The following diagram helps explain some of the main differences between the two:

The damage from termites and ants can also vary.  Termites eat the wood as carpenter ants chew through the wood. Termites are small pale, soft-bodied social insects living in a nest or colony system and are primarily cellulose feeding. Divided into castes, the most numerous caste are relatively undifferentiated and perform much of the colony work.  There is a specialized soldier caste with different head and jaw structures than their workers.  These stronger features often include mouthparts more suited to defense than feeding. The reproductive caste, known as alates (winged ones) is produced when nymphs mature to develop wings and a generally darker coloring. During the daylight hours of the spring months, homeowners may begin to see winged termites emerge in large numbers inside their home or from the soil outside. These are the subterranean termite swarmers. The swarmers are new termite kings and queens that must leave their parent colony in order to mate and establish new colonies of their own.

The pest similar to the termite is the Carpenter Ants.  The carpenter ant can grow up to ½ inch or more. They are usually dull black with fine yellow hairs on their abdomen. Their size is the best way to distinguish them from other ants. Their nest can be found under or behind sinks, bathroom tiles, bathtubs, showers, dishwasher, washing machines, attics, basements or other areas where caulk has worn away that allows this pest easy access to your home.  Really this means anywhere in a home that has areas of cracks or crevasses that are easy to access for them; in order to, establish themselves in any property. Once they’re established and outgrow one nest they’ll expand into satellite colonies looking for other areas to build more nests and for newer food sources. If a colonies is well established it doesn’t take long for the damage to start, especially when you mix moist areas and a structural wood boring-insect that damages wood by excavating and creating galleries and tunnels.

Are you experiencing any of these signs? If so you could have a huge problem on your hands.  Contact a profession pest exterminator today and save yourself a huge headache.  At EnviroTech we offer free pest inspections, so even if you can not identify the pest yourself, we can do it for you.  We will then develop a plan that fits your home’s needs and as always it will be an all natural solution to your problem.

Mold thrives in moist damp areas such as wood, wallpaper, sheetrock, carpet, insulation and dust.  Mold will use these as nutrients to live. All homes have ideal locations for mold to grow in all areas and even if you think everything is dry there is always moisture or standing water trapped in walls and floors. Not only is mold removal a costly but the greater affect is the health factor for both you and your family.  Mold can cause many issues not only now but down the line and the lasting affect can be life threatening.

You can be exposed to mold in several different ways including: skin contact and inhalation and ingestion which in turn can cause rashes, cancer and lungs to become colonized causing major immune system issues. Allergies are always a first sign there is mold present and we deal with mold all the time on the outside but when you’re in your home the effects are much greater. If you have mold in your home where the average person spends 60-70 percent of their day, your chances are much higher of having one of these health issues happen. Even if you don’t feel the affect now sometime down the road you will.

Children are one of the biggest concerns due to the fact that any child under the age of 6 has a much higher risk of health effects then you or I would.

Louis and his wife Verna moved to a neighborhood in Columbus Ohio about four years ago.  When they moved in, their twins were two years old.  Last year, Laurie (one of the twins) got extremely sick and needed to be rushed to Convenient Care on several different occasions.  On the surface she seemed fine just a typical sore throat and a dry cough so the doctors gave her medicine and sent her home.  It was not until John (the other twin) ended up in the emergency room with balance problems, poor appetite and a case of Irritable Bowel Syndrome that the doctors started questioning their original diagnosis in Laurie.  When the doctors looked at the past reports of the twins, they were able to piece together and diagnose the twins with health problems due to black mold.  Louis and Verna immediately called a professional to have the mold removed from the home while the children were put on several different antibiotics that helped to treat the black mold symptoms.  It was a scary experience for the family; however, they were lucky to discover the mold before it was too late.  Now, they are extra careful when it comes to their home and have not seen any problems in their children or their home in over a year.

Even when you do not have one of these things happen, there is always the possibility for mold to grow in your home, areas that are vulnerable to a moisture issue like the kitchen, bathroom, attic, basement, closets, carpet, under sinks or even areas you have air conditioners can cause moisture which will cause mold to form.

