Bugs Along the Grand Strand

Termites:

By far, the most important bugs to become familiar with in our area are termites. Termites look like winged ants and they eat wood. That includes trees in the forests and also includes the lumber that makes up the frame of your home. If your home is not regularly treated for termites, it’s not a question of if you’ll have termites, it’s a question of when. Termites can cause very serious damage to a home and can it be severe enough to render a home structural unsound and uninhabitable. Our standard South Carolina real estate contract includes a special section dedicated to a CL-100 report. This report details the findings of a wood eating organism inspection. This inspection will uncover any possible termite damage, inactive or current infestation. It also inspects for evidence of previous treatment for termites, bait stations and existing treatments. Once you own a property, it’s important to then use a licensed pest service to establish regular treatment for termites. I encourage everyone to go a step further and establish a termite bond with the pest service. This bond protects you and the pest control company is taking all responsibility for any damage caused by termites while your home is bonded. 

Mosquitos:

Skeeters are the bane of my existence and they typically find me delicious. These blood sucking flies are out as early as April and don’t go away until November or December. They breed in water and our area is blessed with lots of water. With lots of water means we have lots of mosquitos. Many folks opt for a screened in porch to enjoy the outdoors during the summer. In addition to bug sprays, I recommend thermacells and citronella candles. We have a bug fogger that we use to spray the yard which keeps them at bay long enough to enjoy an hour or two outside in the evening before spraying again or going inside. 

Palmetto Bugs (Roaches):

We’re polite in the south and roach just sounds rude so we use a genteel term: palmetto bug. It’s a variety of roach with a super power: they fly. This is the bug that strikes fear in the heart of many natives and transplants. It’s harmless… but they grow up to 3 inches long in our warm climate and they are not pleasant to see crawling across your floor. Pest services can spray around your home and treat your hard to reduce the chance of having a palmetto bug encounter. However, it will happen. Great news, they are harmless and cannot bite. The only way you’ll get injured is while trying to get away from one or crawling on a chair to dispatch one on your ceiling with a flip flop.

All other manner of creepy crawlies: sand gnats, no-see-ums, mayflies, June flies, cicadas, bees, wasps, hornets, roly poly, centipedes, stink bugs, fruit flies and the list goes on and on. 

We have a lot of bugs and they are a critical part of the ecosystem. According to South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, there are an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 different species of bugs in our state. If bugs are a deal breaker for you, I can save you time and gas money: don’t move to coastal South Carolina. However, if you’d rather light a citronella candle  than shovel snow, the Grand Strand may be a good fit for you. 

If you have specific questions about our area, bug-related or not, please don’t hesitate to me or Adrianne. We’d love to learn more about you and your situation and how we can best help. 

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