Olympic Spray Service

Information may not be reliable

Carpenter ants are now in a state of diapause. Diapause is a state of “walking dormancy”. The carpenter ants are not feeding. If your houase is very dry youi may find them coming to a source of water that they will take back to the nest to share. These sources could be showers stalls or bath tubs, Kitchen sinks where the ant can go down into the drain trap and get water. You may see them in sliding glass door frames, particularly if they are made of aluminum. Vinyl door frams tend not to accumulate moisture as readily.
We have three technicians and they will call you and get to you as soon as possible. We usually treat the outside of the structure with an Outside Perimeter Preventive Treatment (OPPT). We spray with great detail. We spray up under the siding on the foundation. When the spray is under the siding it is protected from the sun, wind and rain. We can treat your house during a rainstorm so the material will not be washed off. If the material is washed off then there is a problem with that structure that should be corrected. Give us a call at 457-4341 or 1-800-828-5508 and we will send one of our technicians out to meet you..

This picture shows a heat recovery ventilation system. This one is a Venmar made in Canada. Another make is Broan which is made by Venmar and is exactly the same unit. This ventilator runs all of the time (24/7). It can be turned off when wanted but is designed to run continuously. It brings in fresh air and heats it with the air that is being exhausted. All homes require ventilation. You need air to breathe. It helps when it is fresh. This ventilator has a HEPA filter that filters out all particles larger than .3 microns. This takes out pet dander, dust, sawdust, pollen and germs that maybe a health risk for a person. This ventilation also removes the moisture (water vapor) in the form of a liquid. The ventilation that is usually required in a fiber insulated house is needed to first remove the moisture. It removes the moisture as a vapor. A pound of water vapor has about 5,000 calories of energy. It is the loss of this water that acounts for the loss of the heat energy. Every time this ventilator changes water to a liquid it is recovering that amount of energy and putting it back into the house. Notice in the picture that the insulation is Icynene. Even if a house is insulated with fiber it should have an active heat recoveery ventilation system.

Mosquito abatement is one of the tasks that can be done by Olympic Spray Service. One of the first things that can be done is to put Bti briquets or dunks into the water where the larvae are developing. This causes the larva to get a “stomach ache” and die, never developing into biting adults. For the mosquitoes that do develop into biting adults we can mist the resting areas where the adults land. These are the shrubs, trees and buildings around your landscape. This may last for several weeks. There is no guarantee for this treatment as mosquitoes can come in from other areas not treated.
Mosquito dunks may be installed in a filter housing and connected to the hose going out for irrigation. For more information on constructing one of these devices please call me at 457-4341 or 1-800-828-5508.

Wasps and bees are often confused. Usually it is wasps that are controlled by Olympic Spray Service. Wasps are capable of stinging many times. Honey bees only sting once as they loose their stinger into the wound. Bees are usually more docile and are not inclined to sting. Bees are fuzzy. Wasps are slick with no fuzz. Wasps like to share your food if you are eating outside. Always pour your softdrinks into a glass tumbler so that a wasp can be seen. If they go into a can you are liable to swallow the wasp and it is gong to sting its way down you gullet. A painful experience. If you have a wasp nest that you would like to eliminate, please call us at 1-360-457-4341, 1-360-379-3862 or 1-800-828-5508.

Bed Bugs are becoming more of a problem. We highly recommend getting a professional exterminator such as Olympic Spray Service technicians. Call 457-4341, 379-3862 or 1-800-828-5508 for service. If you would like more information please call us and we will send you a 13 page “Preventing and Getting Rid of Bed Bugs Safely“. This is a guide put out by New York City. You may also get it from their website at http://nyc.gov/health.

Olympic Spray will obtain the Bacillus briquettes, to put into the water, for controlling the larvae of the mosquitoes. Treatment of buildings, shrubs and other resting places where the mosquitoes land is done in June, July, August and September. For treatment please call Olympic Spray Service 1-360-457-4341, 1-360-379-3862 or 1-800-828-5508.

Do you see little ants running along your kitchen counter. If you drop some syrup or sugar on the counter the ants circle around it, fill up and then cart it off to their nest. You can probably follow them back to a crack or outlet the allows them to take it into the wall void. If you see this phenomenon, please give us a call at 457-4341, 379-3862 or call 1-800-828-5508. We have baits that really work.
We can always treat for the odorous house ant. However, we need to remind people that the odorous house ant is really not the problem. The presence of odorous house ants is an indicator of the real problem. The real problem is too much moisture. To really get rid of the problem of moisture is often considered too expensive. I will explain how to get rid of these little critters permanently. Install a Heat Recovery Ventilation System. I like to install one that has a HEPA filter inside of it. The HEPA filter gets rid of the dust mites, pollen, dust, pet dander and any other little problem that is under .3 microns in size. I usually install a pleated furnace filter to help extend the life of the pre-filter and HEPA filter. The Heat Recovery Ventilation system brings in fresh air and heats it with the air being exhausted. This eliminates the moisture from the structure as a liquid. This releases about 5,000 calories (for every pound of water) of energy, back into the structure. The most important thing is that it eliminates the moisture from the structure. When you eliminate the moisture you eliminate the odorous house ant.