If you have had one of the previous mentioned things happen in your home or would like to make sure there is no mold threatening you and your family’s health; you should always contact a professional service that specializes in water damage and mold removal. When you and your family’s health is at risk everyone should take all the steps needed to insure everyone is in a safe and healthy environment. Contact us today for your in home consultation.

Sarah Little from Syracuse NY still remembers purchasing her first home. She had just graduated college and the market was doing well.  This was in 1991.  Unfortunately for Sarah as a recent college graduate who had used up most of her money on the house, she decided to hire a cheap home inspector.  Sadly that mistake would come back to haunt Sarah the next year.  One day as she was running a load of dishes, water started to leak everywhere into her kitchen.  She called her neighbor, who was a handyman, over and he was the first to discover the mold.  He told Sarah that her dishwasher had probably been leaking for a few years before she bought the home and that the entire compartment needed a proper mold remediation.  The great feeling Sarah had had just one year ago was now gone and replaced with a feeling of regret.  Sarah could only wish she could go back and have a home inspection performed by a proper professional.

All homeowners should really have three different inspections on their home:

1. Home inspection
2. Mold inspection
3. Wood destroying/pest inspection.

These three inspections can seem expensive for any new homeowner who has enough finical concerns on their minds; however, as I said before paying for a certified company to properly do these inspections will pay off in the long run. Having mold in the home can not only create a major health risk for everyone but the cost of cleaning it out may take that home away from you!! Not everyone understands the true value of the health risk that mold exposure can cause; this can cause a wide range of health affect and even death in some cases. Mold can be in areas throughout the house that can’t be seen with the naked eye and can be a serious issue, any professional company will do air sampling and use tools such as moisture meters and thermal imagine cameras to find areas of concern.

Over 20 years later, Sarah has moved twice and recently relocated to the Cleveland OH area where she recently purchased a new home and hired EnviroTech to perform a complete home inspection on the property before moving in.  Even though Sarah is no longer that broke college student, she knows she learned at least one thing from that experience over 20 years ago…you should never cheap out on your home when it comes to inspections.  So if you’re thinking of buying a home or you own one now, it’s never too late for a full inspection in your home. Contact us today to discuss the process; we would be more than happy to set up a home inspection for you.

My parents had never complained about any pest besides your normal spider or two, so as everyone first thinks, we thought she had carpenter ants. As we carried on cleaning things more and more of the beams became exposed and we noticed little hole all over the place, to the point we thought they were going to crack in half.

Now as we planned on selling the house we thought it would be in the best interest to have this looked into. So we called in a professional pest exterminator for an inspection and treatment, but much to our surprise it wasn’t carpenter ants at all, it was Powder Post Beetles. Now never hearing of this pest before the pest exterminator had to show us things and described them to us. After his full inspection he showed me the damage caused and let me tell you, I wish we had the carpenter ants!! We ended up having to have a full treatment and having to spend a lot of money on repairs just so that we were free of this pest. I would recommend performing a regular service on your home as this pest cost us way more than it would have for the services.  Not only did the pest exterminator find the beetles but he also found the source of the odor, mold.  We needed to have a complete mold remediation before we could even attempt to put the house on the market, just another cost added in.

You can easily recognize the work of powder post beetles. When the adults emerge, usually in June, some species leave small holes about the size of a pin in the surface of the wood; others make holes the size of pencil lead. From these holes, a fine, powder like brood of larvae carry on their destructive feeding. Normally, these insects have a one year life cycle which means that the adults will appear only once each year. And because of this habit the larvae have a feeding period of many months. The adults are very small, less than 1/4 of an inch in size. They are flattened and reddish-brown to black in color. Larvae are white, cream colored, shaped with dark brown heads. Larvae create tunnels in the wood and become pupae. As adults they bore out through the wood, pushing a fine powdery dust out. The shape of their holes is round, about 1/32-1/16 pinholes.

Have you seen these around the wood in your home?  When was the last time you took a look at your home’s support beams?  If you have this or any other pest control problem, contact a professional today, it could save you a lot of money in the long run.

