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What You Need to Know About Pests During Remodeling Before construction, during and after construction.

Keeping Your North Central Florida Home Pest Free

Are you planning on remodeling your home? This is probably one of the worst times for you to deal with a pest problem.

If you have pests in your home during a remodel you will interrupt their home life too. It could get worse due to the addition of new materials or agitation of the existing structure.

First and foremost, it is important to address existing pest problems before any construction begins. If you don’t incorporate pest control into the pre-construction process you can be stuck with pest issues before your complete with your renovation and for a long time afterwards. Think about this… you’re remodeling your kitchen or bathroom and forget to incorporate pest control. The result? You literally sealed rodents or other bugs directly into the walls/structure. Now, you have a pest infestation on your hands and must solve where this issue came from – spending more time and money on replacement materials for the materials you just finished replacing! Unfortunately, this can happen and isn’t far-fetched!

Second, just think about all the possible pathogens these pests can be carrying threating your family’s health. So, it’s important to keep a pest control professional involved pre-construction, during and after renovations are complete.

6 Pest Prevention Tips to Remember During Remodeling

"Mice can gain access to your home through a hole the size of a dime and rats through a hole the size of a nickel. Most insects only need thousandths of an inch to gain access.”

Size of holes that rodents & insects can gain access through

  • Caulk is your friend!
  • We cannot stress this enough. Seal around all pipes and entry points leaving NO holes or gaps.

  • Concrete… Are you breaking it apart or adding new?
  • Either way, you need to contact your Pest Specialist at Live Oak Pest Control for guidance. It can cost you thousands of dollars if you lose your termite warranty over a simple addition like a porch or patio. Don’t have a termite warranty on your home? We’ll discuss this more later, you’ll still need to get your new porch/patio treated! If you’re remodeling and move the tub, shower, sink, washer or other appliance and you must add plumbing by breaking into the existing foundation, you will MOST DEFINITELY need to get this treated against termites.

  • Expanding foam is HUGE NO!
  • Yes, it fills in the hole(s) however rodents will chew right through it. The correct way is to use steel wool, metal flashing or 1/8" hardware cloth to seal the hole.

  • Back to caulking!
  • Make sure you seal all plates that sit on the concrete. Caulk all gaps and anywhere you can to seal an insect out.

  • CAUTION!
  • If you find an old rats nest wear protective gloves and a face mask. Do not vacuum it up. Remove with a broom and dust pan.

  • Bringing in new materials?
  • Make sure you check all new materials like wood, cabinets, sinks, etc. for pests before bringing them inside and starting a new pest problem.

Call Live Oak Pest Control today to discuss your rennovations at (386) 362-3887!

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