Pest Control Services Blog

If there’s one place to be in the termite-control business, Charleston is it. There are two kinds of houses here, experts say: those that have termite damage and those that will get it. Formosan termites, among the Holy City’s most unwelcome residents, chewed their way into the headlines again recently when their destructive menace was discovered at Bethel United Methodist Church in downtown Charleston. Officials closed the doors to the 1852 Greek Revival church until experts determine how much damage the tiny timber-eaters have done and how it can be fixed. The termite’s appetite for destruction is such that more than 130 licensed termite-control firms are in the Charleston area, among about 850 statewide, and there appears to be plenty of business to go around. As the region has grown, so has the industry. What once was considered a one-man-band profession, in which many operators worked out of their cars, now large corporations such as Terminix and Orkin are on the scene. The latter started as a one-man operation more than 100 years ago and grew like, well, termites, into a company with 8,000 employees in more than 400 locations. There’s even a local trade group called the Greater Charleston

Photo above courtesy of Post & Courier. Searching the seams of mattresses, behind headboards and under dust ruffles once was considered odd behavior. But peering into such spaces in houses and other buildings is becoming more common since a pest, thought to have been eradicated decades ago, has returned. It’s the bedbug. Some say it’s back with a vengeance. When night falls, bedbugs crawl from hiding places in and around beds, baseboards, wall outlets, picture frames and window coverings. The bugs move about in search of warm-blooded animals, usually humans, for their blood meal. Their five- to 10-minute feedings are not painful, so victims often can’t figure out what is causing the hive-like welts that can result. Telltale signs, however, can include blood droplets that bugs leave on bed linens and their excrement, which resembles tiny black dots, and can be found around the house. The proliferation of bedbugs has nothing to do with hygiene and they are not believed to spread disease, according to experts. Increased international travel, lack of public awareness and increased resistance to pesticides as well as changes in their application, are reasons offered for the increase in the bugs. The bugs, whose adults are brownish-red

Formosan facts Chris Leigh-Jones has been involved in renovating about 30 neglected homes on the peninsula. His company looks to invest in those that are 100 years or older and a challenge to repair. Where do Formosan termites come from? In South Carolina, they were introduced to Charleston during the mid-1950s through port shipments from Asia. Where have Formosan termites been found in South Carolina? Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties as well as in Beaufort, Orangeburg and York counties and on Hilton Head Island. What do Formosan swarmers, which will appear around Memorial Day, look like? They have a brown body, are about 1/4-inch long, and have wings with lots of hairs. Are Formosans super-termites resistant to termiticides? No, but there are millions of Formosans in each subterranean colony compared with a few hundred thousand in native termite colonies, so they do more damage in a shorter time. They can be controlled, as can native termite species. How much termite damage is caused by them in the Lowcountry? More than 90 percent of the termite damage done in the Lowcountry is caused by Formosans. Source: Clemson University Thanks to Formosan termites and the damage they cause, he has not been

It is with joy and gratitude that I write this letter. I was recently working with a post-Korean Army veteran who was in a dire situation. The veteran’s home had become infested with bedbugs. The double-amputee’s family was unable to pay for the extermination services and did not know where to turn. The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center is privileged to have a number of community partner organizations that support our veterans. Randy Bishop, the owner of All Pro Pest Management, Inc. , rose to the occasion and graciously volunteered to help the veteran and his family. Mr. Bishop provided the veteran with the extermination services at no cost, The cost of these extermination services could have easily exceeded $1,000, yet out of the kindness of his heart, Mr. Bishop rendered the services to a veteran in need. The Trident Area Agency on Aging stepped up to the plate and furnished the veteran’s family with a new mattress and box springs to ensure there was no risk of recurrent infestation. I wish to thank our community for coming together to meet the needs of our veterans and to make others aware of the miraculous work being done in our