If you live in the City of Binghamton and rent an apartment or home, here are a few of the legal aspects you should be aware of when addressing a mold issue in a home or apartment you are renting:

• There are no standards or regulations in Broome County that regulate mold remediation, nor can homes in Broome County be condemned due to mold issues in Broome County.
• In Broome County homeowners (or landlords) legally cannot be forced to remediate a mold issue within their property, even if they are renting it out to tenants.
• New York State building codes can cover many water issues that can lead to mold growth.  Code enforcement agencies for the town, village, and city do reserve the legal authority to make property owners fix water issues that violate those building codes.  Poor ventilation, leaking roofs, leaking water pipes, and leaking plumbing fixtures are all examples of water issues that are enforceable under building codes.
• The Attorney General’s Office for New York State has their own set of rules for rental properties and the rights of the tenants that reside within a rental property.  If you have a mold issue within a home you are renting, you may call the local Attorney General’s office at 607-721-8771 to speak with a representative and learn more about your rights.

Each county of New York State has their own legal restrictions and processes for handling mold issues in a rental property.  Working with a locally owned and operated mold testing and remediation company will ensure that you get the proper information that you’re seeking.  At EnviroTech we know the importance of making sure your rights are upheld when your landlord fails to resolve a dangerous situation.  It may be their house, but it’s your home.  Call us today to speak with a mold specialist and learn what we can do for you to help your family stay safe: 1-800-GET-ENVIRO

Type:  There are two different ways that you can test for radon gases – with an electronic continuous reader or with a passive charcoal canister.  Continuous tests produce an average reading by measuring the radon levels every hour and dividing by the total amount of hours the test was run for.  Short term charcoal canister tests absorb the radon gases and are analyzed by a laboratory to determine the average.  Both styles of testing are left to collect the gases over a 48-72 hour period; however, charcoal testing requires the assistance of a laboratory, where the continuous readers do not and therefore produce readings within a shorter time frame.  Choosing which type of testing you choose to use depends on the need.  The Environmental Protection Agency recommends passive charcoal testing for residential properties and electronic continuous testing for commercial properties such as large buildings and schools.

Location:  Where you place your testing kit is important in producing an accurate reading.  If the kit is placed near an exterior wall, window opening, or other ventilation system then the results could be skewed higher or lower than the actual level within the home.  Kits are also only considered accurate if placed in the lowest occupiable space of the home.  In most cases, the lowest occupiable space is the basement.  To test levels in additions above crawl spaces, kits need to be placed on the first level above the crawl space, not in the crawl space itself.  For all purposes the best place to situate a radon test kit is on a chair in the middle of a basement.  As a general rule, having a professional tester set up the testing kit is the only way to ensure that the test results will be accurate.

Factors:  Just as important as making sure the kit is placed in the right location, is making sure that there are no other factors present that could skew the radon test during the 48 – 72 hour wait period.  Ventilation of the home is the biggest issue.  If there is too much ventilation in the basement during the test, then the readings will become lower than the levels actually are.  Also, if any windows or doors in levels above the basement are left open then the results will come back higher than the levels may actually be.  Weather conditions and structural changes can also affect the readings of the radon testing.

In all actuality, radon testing can be a very complicated and fickle procedure.  Consult with our radon mitigation and testing specialists at EnviroTech today to make sure that your readings are accurate and your family is kept safe from this odorless, silent killer: 1-800-GET-ENVIRO.

Turf Care and ornamental services are much more than just applying fertilizer and water.  Grass will have to continuously fight diseases, weeds, crab-grass emersions, and grub attacks throughout the year and your turf care specialist needs to know how to apply the right combination of materials at the right time during the season to have the best effect on your lawn.  At EnviroTech we have highly trained and skilled technicians that have worked and operated their own and other local turf care companies in the past that can assist you with any questions that you may have concerning your lawn.  With their knowledge on how and when lawns grow, what they need to grow, when to feed and water them and what products will work best for your type of grass and soil; these specialists have designed the best treatment schedules and structures in Rochester’s turf industry.  Customized programs can also be designed to address the specific issues of your lawn and gardens.