The Outside Perimeter Preventive Treatment (OPPT) is our first line of defense in Pest Control. This is where we use an insecticide to spray around the foundation of the house and up under the siding. We do this in a precise manner that is environmentally correct. We try to keep the spray within a 6″ boundry. The most important part is getting the spray material up under the siding. This is where the material is protected from the sun (ultraviolet light), wind and rain. Therefore the OPPT can be applied even though it may be raining outside. We observe that the foundation is dry even though the soil maybe wet away from the house. We keep the spray from being where it is raining. If the rain is raining on your foundation this can be a problem that we would tend to bring to your attention.
Doing this OPPT allows us to “inspect” the outside of your structure. It allows us to see if you have any problems with the structure. Teh problems that could exist could be shrubss up against the structure. Shrubs provide a habitat that is beneficial to the insects or fungus rot because of the moisture that can be held close to you home.

Dandelions in a lawn are a good example of broad leaved weed control. This is usually best done in May, June, July, August or September. Dandelions are usually seen in late March, April or the first part of May. It can often best be done if the main grass has gone dormant. When the grass comes back in the fall you will be free of dandelions. If you want a treatment to kill dandelions, please call us at 1-360-457-4341, 379-3862 or 1-800-828-5508.

The picture shows a fungus rot conk growing on the outside of Hardi-Plank or LP siding. Is this happening to your house? Most people misunderstand what is going on. This includes people in positions that should know better. This conk is evidence that wood is rotting inside the wall. It could be the sheathing or the studs. This is a reproductive body. It is the final stage of the fungus development. That means the fungus rot mycelium has been growing in the wall for some time. This is caused by moisture that comes from the inside of the structure. It could also be coming from the underhouse crawlspace. Usually it is moisture from peoples breathing, dishwashing, clothes washing, shower baths, plants growing on the inside of the structure, aquariums and anything that may give off water.
Water exists in three (3) states. That is solid, liquid and vapor. The vapor exists in the molecular state. That is two atoms of hydrogen to one atom of oxygen to make up a water molecule. These molecules are very small. They will fit in between the molecules that make up the drywall. Water vapor easily passes through drywall. When it reaches a cold surface within the wall void it will turn back into liquid water. That surface maybe the insulation, the sheathing, the studs or the house wrap within that wall. The water is absorbed into the studs or sheathing. There are fungus spores on the surface of the wood. If the moisture content has risen to above 20% these spores will germinate and send out mycelium or hyphae. The mycelium can then go between the cells of the wood. This happens out of sight and considerable fungus rot can happen without being noticed. When a wall is opened up and is discovered an inspector is often called in. He usually figures that it is there because the laps in the siding were not caulked properly and the water is coming in from the outside. He usually blames the contractor that built the house. The inspector should know better but no one ever taught him that this is caused by moisture that comes from the inside of the structure. Very often the problem occurs because the building has been wrapped with plastic building wrap. The building wrap could be where the moisture first condenses. The moisture is then absorbed into the sheathing and studs. In my opinion, buildings should be wrapped with tar paper or building felt that has been impregnated with asphalt. Building felt is usually 30 inches wide and overlapped six inches. This makes only twenty four inches (24″) that the water condensate has to dribble down onto the outside of the building felt. It is virtually out of the building. The building felt serves as a “rain drain plane” and escapes out from under the siding. One of the problems of fiber insulation (fiberglass, cellulose and rock wool) is that the moisture molecules move right through it. The Icynene Insulation System prevents this problem. Icynene is an air barrier. An air barrier prevents the moisture that is dissolved in the air from moving through the insulation. This keeps moisture out of the wall void or off of the roof underlayment. When there is no moisture that can be no rot. Icynene is expensive but it is much cheaper than rotten wood in a structure that must be replaced.
All buildings require ventilation. We recommend a heat recovery ventilation system that runs 24/7 be installed. The incoming air is heated by the outgoing air. The heat exchanger inside this ventilator also condenses out the moisture as a liquid and drains it out of the structure. This returns about 5,000 calories of energy back into the house.
During construction the structural wood should be treated with Borate salts (15%) solution. This makes the wood less likely to rot and prevents termites, odorous house ants, moisture ants and carpenter ants. Particularly if you are going to insulate with fiber insulation. I cannot over emphasize the using of Icynene insulation. If using fiber insulation, place a six mil clear plastic film over the fiber insulation on the studs prior to putting up the dry wall. Paint at least three (3) coats of moisture barrier paint on the drywall prior to installing color coats. Caulk all openings into the wall voids. That includes all of the outlet boxes before installing the outlets and switches. Make sure there are no openings into the wall void that may allow water vapor to enter. Remember the moisture that causes problems for a structure comes from within the structure not the outside. For more information or consultation please call 457-4341, 379-3862, or 1-800-828-5508.

Tags: Fungus Rot, Icynene Insulation, Insulation, Moisture, Vapor barrier
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