Crawl Space Portland has an advantage over many other remediation companies. Our parent company Nature First Pest Control, has over 30 years of experience dealing with the local crawl space bugs and rats. This means that our customers receive Consultations that look for insect damage, as well as damage caused by animals and water.
So, what kinds of animal life do we find under houses? Except for the Rats and other mammals that do the most damage, there is not as much insect life in the average Portland Oregon crawl space as you might think.
We estimate that over ninety-five percent of our crawl space insect life will be found along the edges, within six inches of the exterior foundation. This is because there is usually not enough water, light and food in crawl spaces for insect populations to flourish.
However, there are some exceptions. Although we find most ant colonies in exterior walls and roofs, they will colonize any part of your home that has a constant source of moisture, and it does not take much. Toilet seal leaks, shower pan leaks, and bathroom tile grout cracks attract carpenter and moisture ants. These ants will work with mold and rot to destroy a bathroom. Gutters half full of debris collect small puddles of water. Ants utilize this water to expand their territories.
Hunting spiders and web weavers also stay on the edges, but they will follow the other insects that concentrate around moisture sources.
We have two quite different types of termite that are common in Portland and Seattle. The Damp Wood termite must have wood that is constantly wet or moist, to survive. This species is found throughout our forests in rotting wood, and almost any wood that is touching the ground. These Damp Wood termites do not pose any risk to a home that does not have places where the wood is constantly getting wet.
Less common in Portland is the Subterranean Termite. This species prefers to eat dry wood with just the right levels of carbohydrates and moisture. The colony is always located in the ground well below the frost line, and is almost impossible to kill with current technology.
Years ago, it was a common practice building a home, to dispose of the wood scraps in the hole excavated for the foundation, and under porches and garage floors. This is the reason we find a subterranean termite colony established under, or next to, a home. It takes years for these termites to find and eat all of the buried scraps and grow the colony to the size where it sends out scouts and mud tubes to locate the edible wood in a home. Once they establish a mud tube highway from the foundation, they can travel almost anywhere in the structure to reach their preferred kinds of wood. They love to chew on hardwood floors, white pine, and other types of decorative trim wood. Termites will bypass and tube over any wood that they don’t want to eat.
Crawl Space Portland has the experience and trained technicians to identify and safely eliminate insects in your attic or crawl space.
Get some peace of mind. Call us for an Consultation today 503-579-3680