Here are examples of the standard turf programs that EnviroTech offers for your lawn:

4-Step Natural Care:         

• April- Pre-Emergent Crabgrass Control + Fertilizer
• May- Blanket Application of Liquid Weed Control
• June- Premium Fertilizer and spot weed control
• October- Potassium Application

5-Step Natural Care Plus:  

• April- Pre-Emergent Crabgrass Control + Fertilizer
• May- Blanket Application of Liquid Weed Control
• June- Premium Fertilizer w/ Grub Control and spot weed control
• August- Premium Fertilizer and spot treatment of weed control
• October- Potassium Application

6-Step Natural Care Complete:      

• April- Pre-Emergent Crabgrass Control + Fertilizer
• May- Blanket Application of Liquid Weed Control
• June- Premium Fertilizer w/ Grub Control and spot weed control
• July- Premium Fertilizer and spot weed control
• August- Premium Fertilizer and spot treatment of weed control
• October- Potassium Application

At EnviroTech we also offer a 100% All-Natural Turf Care program that will keep your yard weed free and growing strong without posing any risk to family members or pets that may need to use your lawn on a regular basis.  For more information on any of our turf care programs or to design your own customized solution, please call us at 1-800-GET-ENVIRO to speak with one of specialists today and keep your lawn looking like the best on the block!

With the continued escalation of violent storms cutting across the eastern seaboard, residents of Albany will need to learn how to protect themselves from these horrific storms and the hazardous flood damage and moldy residuals they leave behind.  From having water pumped out of your basement to having the interior walls opened up and dried out, EnviroTech offers Albany residents peace of mind by provided fully inclusive service that takes the home from disaster zone to fully restored living space.  Here are a few helpful pointers to better prepare your home and yourself for dealing with a storm’s aftermath:

• Get flood insurance NOW:  If you have regular home insurance then that’s great, but it won’t protect you from any costs associated with flood damage and property loss.  Having flood insurance will save you thousands of dollars when you go to restore your property once the storm has passed.  Also make sure you inquire about mold coverage. Most flood insurance packages do not include any costs associated with demolition, remediation and restoration of finished or occupiable areas like basements and crawl spaces.  This is where the majority of restoration cost comes into play after a storm, so you definitely need to make sure you have coverage for it.

• Call your insurance company before or during the storm:  Obviously you need to first focus all your attention on getting your family to safety if a storm hits, but immediately after securing you and your family’s safety, call your insurance company.  Homeowners can wait weeks to months before an adjuster shows up to review the damage, getting your appointment in early can save you immeasurable time, money, and frustration. 

• Keep your basement as empty as possible:  This follows general logic – the less stuff in your basement when a storm or flood hits, the less stuff that gets damaged or needs replacing.  This is especially true for sentimental or invaluable belongings, items that you or an insurance company cannot put an accurate price to.

• Set up an emergency plan for evacuation and extended absence:  When storms hit, they can leave families out of their homes for what seems like endless periods of time, sometimes for weeks or months on end.  Establish and prepare a plan for extended evacuation now so that you can focus your time and energy on getting back into your home as soon as possible in case a storm does run you out of town.

• Have a response team on call:  Remember that you are not the only resident that is going to need help during and after a storm.  Having a phone number ready for a 24-hour response team like EnviroTech will get you quick results and keep you high on the list for action.  Save this number in your cell phones and call if you ever have an emergency flood or storm response need that you need addressed right away: 1-800-GET-ENVIRO!

As the residents of Cleveland continue to breathe in the particle pollutants of their air they are dramatically increasing their risk for lung cancer, asthma attacks, heart disease and other acute and long-term respiratory issues.  The most susceptible residents to the health risks associated with particle pollutants are infants, the elderly, people with current respiratory issues such as asthma and COPD, people with heart disease and diabetes, and those who live/work in industrial areas.  The Lung Associations attempts at awareness on the pollution issue are not just for the benefit of future generations either.  High particle pollution counts can actually lead to deaths from overexposure on that same day, proving that pollution is not only a future risk but a risk every day.  These deaths are not only coming sooner to those already expecting their end, but also to those that would normally live normal lives for years to come.  As we continue in the age of commercialized industrialization and transportation, we are continuously increasing the health risks for ourselves and our neighbors.  Knowing that the particle pollution is an issue is only the first step; residents in high pollution areas like Cleveland and in counties across the nation need to be aware of how they can lower the contaminants inside their homes and better their indoor air quality; in order to keep themselves and their families safe.

