not be repaired.
Ivy can be a habitat for many other pest.
Mosquitos like to shade themselves from the sun and ivy growing up on the side of a house offers
them large areas of ample shade from the sun. A mosquito treatment is going to be much more
effective if the ivy is removed from the side of the house and less pesticide will be required for the
treatment.
Ivy is also an ideal place for spiders to hide in. It is almost impossible to treat ivy on a 2 story home
for spiders. Treatment can be done, but at an increase cost to the customer.
Ivy growing up the side of the house needs to be removed regardless of how nice it may make
the house look.
Please feel free to contact me if I can help you in any way.

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This is Roger Tinker, Owner and General Manager of All Star Pest Control located in Columbus,
Georgia and serving folks in this area for over 38 years.
Today I want to talk about the importance of keeping your grass cut to help prevent all kinds of pest
from being a problem for your home.
I can not possibly cover all the pest that can thrive when the grass is not cut properly, but I will go
over a few just to give you an idea how important keeping your grass cut is.
Some common insects that like to live in high grass are Chiggers, Fleas, Mosquitos, Ticks, Spiders,
Fire Ants, and Crickets just to name a few.
One of the first things any Pest Control company does is request that you cut the grass BEFORE any
type of treatment is performed for any of these pest that have been listed in this article.
Tall grass provides camouflage for pest to move close to your home or make a habitat in your yard.
We usually do not have complaints about Chiggers when the yard and surrounding property is
properly cut and maintained.
Fleas are more prevalent in yards that are not well maintained.
Most Mosquitos prefer tall grass and bushes to spend their time in from the Sun. Keeping your grass
gives them less area to be in. I will add that I don’t have any bushes around my own home for this
reason.
Our company will not do any treatment for ticks until the grass in the yard and any accessible areas
around the yard have their grass cut. Keeping the yard maintained goes a long way to not being
infested with ticks.
Many spiders move thru the long uncut grass. We do not have time to name every type of spider that
does this. Well groomed yards will reduce the spiders travel greatly.
I am not going to tell you that keeping the grass cut is going to affect Fire Ants from infesting your
lawn. However, tall, uncut grass will hide the mounds much longer from your view and makes it much
more likely for you to get stung by fire ants. It’s hard to avoid the things you can’t se.
And now we talk about crickets. Don’t you love to hear a cricket begin chirping just as you were about
to go to sleep. Yep, The crickets probably would not be there if you had remembered to cut the grass.
Let’s crank up that lawnmower and keep that grass cut. You will be glad that you did.
Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any help to you.

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This is Roger Tinker, Owner and General Manager of All Star Pest Control in Columbus,
Georgia.
There are many ways that pest can get into your home that can be fixed. I will explore how trees and
shrubs around your home provide highways for a lot of different pest to come into your home.
Trees that have branches that touch your roof, or any other part of your home are an example
of that highway. The first pest that comes to mind is the dreaded Roof Rat. Roof Rats do not borrow
in the ground like a Norway does. Roof rats climb and they love to live in your attic and explore inside
your home. No tree branches should ever touch your home. Many people recommend cutting them at
least six inches from your roof. I think twenty four inches is much better as Roof rats can easily jump
at least twelve inches.
Tree branches touching the house is the highway for squirrels to make your attic their home.
Another pest are ants, You will see ants in trees all the time. If the tree touching your home
provides a highway the ants will take advantage of it and come right onto your home.
Ants will also travel the branches of any shrubs that are not trimmed away from your house. I
would cut any shrubs or any other plant so that there is at least six inches of clearance between your
house and these plants. You have got to eliminate that highway into your home.
There are other pest that will use this highway to get into your home. These I talked about are
just a few, but I hope you see the importance of keeping trees and shrubs from touching your house.
Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any help to you.

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This is Roger Tinker, Owner and General Manager of ALL STAR PEST CONTRL in Columbus
Georgia. Siding on a house that is warped is an indication of problems that need to be addressed.
Warped siding can be caused from being poorly installed, This will leave gaps for all kinds of pest to
try to enter your home.
American roaches like this king of gap to nest in. Spiders look for any kind of cracks or gaps to
make their home in. Once these and other pest nest in these gaps they will find their way into your
home and continue to multiply.
Rats will find these gaps and gnaw their way onto your home where they will look for and find
food to eat and contaminant the areas they occupy with their droppings.
Sometimes the siding gets wet from a leak in the roof and has since become warped. Be sure
and check for a roof leak. You will probably find other damage while you are replacing the warped
siding, particularly if you delay the replacement of the warped siding.
A roof leak can leak all the way thru the structure of a house and find its way to the ground
where the foundation of the house sits. Water from a leak that finds its way to the ground can wash
away the termite chemical used to protect your home from termites. Termites usually like moist soil to
tunnel thru in search of wood.
Warped siding will probably cause an increase in the cost of heating and cooling your home as
air will escape thru the gaps caused by the warped siding.
Please feel free to contact me if I can help you in any way.

The post Pest Prevention # 11 Warped siding needs to be replaced. appeared first on All Star Pest Control Columbus Georgia.

This is Roger Tinker, Owner and General Manager of ALL STAR PEST CONTROL in Columbus
Georgia.
I want to talk about why you do not need to wait to replace rotting siding on your house. Rotting siding
is an indication of problems that need to be addressed and fixed. You need to check to see if a leak in
the roof is causing the siding to rot. A roof leak can leak all the way thru the structure of a house and
find it’s way to the ground where the foundation of the house sits. Water from a leak that finds it way
to the ground can wash away the termite chemical used to protect your home from termites.
Moisture from a water leak can cause wood decay fungus which can spread and
cause a lot of damage over a period of time. Sometimes you have to remove the rotted siding to
determine where the moisture has originated from. Siding can also rot if it is not properly protected
with the right kind of paint.
Rotting siding will also attract other pest that will find their way into your home. America
Roaches are attracted to the moisture that is associated with rotting siding and will first find a home
there and then find the inside of your home pleasing to them. Spiders like to live in cracks and the
source of water that rotting siding provides is very appealing to them.
Rats will take the opportunity to come in thru the rotting siding because it is easier for them to
gnaw their way into your home.
These are not all the pest that can come into your home.
Your also will want to consider the amount of heating and/or cooling that you are losing
because of the rotting siding.
Please feel free to contact me if I can help you in any way.

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This is Roger Tinker, Owner and General Manager of ALL STAR PEST CONTROL in Columbus
Georgia. I want to talk about how wooden steps, wooden railings and wooden decks can attract
termites to your home and cause thousands of dollars in damage.
We will then discuss how to prevent this from happening.
Any wood that is in contact with the ground will attract termites as wood is their main food source.
Wooden steps that touch the ground will attract the termites. I have seen many steps that have had to
be replaced because of termite and or wood decay fungus damage. The way that insulates, which
means you get the wood out of contact with the ground, is to cut about eight inches off the bottom of
the steps and place a cement block under the steps.
Wooden railings are a bit more of a challenge to insulate. A metal railing is the best way. If this is not
possible you can use pressure treated lumber, however, A good wood sealer will add life to the
pressure treated lumber. Unfortunately, I have seen a lot of pressure treated wood that termites attack
after the wood is only a few years old.
For wooden decks that have the support beams in the ground, I recommend the following. Concrete
Deck blocks are approximately 11” x 11” x 8” tall. The support beams are placed in the block which
insulates the deck from the ground. These cost about ten dollars apiece and are well worth the
money.
This will make your support beams last much longer and will not attract termites to these beams.
Please fell free to contact me if I can help you in any way.

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