Dental Floss, Termites, and Mosquitoes

Yup, dental floss. We’ll get to the termites and mosquitoes later.

By now I figure everyone is an authority on the Coronavirus, or at least have had their fill of corona news, so I’m going to tell you about my experience with my plumber that I recently had, and why it could matter to you and relate to pest control.

We had a situation in the office where when we flushed one toilet, the other toilet bubbled or gurgled. I wanted to ignore it, but thought better of that option and called my plumber. Good thing I did because I had a significant blockage in the pipes and it was only a matter of time before I would have had a mess.

So, what does this have to do with dental floss you ask?

While he was here, I asked if he had any crazy plumber stories, and as a matter of fact he did. He explained that sometimes the metal pipes in older homes might begin to pit, or get rough on the inside. In several instances homeowners where flushing their dental floss down the toilet. This seemed innocent enough except for the fact that the dental floss was getting hung up on some of the roughness (pitting) in the pipes creating a web of dental floss that was blocking the solids from flowing freely down the pipe.

Moral of the story: Only 2 things should go in the toilet, and one of them is toilet paper. He said that you shouldn’t even use those towels that claim they are safe for use in toilets because of the low flush water volume toilets. Hope this helps.

How does this relate to pest control? Often, a big problem can be caused by something small and unseen, and unless you know what to look for, you might not find the source of the trouble. That could become true fro a great many of us, this spring. Because of the mild winter, I anticipate greater than normal pest pressure from ants (including carpenter ants), termites, stinging insects, ticks, mosquitoes, and other pests.

Speaking of termites, as of this post, we’ve already had a few termite swarms ahead of schedule. Termite swarming events typically take place on a warm to hot humid day in spring and generally after a rain storm. Not sure if it’s termites? Snap a picture and send it to info@masterspestcontrol.com and we’ll probably be able to ID for you. It’s always a good idea to save a few specimen’s in the event we need to make a house call.

Our innovative mosquito program (In2Care) was a success last year. In Spring 2019 K.R. from Warwick wrote, “I just want to tell you the traps are amazing already!!!. We aren’t getting bit, it’s fantastic!!! Thank you!!!”. At the end of the season she wrote, “We will absolutely be participating in the program again next year. We had great success and were able to spend more time outdoors without being eaten alive.”

Contact us if you would like to learn more about the In2Care mosquito program, our organic yard tick treatment, or programs to protect your home from termites, carpenter ants, and other common pests. Our office hours are M-F from 8:00am to 4:00pm, where we can be reached at 845-856-2024, or you may email us at info@masterspestcontrol.com. Don’t forget to visit our website at www.masterspestcontrol.com.