The average American spends roughly 75% of their day inside; whether in their workplace, in their home, or both.  This is actually beneficial in the fight for clean air.  While inside a structure, the air quality can be controlled by filtering out the harmful particles before our lungs breathe them in.  As the leader in air purification systems, IQAir has designed a number of filtration systems that can be installed inside your home or workplace to make the IQAir filtration systems designed to remove particles as small as 0.003µm in diameter and can take out almost 98% of all pollutants found in the air before our lungs breathe them in.  To put IQAir’s level of filtration into perspective, mold spores are apprx. 10µm in diameter and four of those spores can fit inside a single human hair.  Combustion particles are 2.5µm in diameter and four of these particles can fit inside one mold spore.  With a series of HEPA filters removing particles down to 0.003µm, you can imagine how much a of a difference one IQAir purification system can do for your home’s air quality and the safety of your family.

For more information on the various stand-alone and structurally implemented filtration systems offered by IQAir, having a proper air duct cleaning performed in your home or office or for information on our air quality testing, please call us at EnviroTech today:   1-800-GET- ENVIRO.  Our in house specialists will walk you through the filtration process and explain how you can do your part in keeping yourself and your family safe from the dangerous pollution levels in our country today.

It all seemed like summer was going to be off to a great start until out of nowhere people were running, jumping, and swatting like dogs at fleas. As I stood on the porch, I had no clue what was going on, I jumped into action running after my kids only to come face to face with that unwanted bald face. All I could feel was my skin burning like I had just been punched in the back of the neck.  At first, I was not really paying attention to it because my adrenaline was pumping as my kids were screaming in horror and pain. 

For the next two hours it was like a scene from a horror movie as people were swelling up, ambulances where called, kids crying and everyone had that look like they didn’t know what had just hit them. After spending the night in the hospital with my son, we drove home very quiet as we all were thinking the same thing but didn’t want to say it, we didn’t want to go home. We all knew we had been stung from some type of bee but were unsure of what it was because this was unlike any normal sting any of us had experienced before.

As we pulled in the driveway, I slowed the car to a stop as we all just stared at the lawn; tablecloths, garbage, food, and everything else from the party was all over. As everyone sat still in the car not wanting to be the first to get out I slowly opened my door and stepped out.  I looked around waiting to be attacked, I told my family to stay in the car so I could look around. Once my family was in the house, I really had a look around only to find a bee’s nest on the lawn right next to where the kids were playing baseball. There were dead ones in the nest so against my better judgment I wanted to see what was inside. Picking up the nest, I found all of these black and white pests all over the place, not being familiar with it I looked up pictures and found it to be a bald face hornets.

Bald Face Hornets build paper nests, which they start in the springtime and build as the year goes on. These nests are gray and appear to look like paper cartons with many compartments. The nest may hang near ground level or very high in trees, shrubs, vines, overhangs, sheds, utility poles and it may be quite out in the open, or other times they are well hidden. When mature, a nest may reach a diameter of 14 inches and a length of 24 inches. A bald-faced hornet’s nest is not reused the following year.  This species queens is typically the only one that makes it through the winter. Bald-faced hornet workers are about 5/8-3/4 inches (15-20 mm) or more long; the queens are 3/4 of an inch (20 mm) long. The appearance of a bald faced hornet is as followed: black with a white pattern on most of its face, which is why their common name is “bald-faced”.  It is also important to note that the males do not possess stingers.

This pest can be extremely dangerous for you and your family and should only be dealt with by a professional pest exterminator.  As a community we were happy to call in the professional to perform a pest inspection across the whole neighborhood.  We received the proper pest control for the situation and just last week had our quarterly pest control performed so that we can enjoy our Memorial Day weekend block party with the peace of mind that our children our safe.