Keeping Chevy Chase Real Estate Pest Free

Summer is finally here, and I am so excited to enjoy outdoor BBQs, reading on the deck and lounging at the pool! Summer has to be hands down, one of my very favorite times of the year and I always feel inspired to work in the yard and fully take in the great outdoors.

You know what I don’t like about summer? The pests all come back out. And I’m not even talking about spiders or roaches or other slimy, yet truly harmless creatures. I’m talking about pests that can do real damage to your property-and you need to know how to locate, eradicate, and repair your Montgomery Area Real Estate when you find these outdoor creatures turning your home into a nightmare.

Washington DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia Real Estate

The Estridge Group Realtors prides ourselves on being experts of the Bethesda MD,  Chevy Chase, MD and Washington DC  real estate areasNorthern Virginia areas  we provide expert services for are Reston real estate, Vienna real estate, McLean Tysons Corner real estate, Arlington real estate, Falls Church real estate, Alexandria real estate, and Crystal City Pentagon City real estate.

Chevy Chase MD Home Buyers

We know a lot goes into buying Montgomery County MD real estate and we want to help you take care of your investment from the first home tour s to after you have gotten the keys.  That is why we are the experts you can trust, because we will share with you everything and anything-including information on how to eradicate pests that may try to take over your home after you move in!

Maryland, Washington DC and Northern Virginia Areas

We live in one of the most beautiful and breathtaking  areas of the country-and that is why so many people want to move to Chevy Chase neighborhoods!  Our weather is amazing and summer is a dream for being outdoors-but summers here are also a dream for pests such as carpenter bees and termites.

Protect your Potomac Area Real Estate

A lot of time, love, and money has been invested in your home-don’t let these pests destroy it! While almost everyone knows about the damage termites can cause, not many people know what you can do to correct it! If you are selling your Montgomery County MD real estate, then you should know that a home inspector will search for termite damage-and if found-you will have to pay somehow to have it corrected before a buyer is willing to still buy your home.  Here are some things you can do:

  • Call and expert to have your home treated for preventive maintenance. This will help make sure termites don’t ever come to chomp on your home and it will also be a great selling feature to point out that your home has been giving preventive  measures.
  • If you do find damage-ie, lots of little holes, tunnels, and dust in your walls, furniture, deck and other wooden features of your home DO NOT START TEARING DOWN WALLS. You do not know who extensive the damage is, or how large the termite nest is, and while termites are of no real harm to humans, you could do real harm to your home tearing up walls or floors before you know the damage.
  • ALWAYS call a professional exterminator to assess the damage. They will be your best resource for what can be saved, what needs to be corrected, and what can be done to prevent termites from ever returning.

Selling Potomac Area Real Estate

Another summer pest I hate is Bees. I know, bees are important for honey and pollinating, but really there is nothing worse than sitting on your deck and having bees swarm around you. You might be thinking, well, leave the Honey Bees alone and they won’t bother you-and you are correct. However, not all bees you see are not Honey Bees-some are Carpenter Bees and the like nothing more than to make their nests in a nice piece of your deck wood. In the photo above, you see a typical honey bee to the left, and a typical Carpenter Bee to the right. The Carpenter Bee is the one you don’t want to see checking out your deck (or house, or fence, or anything else wooden on your home…)

The last thing you want when selling your Washington DC neighborhood home is to have a potential home buyer find extensive exterior and cosmetic damage done by Carpenter Bees. While bees themselves are important to the ecosystem, Carpenter Bees can cause damage to your home if they are left untreated.  Here are the signs you will see telling you that Carpenter Bees have decided to build a home in YOUR home:

  • You see Bees hovering near certain parts of your home-like a part of your wooden dck
  • You find a perfectly round, small hole that will look like someone drilled a purposeful hole in a piece of wood
  • You see  a pile of sawdust in an unexpected place-like under one of your deck railings or under a porch swing.
  • You hear buzzing inside the wood on your home
  • You see bees entering the holes

Keeping Chevy Chase MD Real Estate Pest Free

Important things to remember:

  • Carpenter Bees are VERY docile and rarely sting-so no need to run off screaming when you see one, even if that is my initial reaction.
  • Carpenter Bees are important to the eco-system. There are actually some plants, like the purple passionflower (also known as wild apricot or Ocoee) are ONLY pollinated by Carpenter Bee varieties.
  • You can have Carpenter Been damage repaired easily, by just simply caulking the holes and painting it to match again. Voila!
  • You can simply caulk holes to stop the nest, use a can of Raid to spray the nest, or if you are worried about trying to keep the bees alive, you could call a bee keeper to come help you extract the bees while they are drowsy in early morning or dusk.
  • A dab of almond extract is said to repel them, so while the next is the most empty, in the middle of the day, dab almond extract around the nest, then about an hour later, once Bees have had a chance to leave, caulk the entrance and exit  -remember they will have two holes borred-and Voila! You have stopped the next. The bees will most likely move on to a new place further away to build a new next.
  • The best way to keep them from coming back is to keep up the paint on your home or get vinal siding.

While Carpenter Bee damage does not look good or sound good to potential Northern Virginia home buyers, Carpenter Bees do not usually do extensive enough damage to ever cause structural problems. All of their nests are close to the surface o of the wood they borrow, and thus do not compromise the integrity of the wooden structure like termites would.

But—and here’s the big “but”—it does happen, and if it does happen you really have no choice but to call a professional exterminator with experience in controlling and exterminating carpenter bees. Again, this should only be done if carpenter bee damage is extensive.

Otherwise, there should be no need to call an exterminator to rid your home of carpenter bees. A can of Raid should be all you need to take care of the problem, and more often than not it doesn’t even require that.

Washington DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia Real Estate Market

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Until next time,

Melinda Estridge