What Is A Crawl Space Restoration And Do I Really Need One?

A crawl space is a place of the home that most home owners have no interest in visiting.  It is dark, musty and just a little bit creepy.  It may not seem like the most inviting place to you, but to rodents, raccoon's and other wildlife, it is just perfect.  It provides these animals with warmth, shelter and safety.  You'd think that they would at least keep their new home tidy, but they totally trash the place!  In times like these, many pest control companies are going to recommend getting a crawl space restoration.

A crawl space restoration is just what it sounds like.  A contractor is going to have a crew pull everything out (insulation, vapor barrier, all the debris, etc).  Once all the contaminated parts have been removed, they will start the process of decontamination and then put fresh materials in to replace everything.  This maybe sounds simple because I summarized the whole process in just a couple sentences, but it is a grueling job that is extremely labor intensive, dirty and just plain gross!  A job like this can cost anywhere from several hundred dollars to a couple thousands of dollars.

Since it is so expensive, it is amazing to me that many home owners do not get multiple bids.  Usually the need for a crawl space restoration arises when a pest control company comes out and does an inspection of the crawl space for rodents or any other pests.  They find the problem, give a quote and over half of those customers that go with the work never even get a second opinion!

Is it needed?
That is the problem.  There are some companies that say that EVERY home that has any trace of rodents or any other animal, needs a crawl space restoration.  Although this is very convenient for their business model, I do not agree that it is necessary and I think that deep down, they don't actually believe that either.  My opinion is that a crawl space needs to have prolonged contamination covering at least 25% of the area before considering doing a restoration.

Are there any alternatives?
If your crawl space has only partial contamination, only a partial restoration is needed.  This is where you can save big money from getting a second opinion.  If you call a reputable company, they may say that you don't even need a restoration at all or you may only need a few areas cleaned up.  For example, maybe you only have contamination on the vapor barrier or in some of the insulation.  Don't let companies swing for the fences and replace everything just to get more money out of you.

Who do I recommend?
In my bias opinion, I recommend calling New Leaf Pest Control in Portland, Oregon.  Now, full disclosure, I work for this company, but I also believe they are the best in the area by far.  I also recommend Healthy Homes Pest Control in Seattle, Washington.  If you have had a bid and need to get a second opinion, I would recommend calling either of these companies because they are straight shooters and will give you a fair, honest assessment.  If you have any questions or if you have been recently swindled by a company bidding a restoration, I would love to hear from you.  Please email me or comment below.

Are Carpenter Ants Damaging My Home?

If you were to step back from your computer right now, go outside and walk around your block, the chances are that you would see a carpenter ant along the way.  The truth is that they are pretty much everywhere and most people don't realize that all these ants that they are seeing can potentially do some harm to their home.

Most people would probably think that termites are the most destructive pest in the Pacific Northwest, but in reality, carpenter ants are far more damaging in the Portland Metro area.  They are so common that you can probably find them in just about every neighborhood, so your home is at risk whether you realize it or not.

Carpenter ants are "polymorphic" which means that they can come in a lot of different sizes.  They do not "eat" your wood, but they do chew through it to hollow out nests for themselves.  You will often see their debris from the wood shavings that they excavate out of their nesting site.  This just looks like very fine sawdust.  The ants that you will actually see are called "worker" ants and they can travel up to 1000 feet from the nest to find food.  They will find parts of plants, nectar and other bugs to bring back to the colony to eat. What you don't see is the queen ant that is pumping out more and more babies.  The queen can live up to 25 years and produce multiple satellite colonies that can infest a whole neighborhood!  Once a nest is fully developed and infesting your home, I have heard estimates as high as $17 worth of damage a day that can be done.

Okay, so now what?
Don't make the mistake that the ants that you see around your home are not carpenter ants.  If they are bigger than a sugar ant, they are probably a carpenter ant and should probably be addressed.  If you have wood piles, shrubs touching your home or any other conducive condition, you should probably remove them right away.

The good news
Fortunately, as far as pest control goes, carpenter ants are not that difficult to get rid of.  They have patterns of movement that allow pest control companies to target specific areas to apply product where the worker ants will cross and bring back to the nest.  At New Leaf Pest Control in Portland and Vancouver, we charge an average between $100-$200 for the cost of a standard carpenter ant treatment.  This investment now can save a lot of money later on.  Also, if you just are looking for a preventative treatment because you have seen them around your neighborhood, you can do that for $88.00 with this coupon.

If you need any help with carpenter ants or if you just have a few questions, please do not hesitate to email me or call me.

Photo credit: Thomas Shahan / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND