Erik Gardner Volunteer Rid a Pest Home Fix Show Replay Podcast

Erik Gardner Volunteer Rid a Pest Home Fix Show Replay Podcast
  • 0.0 (0)
  • HOME & GARDEN

Call 423-698-7205

Episodes

  1. 01/12/2020

    Is Pest Control Needed In The Winter In Chattanooga?

    0:02 Welcome to the volunteer rid a pest podcast. I’m your host, Mike Stewart. And today we have pest expert, Eric gardener from volunteer rid a pest, your pest experts in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Cleveland, Tennessee and surrounding areas. And today we’re going to talk about at the time of this recording, it’s coming up on the winter, fall and winter season. And you know, one of the questions I have for you, Eric is, you know, do I really need wintertime pest control? What type of pests are a problem during this time? 0:33 Well, here’s a common misconception, a lot of people think, well, it’s getting cold, the all the pests are going to die. And there’s just no bugs out during the winter. And actually, that’s just not correct. You know, the insects around that age. And they came back stronger than ever, every winter will have really cold days. But every spring, we still have bugs. So they don’t die through the winner, what happens they find a place to spend the winter and they go dormant. Now, a lot of different paths are a problem, we get calls in January and February for ants, for spiders for lady beetles for stinkbugs. For mice, you know, mice are really more active in the winter, because during the warm seasons, they’re happy to be outside and you know, feeding there’s plenty the food sources are plentiful. In the winter, however, the food sources are not plentiful. So they move into people’s homes. And then they set up residence there. So we get a lot more rodent calls. But those things are active all winter. And many times the problems with ants and different insects you see in April in May, they actually start in November in December when they find their way into your home when it gets cold. 1:43 So you know, what that tells me is that, you know, bugs are a year round problem. And in fact, I remember years ago, one of my colleagues talked to me about the fact that you’re right, the bugs go dormant, and especially like in things like firewood. And he said that, you know, when you bring firewood into your house, if you’re not careful and burn it right away. Those bugs living in that outdoor dormant home, there’s of the bark of the wood, they think it’s springtime, and they come to life, and they’re all over your house. So this makes a whole lot of sense. bugs can be a problem all year long. But here’s another concern of mine as a homeowner. You know, right now at the time of recording this. It’s a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. So why should I think about Pest Control during the pandemic? I mean, is it really safe to have a pest control professional come to my house come in my house? Well, how do you address those questions? 2:45 Well, and that’s an important question, because a lot of our customers are elderly people. And so we want to take care of our customers. So what we do, we take precautions, we’ve issued all of our technicians in 95 masks, and latex gloves, and hand sanitizer. So as they go from one place to the other, first of all, we recommend the insects, the majority of them come from the outside in, there’s some insects you can carry in and groceries like roaches, and different things like that. So it can happen, but most of the time they come from the outside in. So we want to treat the exterior of your home this time of year to prevent these insects from coming in getting under the siding coming in through cracks getting into your crawlspace and overwintering. If we do need to come inside your home, we’re going to put on our gloves, we’re going to use our mask. And we’re going to make sure that we don’t you know, take every precaution we can not to if we have been exposed not to contaminate you. So we’re not going to touch any surfaces with their bare hands, we’re going to have our mask on at all times. So we were going to take very seriously, we don’t want to spread anything we may have been exposed to. But we’re going to limit that exposure as much as we can, but doing exterior treatments and under your crawlspace. So we’re not gonna have any contact with you unless you just absolutely necessary. 4:04 Well, isn’t it true because of the pandemic a lot of the food source for for insects and especially rodents. Example restaurants that are not as busy as they once worth the food supply to the rodents in dumpsters and stuff. and places like that has been limited. So therefore, they’re hungry. They’re cold. So they’re coming to your house. So do you see an increase on mice and rodents and rats? You know, it’s 4:33 really amazing. A lot of things have changed over the last nine months. With restaurants being closed. Like you said the dumpsters are not being used like they were so it forces these rodents and insects to find other food sources. So they have to move and in that migration. You know, we’re getting a lot of calls from homeowners that live adjacent to these little shopping centers or for the restaurants are located and they’re having more of an influx of a lot of different kinds of answers. And rodents. So, you know, as these things forced us to change our habits, then it’s also forcing the insects and the wildlife to change their habits. And so we are getting an upsurge of these types of calls. So yeah, I think it pest control is more important than ever. And as you call a company that, you know, takes it seriously and has the all the PPP they can rpp Rather, they call it, that’s, you know, going to keep us safe, keep us from exposing you. And we take these precautions, you know, it really, we’re not exposing you to anything, and but we can keep these insects out of your home. And that’s very frustrating when you can’t leave your home as much as you’d like to. And you have to put up with insects in it. 5:43 Well, you know, one thing is for sure about this pandemic. People are home, they’re noticing the problems. And pest control is an essential service. Because you don’t want to have any type of bug in your home, whether it be the pandemic virus, or or rodents or insects. And so I’m so glad we have a professional service like volunteer repairs and Eric gardener to be able to help us have a pest free home. How do people get in touch with you, Eric? 6:14 Just give us a call at 6987205 trees can answer all your questions. If you’d like to get someone out typically we can get someone out the same day and get that problem solved quickly. 6:27 Well, thank you again. This has been the volunteer repairs podcast and you have any questions be sure to go to the website volunteer router pets.com and also tell folks about this podcast subscribe to it and all the places where podcasts are able to be subscribed to and listen and these hopefully these pest tips will help you have a pest free home in Chattanooga or Cleveland, Tennessee. Transcribed by https://otter.ai

    8 min

  2. 19/11/2020

    Crawlspace Encapsulation for Homeowners in Chattanooga, Tennessee

    0:01 Welcome to the volunteer router pace podcast with your host, Mike Stewart and our pest expert, Eric Gardner of volunteer Ritter pest for Cleveland, Tennessee and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Eric, are you here on the show today? 0:16 I am here and ready to go? Well, you know, we’ve got an interesting thing that I’ve got some questions about, and I want you to answer them in detail. I know that nowadays that you are doing crawlspace encapsulation. And I’d like you to talk about exactly what does that really mean? And, you know, what are the problems that crawlspace encapsulation solves? A lot of folks, you know, may not even know that it’s a serious problem, and the problems that it could cause for their family and their homes. So why don’t you tell us, you know, what is it, why it’s important, and why we should call you to have it done sooner than life? Well, as you know, Mike, I’ve been in the Termite and Pest Control industry for 37 years. And I’ve crawled under literally thousands of crawl spaces in that time. And I’m gonna say probably 90% of them are too wet, they have too much moisture, the wood, many times has fungus growing on it, it has mold and mildew spores that are, you know, floating around in the air. And it’s just an unhealthy environment, and it’s just right under your feet. And, you know, not only is it damaging the wood that can cost you thousands of dollars to repair. But it also is letting those mildew and molds, fungal spores up into your home that come up through little cracks and crevices are drawn into the home by your heating and cooling system. And it’s just a bad environment under there. And so I’ve tried to find for years how to help people with that. And we have found the solution is called crawlspace encapsulation. And what that is we use a thick membrane of plastic usually, anywhere from 12 to 15, we found 15 is the most cost effective to use and it very durable. And so it’s 15 mil plastic, it’s really thick, and we adhere it to the walls, and we drape it down over the floor. And then we cover the entire floor of your crawlspace with this material. And it will prevent the infiltration of water from the outside, it stops the flow of moisture that condenses on the wood and the insulation. And in some cases, we install a dehumidifier that completely dries out the crawlspace. And it just changed the environment completely, we can treat for the fungus and remove it and then create this clean, bright environment in your crawlspace, we can add additional lighting, and you can even store things under there. Whereas now if you do that, they’re going to be destroyed by the high moisture rate in the water that may enter. So it just creates a different environment in your crawlspace and also increases your property value. So there’s a lot of good things about a crawlspace encapsulation. So what do you guys do different? And why should somebody get in touch with you? And what’s the name of your encapsulation system? And just let people know why they should call you to to have the service done. And, you know, and what are you willing to do for folks in Chattanooga and Cleveland, that will help them determine that this is a wise decision to get crawlspace encapsulation? Well, the number one thing we’ve been in the tournament bass control business for, like I said, We’ve been in business has been in business for 50 years, I’ve been in it for 37 years, and we’ve been around a long time. That’s not encapsulation is not all we do. The reason that’s important, because we might be able to solve your moisture issue with something else that doesn’t cost very much. I mean, you may have a minor problem, you need a minor solution. And we’re going to give you that a lot of companies if all they do is encapsulation, that’s always the cure for your problem. Even if it’s really not, that’s what they say, Oh, that’s what they’re gonna do. We only will sell you an encapsulation if that’s what we feel you need to solve the problem. If we feel additional foundation vents will solve it, we can do that. If we feel that all you need is a traditional vapor barrier, we can do that. But if you have water that’s infiltrating from the outside if you have a subgrade crawlspace, which means that the floor of the crawlspace is lower than the outside grade, and you have water that leeches through your block wall, then you’re a good candidate for encapsulation. But that’s that’s the thing about it. A lot of times when houses change hands now, the new owners are demanding and encapsulation. If your home already has one that gives you a leg up on other homes that are on the market, you can get your home so quicker and for more money. So what are the next steps and what kind of things can you do for homeowners in Chattanooga and Cleveland, Tennessee when it comes to encapsulation can make, you know, how do they get in touch with you? And what will you do? Do you do a free inspection, tell us more about that, you can just give us a call at 6987205, we’d be happy to come out, take a look at your crawlspace we’ll take photos, we’ll take some measurements, and wood moisture content ratings, we use a moisture meter. And we can tell how wet your crawlspace is, which is a big determining factor of how serious the problem is. If it’s 15% or less, then you probably don’t have an issue, you’re probably in good shape. If it’s 15% or higher, then steps need to be made taken rather to bring the moisture level down and get get the place dried out and cleaned up. And if you have wood decay fungus or mold already growing into there, then we need to take steps to remove that and get rid of that because it can be dangerous. You know, not all mold is dangerous. But there are some that are. And we want to make sure you don’t have that going on in your crawlspace. But yeah, we do a free evaluation will come check it out. Take photos that way you don’t have to go into there, we’ll show you what’s going on. And then we can determine the best way to move forward. We offer financing so it makes it affordable for anyone. And like I said it will make your home easier to sell and more valuable down the road. 6:17 Well, that’s awesome news. You know, if you’re a home owner, this is something you shouldn’t ignore. And all you got to do is call Eric Gardner at 423-698-7205. or go to the website dedicated to this. It’s real easy to remember Chattanooga crawlspace encapsulation. It may be a big word, but it’s a big problem that you definitely want to solve and Eric is the expert to do it. He knows crawlspaces because he’s been in a lot of them. And when he sees these problems, they know what to do to fix it. Mike Stewart for the volunteer Raider pest podcast and also now Chattanooga Crawlspace Encapsulation.com

    8 min

  3. 23/07/2020

    Is Your Chattanooga Summer Being Ruined By Mosquitoes? Get Backyard Fun again in Chattanooga!

    Michael Stewart Welcome, everybody to the volunteer to pest podcast. Here again, my name is Mike Stewart and with our pest expert of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and surrounding areas, Eric Gardner here is to talk about something that really aggravates me in the summertime and that is mosquitoes. You know, I don’t know how many times I’ve gone out on the back deck in the backyard, we’re grilling out, we want to eat outside, and you sit there and all sudden you feel this little pinch on your arm, and you go, oh my gosh, it’s a mosquito just smack that guy. And you’re just going, you know what, it’s just ruin the evening, these pesky mosquitoes seemed like they’re just eating me alive. And so what I want to know today as a disliking member of society of the mosquito, one of the things that I need to know to reduce the amount of mosquitoes out you know if there’s anything I can do, more importantly, what has happened in the world of pest control to control the Outside index insects and your backyards. And you know, what does volunteer rida pest do for the customers of Chattanooga, that makes a difference in pest control with mosquitoes. So tell me all about the mosquito, Eric. Erik Gardner Okay, well the mosquito is very interesting little insect it goes through a complete metamorphosis. So when it is, you know, the egg is laid, it hatches out as a larva, which just swims around on top of the water, and usually won’t stagnant water, they don’t like moving water. So straight streams and creeks moving water, they don’t like as much they like stagnant water just sitting there. And then they go into a pupa, which floats on top of the water, they emerge as the adult mosquito and then they fly off and then they begin to feed now this process can take as few as six or seven days from a gun to adult. And when it’s at temperatures above 80 degrees, which is what we have right now. So you can go from just a few mosquitoes to a few hundred to a few 2000 mosquitoes in a very short period of time with that kind of life cycle. So what do we do about that? Well, there’s a number of things. Number one, we can treat the foliage where they like to hang out mosquitoes like to avoid sunlight. So when they during the daylight hours they get on the inner branches, the inner leaves of the foliage, the shrubs and bushes. So we have a treatment that we can apply we use a backpack mist applicator is about 120 miles an hour, so it’ll blow through the shrubbery, it’ll coat those inner branches, those inner leaves, where they like to hang out, some companies just use of spray or they spray on the outer leaves. And it just sheds the treatment. It goes on the outer layers, it never makes it to the inner leaves where it needs to be their treatments not as effective. Another thing we do we use a larva side that we put in any areas where there is stagnant water or it may be stagnant water, so if say during a rain, you have a low lying area that fills up with water, many times they lay their eggs there and they’ll just let They’re dormant until it fills up with water. We go ahead and put these little brackets and these little beads in those areas and they just lay there harmlessly until it fills with water then it the larvicide will kill them,  it doesn’t harm any other insects, any other animals. It just is a bacteria that attacks the mosquito larva. We also put it in gutters and downspouts, different areas where they might you know, if the downspouts clogged. The gutters might have a half inch of water running the length of them. Well, that’s where the mosquitoes are breeding and most homeowners never think Look there. So we go from the larva all the way up to the adult and we take care of all the different life cycles of the mosquito. Michael Stewart So we don’t want to have stagnant water in our backyard. In other words I heard years ago, bird Bad’s can be a breeding ground. And you know anywhere where water can be stagnant. We don’t want to have that. Are there any Things that you recommend that you put on your body. My wife used to say, skin so soft would be a little bit of a repellent. Have you ever heard of any of those type of things? And what do you recommend? Yeah, there’s Erik Gardner a lot of different repellents you can use. But here’s the thing, you know, a lot of these things can you can have allergic reaction to them. To me, it’s better to attack it at the source of the problem, which is the mosquitoes if we can treat your lawn and eliminate the mosquitoes, you should be able to go outside and not have to use any kind of repellent because the mosquitoes are just not there. And we’ve learned mosquitoes are short distance fliers, they can travel up to three quarters of a mile to feed but they don’t do it all in one journey. They stop every 10 to 15 to 20 feet to rest. So if they’re coming over from the neighbor’s yard, they’re gonna have to stop multiple times on your treated foliage before they ever make it to you. So we can actually give you 100% control from mosquitoes even a yard just got a really bad problem we can eliminate completely And we’re so sure we can we have 100% Money Back Guarantee which nobody else in mosquito control industry has. That’s how sure we are our our treatments gonna work. Michael Stewart Wow. So when my neighbor’s mosquito gets on my foliage, it is the end of that mosquito. Is that what you’re saying? Erik Gardner That’s what we have found. You know, when we first started this, I was hoping for 80 to 90% control. But we’ve actually had 100% control over our customers just don’t see any. So we can eliminate them completely. And if you know if you do have a problem, we’ll come back for free and treat again, if you’re still not happy, we’ll give you money back. Michael Stewart Well, folks, you heard it there if you want to be able to enjoy your backyard during the warm seasons of summer and fall and early spring. And during the mosquito season. You call Eric Gardner at volunteer rapist all you got to do is Google volunteer read a pass and Eric will get back with you he I know he’s got so many positive reviews so many people happy with their service. Verses and you know why tolerate mosquitoes when you don’t have to? Great information. Eric, thank you for this. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast, share it with your friends. Every month we come up with helpful tips to have a pest free home in Chattanooga. And that’s what we do at volunteer repast podcast. We’ll see you next time.

    8 min

  4. 15/07/2020

    Local Chattanooga Pest Control, Do Business With Local Exterminators

    Michael Stewart Welcome, everybody. It’s Mike Stewart with the volunteer repairs podcast, with pest expert, Eric Gardner here in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Cleveland, Tennessee and the chat into the surrounding area. He is the man when it comes to doing business of taking care of your pest problems. Now, Eric, there are all kinds of businesses out there that do pest control in every city. And there’s big companies, there’s small companies, there’s good companies, there’s bad companies. But you know, for me, as a business owner, and as a consumer, I like talking to somebody that that’s where the buck stops. As for me, I like doing business with local business owners. I don’t want to be a number. I don’t want to be just an invoice. I you know, I don’t want to name names. But you know, I as much as I love Google, I can’t talk to Mr. Google. He’s just too big and hasn’t got time for me but I do like talking to Eric Garner, because Eric Garner knows the solutions to my problems. I can talk to him on the phone. And I tell you what, when it comes to volunteer rinderpest, that’s where the buck stops, it stops with Eric. And he’s going to go the extra mile to make it right. So you tell me from your perspective, I know from my perspective, doing business locally, supports the entrepreneurial world of America. I mean, over 50% of the businesses in America are locally owned small businesses. They’re not big corporations are not big change, not franchises. They are entrepreneurs like yourself. So tell me what sets you guys apart and why you like being a local, grown business. That’s been a business for over 50 years. I know your dad started it. Tell us all about why we want to do business with the local guys at volunteer rapist. Erik Gardner Oh, you know, you’re absolutely right, Mike. The majority of Americans are employed by companies with fewer than 50 employees, and that’s that’s the backbone of our capitalistic system is small businesses serving their local communities and who better to serve your community and somebody leaves right here. You know, why would you want to do business with a company from Arizona or a company from another state? When you got people right here, you know, in with our company, we’ve had offices in Chattanooga and Cleveland since 1970. You know, we know the area, we know most of the people in the area, we know the bugs in the area, you know, who better to control your problem and somebody who, that’s what we do. We don’t have to learn the bugs because we’re actually from another region. We know, each each month we know what’s going to ring our phone because it’s been doing it for 50 years, we know. So we’re going to get out fast where you know, we don’t have to wait till we’re in the area. We’re always in the area. We’re local, you know, so if you call we got somebody right up the street. We can get him out there and take care of your problem. We’ve been doing this for 50 years, I think we have to be doing something right to survive that long and be doing business right here. So another thing to keep in mind is when you spend $1 in the local economy, and you know you spend it with somebody who’s going to continue to do that, which I do, I always look you know, we shop at the local grocery stores, we try to do business any time we can with other locally owned companies, for that reason, because if you if your dollars continue to circulate within your own community, it builds wealth over time because those new dollars come in but a few dollars, leave more dollars stay in the community. When you spend your dollars with out of town companies. The money goes out of town and it doesn’t come back most of the time. And you know, the taxes that that company pays in Arizona or I just use it as an example Arizona, Alabama, wherever you’re supporting their schools, you’re rebuilding their roads and bridges, but when you spend money With a local company, our tax dollars support our schools and our roads and our bridges. And I think it’s very important. People just don’t seem to understand that. But you know, when you live in a community, it’s better to spend your money with local people, because the money stays in the community. It’ll circulate back around land in your pocket, and once again, Michael Stewart well, to have to have an economy that stays local is the power of doing business locally. I know a lot of the Chamber of Commerce’s I know, a lot of the business networking groups, you know, are big proponents, you know, you don’t use local service businesses use local retailers use a local professional services. You know, at the end of the day, it’s when you do business locally, you grow the local economy, and when the local economy’s doing well, everybody’s doing well. So you know, and quite honestly, if I’ve got a problem, I want to know that somebody that knows my name is going to take Care me, not somebody that I have to, you know, be put on hold and and, and dial nine to wait for another automated attendant to tell me that the operators are busy, I’ll have to hold for a minute. Now I like the fact that there is some good old human interaction and I know that’s what you do at volunteer repast. And you know, one of the things that I was told years ago, Eric, is that for a business to succeed, it has to be in business for at least three years, while you’re 47 years to the good on that. So there’s there’s no reason to believe that they’re not doing something right. They are doing plenty right, volunteer repast. So be sure to you know, call them today you have a problem. They’re going to take care of it for you locally, whether it’s Chattanooga, whether it’s Cleveland soddy Daisy, you know all of the areas around Chattanooga, they service that and they make sure you’ll stay pest free. Subscribe to our podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify and Stitcher. And then what you want to do is share this podcast Cast with other people. We repurpose the podcast and have it play on Facebook and in YouTube. There’s many ways to get to know like and trust Eric Gardner to your local pest expert and volunteer better best. Until next time. This is Mike Stewart for volunteer therapist in Chattanooga.

    8 min

  5. 18/06/2020

    Chattanooga Tenneessee Ant Problems and What To Do!

    Welcome. It’s another episode of the volunteerridapest.com podcast with your host Mike Stewart and pest expert in Chattanooga, Eric Gardner. Eric, are you here again today? I am here and ready to go. Well, you know, I heard from a little birdie, that ants are a problem in Chattanooga, Tennessee and the surrounding areas like Cleveland, Tennessee and all the other places where you help people with pest control. I want to know what, as a homeowner and as a resident of Cleveland, Tennessee or Chattanooga, Tennessee, what do I need to know about ants and the problems they cause and what you guys can do to get rid of them? Well, Mike, you know, we get a lot of phone calls about all kinds of different pests, but far and away most of our phone calls are about ants. And ants can be just a more of a nuisance to most people. They don’t understand that actually. they transmit a lot of different bacterias and germs and things that can make you sick. And anytime you have ants on your kitchen counter, you don’t know where they were a couple hours ago they could have been in the backyard, crawling around in a garbage can they could have been in the backyard around some dog or cat feces. You just don’t know. But once they get in your house, they crawl on your sink, you can get on your dishes, possibly on your food supply. So answer a major problem. And they’re really difficult to control. One reason is because they can get in your wall voids and hang out there. You can treat the outside of your house, but they’re technically already in. So, they can be difficult to track down and find their nest. But we have a lot of experience with this. We can find them and we can get rid of them. So you’re telling me that these ants have all kinds of germs and pathogens on their little bitty feet. And they’re tracking those germs and pathogens all over my kitchen plates and my pots and pans and the things I eat off of. Is that correct? That’s exactly right. You know, most of the time when we get sick, we don’t really know, the source of it, you know, we eat something and we have an upset stomach for a few hours or sometimes longer. And now it’s probably just a little bug or whatever. Well, a lot of times, it’s something like that. There’s all kinds of different little bacteria. They’re microscopic, and ants really small, but these little microbes are even smaller. And they can get on the ant, on their feet on their skin. As they crawl across the surfaces, they can deposit them and then we come in contact with them. So it’s really important to wipe down your sink. You know, make sure if you do see ants in your kitchen cabinets, you don’t just use them, run them through the dishwasher again, make sure that the you know it’s not gonna be passed to your family. Well, that makes a whole lot of sense. And the truth is, I don’t care how clean you are and how nice a house, and new house you have. Every home has the cracks and crevices around pipes and doors and windows that these little pests can get in your house and they’re always looking for food. And they’re always looking for water. And so you just need to know that when you see them, protect yourself. And Eric Gardner and volunteer rapist knows exactly what to do to help you protect yourself and maybe get the get rid of the nest. So you’re saying getting rid of the nest in the yard or somewhere near the house could really reduce the amount that come in your house. Is that correct? Yeah, that’s thing they get out foraging for food and they leave their nest which is typically an anthill in the yard. But once they get in your home they many times we find them in the wall void between the say the kitchen cabinets and the exterior siding and then installation. Great place for them to hide. It’s close to a water source close to the food source gives them a lot of protection. We have found ant colonies inside wall voids literally 10s of thousands of ants. They’ve been there for a long time. And typically they get there in the winter months when it’s cold outside instead of going dormant like they’re supposed to. They get into a nice warm wall void. They’re protected, it’s warm, and they do their business all winter long. People see him in December, January, February, they pop out from time to time to feed and they think well, they’re gone but then they come back again then in April in May, they got a huge ant problem. And it’s because they took no action when it originally started. So we have found huge ant nest in wall voids and attics and basements. So if you’re seeing ants, don’t just assume it’s a mild problem. You know, get it checked out make sure you stay on top of it or it could become a major issue. Wow. They can be living in your house and and set up home inside your house even in the winter. What are the major type of ants found in Chattanooga We get a lot of calls about Pharaoh ants, pavement ants. They call them crazy ants because they act sort of erratic. There’s an odorous house and there’s Argentine ants, carpenter ants and a whole lot of other ones. But those are probably the major ones. And there’s even one a little tiny one called a thief ant, and they are just, you know, there’s all kinds of there’s, I’d say probably several hundred different varieties, and they look very similar at a distance, but when you look at them under magnification, you can tell the differences, but some feed more on proteins, some more on sugar, and some, they prefer moist locations, some prefer hot, dry locations, so you have to know all that and know exactly how to treat for them. Well, this has been extremely informative. I have been curious, and it’s not just ants, it’s a lot of different kind of species of those pests can get in your home in Chattanooga and what I recommend you do is Go to volunteerridapest.com or ChattanoogaTermiteandPestControl.com either of those sites, you find the phone number and you call Eric gardener. He will come out there and make sure guaranteed that if you got a pest problem in Chattanooga, especially an ts, they’ll take care of it. Hey, I’m Mike Stewart for the Volunteer Rid A Pest podcast. You can subscribe to us on Apple, Google and Spotify. Wherever podcasts are, share us with your friends, share us on social media, and we’ll see you next time on the Volunteer Rid A Pest podcast

    8 min

  6. 04/06/2020

    Chattanooga Crawlspace Encapsulation Solutions, Dry Out Your Crawl Space

    http://chattanoogacrawlspaceencapsulation.com/ Welcome again to the volunteer repairs podcast. I’m your host, Mike Stewart, and today here with Chattanooga, Pest Control expert, Eric Gardner. Eric, are you ready to have another great podcast? I am raring to go. All right. Well, it’s my understanding that crawlspace encapsulation is a new piece of business and services that you’re doing volunteer router pest. And there’s got to be a whole lot of benefits. So I am a complete. don’t totally understand I know what it is. In fact, our home here in Nashville has that. But I want to hear all of the types of homes that need it. What is it? How does it benefit me as a homeowner? Tell me all about crawlspace and capsulation. All right, well, crawlspace encapsulation is a relatively new process where you turn a damp, musty crawlspace into a clean, healthier Face by coming down the walls with a thick plastic membrane, turning it out over the dirt floor of the crawlspace sealing around all of the support piers, any penetrations like pipes and things, you securely tape around it and you just make a waterproof membrane that separates the house from the dirt floor of the crawlspace. And in that you can also install a dehumidifier that will pull all the moisture out of the air and take it from it. You know, we found some crawl spaces as high as 40% you know relative humidity with wood moisture content in the wood really high, which leads would indicate fungus mold and a lot of other things you don’t want your crawlspace so this is a method to handles all that you know if you have standing water in your crawlspace we can install a sump pump, put an in total encapsulation in there that way if any water does get in your crawlspace it goes Under the membrane is pumped out through the sump pump, and it keeps your crawlspace nice and dry. So a lot of good benefits crawlspace encapsulation, there’s a lot of different ways to do it some better than others. But that’s the basic of a crawlspace encapsulation. And so what are the big benefits and protections as a homeowner? I mean, does it help with pests? Does it help with termites does it help with with vermin and rodents? Does? Is it all just about moisture? What all can this do for me? Well, it is mostly for the most part about moisture because the majority of crawl spaces, I’m going to say in my personal history, probably 80% of the crawl spaces I go under have inadequate ventilation and they’re too wet. We use a moisture meter when we do inspections just to see the wood moisture content. Anything above 15% mold and fungus can grow. And the majority of what we see like I said over 80% is in that range and you From 15 to 40%, so we want to get it dried out. Now we do other things other than encapsulation. So we try to find the most affordable solution to that particular problem. Not everyone needs an encapsulation. But if they have an underground water source, it’s coming up under their house if they have water seeping around their foundation if they have fungus growing on their floor Joy’s fungus and mold release spores and those spores become airborne. And the when your heating air unit turns on up in the house, it creates suction through where the filter goes that air return. And you probably noticed sometimes it’ll pull your doors closed in the bedroom or something you know when there turns out that suction will let suction also pulls air from the crawlspace around pipes, wires, little cracks in the floor cracks around the baseboard. Any little opening they can find that air will come up through and it can contain those mold and fungus spores. A lot of people Have runny noses and costs and respiratory distress and don’t really know why. And it’s because of that unhealthy air being pulled into their home. Recently we had a lady compensated when she was in her bedroom. She kept having this musty smell but it was only when the heat was on. So went and investigated sure enough for crawlspace is really wet and musty. And I noticed some light coming into the crawlspace from under the bathroom, I could see the pipes coming down, crawled under and looked there was a hole that was about 12 inches wide and 14 inches long, where the plumbing came down from a jetted tub that was in the bedroom or in the bathroom rather adjacent to her bedroom. So I went back up in the house and I opened up the doors under the jetted tub and I could see right down into the crawlspace and when the heat turned down, it would pull air from the crawlspace up into the bathroom into her bedroom, and she got that musty smell along with Whatever else came up the spores and all kinds of things. So we seal that opening, and did air sealing all under crawlspace and solve that problem cost a couple hundred dollars. So there’s all kinds of solutions that don’t cost a lot of money. And we’re all about that we want to help our customers we don’t want to take anybody to the cleaners we want to solve their problem is in as affordably as we can. Sometimes though, encapsulation is the best solution to solve the problem. Well, I know, people with crawl spaces, and the homes I’ve owned over the years, didn’t have that, in fact, probably when I bought my first home, never heard of it. And it’s so right. I know, I have a friend and a client who’s in mold remediation, and mold and especially black mold, can can be harmful to people’s health harmful to everybody in the house and it can destroy the home. So that moisture is something you can ignore now You go out and inspect and put together a quote for somebody interested in getting a crawlspace and encapsulation absolutely, if you’ve got any moisture issues at all, we can come out and do a free evaluation we can check out the house take moisture readings and let you know exactly what’s going on in your crawlspace and then come up with the most affordable solution to solve that problem. So there’s no no obligation just give us a ring we come out we check it out. And and we’re perfectly honest with you. We don’t try to upsell you on something you don’t need. We want to give you the best solution for you that fits with your budget and will permanently solve your problem. Well, it sounds like the pest experts in Chattanooga, Eric Gardner are the moisture and and the other type of pests so spores and mold and all the things that people don’t think about it but you know, most people have their air units in their crawlspace. A lot of people have the whole system down there and it is just pulling off Have those horrible things into your breathing space? And you know what if you don’t if you ignore it, it could be the reason that you’re having all these challenges. So call Eric at volunteer at a pest Chattanooga pest Termite and Pest Control calm. And be sure to subscribe to this podcast where you’re going to get helpful tips every month, absolutely free from the pest expert Eric gardener at volunteer at a pest. You can subscribe to us on Apple, Google, Spotify and any places where podcasts are published. We are there. We’re online. And we want you to share our content and our information to help you more importantly, you got any problems you get in touch with Eric Gardner at volunteer rinderpest until next time, Eric. Have a great month.

    9 min

  7. 10/05/2020

    Termites are Swarming In Chattanooga, What To Do?

    Welcome again to the Volunteer Rid A Pest podcast. My name is Mike Stewart. I’m the host and we have got pest expert, Erik Gardner on the line right here to answer your pest questions for Chattanooga and the Chattanooga surrounding areas. Erik, you here? I’m here. Well, right now it is April 2020 and there’s a lot going on this year in 2020. People might hear this podcast a year from now, but you’ll remember April was the year of the coronavirus, but it also is spring. And you know what? The termites are swarming in Chattanooga. They don’t care about any pandemics. What they care about is doing what they’ve done for centuries and centuries. And I know you got some stories about Chattanooga termite swarming that you want to share with us. Absolutely. The termites don’t care if there’s a virus out here, they’re coming out anyway. We’re getting calls every day about termite swarms. And I had an interesting one yesterday. A lady called me, said she had had some bugs fly out in her kitchen. She thought they were ants, but she wanted me to come look at them. So went out there and looked at them and she told me that every year for the last three or four years, they fly out in the corner of her kitchen. She sprays them with a little bug spray she had on hand and they died. She sweeps them up and that’s the end of it. Doesn’t seem any more. But this is the fourth year and she thought she better call somebody. Well, sure enough, they were termites. Identified them and I didn’t tell her right away. I said, “Well, let me go under the floor and take a look.” I got under her kitchen and it was just about destroyed because she hadn’t taken action. She thought, I sprayed him with bug spray, they’re gone. But they weren’t gone. The swarmers were gone, but the worker termites were still under there, destroying her floor. So the story is here, don’t just assume everything’s okay. Get a professional to come out and take a look. Call somebody you trust. If you don’t have a company that you use, give us a call. We’d be glad to come out. We won’t charge anything for the inspection. We’ll take a look at it, give you an honest evaluation. But the worst thing you can do is bury your head in the sand and hope is not termites. Well, one of the things you taught me about termites is the swarmers are just one of the divisions of the colony. I mean, there is so much going on underground in your home, in the wood, through the tunnels that they make from the ground to your wood. So just assuming that you’re getting rid of swarmers by killing them with a home remedy or much worse some sort of consumer spray, that’s just not enough. When you have a serious problem, you need an expert to take care of it. And that’s what I know you do at Volunteer Rid A Pest and Chattanooga Pest Control, chattanoogatermiteandpestcontrol.com. Any things else you want to talk about swarming and Chattanooga that will be helpful to the audience? Yeah, I think everyone just needs to keep in mind that when they bought their home, all of the responsibility for protecting it fell upon them. And I hear this all the time. I’ll go to somebody’s house and say, “Well, what type of termite protection do you have?” And they look at me and say, “Well, the builder treated it when the home was built.” “Well, when was that?” “Well, 1992.” Or I hear this all the time, “Well, the guy who owned it before had it treated.” “Really? Who did he have treat it? What material did they use?” “Well, I don’t know.” So it’s just a lot of hope. I hope somebody took care of it because I haven’t. And that’s a pretty dangerous game to play. I would recommend if you own a home, get somebody to inspect it right away and make sure that it’s okay, because it is a very expensive mistake to let it go and not know until you start noticing soft spots in the floor or you have a termite swarm. Actually the termite swarms are a blessing. At least they alert you that something’s up, because there’s a lot of people don’t find out until the damage is done. Well, that’s great. Take heed. Hire an expert and that’s why you’re going to want to call the experts at Volunteer Rid A Pest. So thanks again, Erik for another great bit of information for the Chattanooga residents. Folks in Chattanooga, when you have any kind of pest problem, all you got to remember is Google Volunteer Rid A Pest, and the phone number and the people to call are going to be right there at your fingertips on your phone, tablet, or computer. Once again, it’s Mike Stewart for Volunteer Rid A Pest podcast. We’ll see you next time.

    6 min

  8. 30/04/2020

    Chattanooga Tennessee Covid19 Corona virus Pest Control

    Welcome again to the Volunteer Rid-A-Pest podcast with your host Mike Stewart, and guest pest expert Erik Gardner. How are you doing, Erik? Doing great, Mike. We’re in some crazy times right now, Erik, and I know a lot of people are concerned about health and wellbeing of their homes and their family. So, we can’t help but have some information and your take on how you and your company, Volunteer Rid-A-Pest, are helping customers, and keeping them safe, and keeping their homes safe and pest-free during this COVID-19 or the coronavirus pandemic that has affected our world here in April of 2020. So Erik, I want to give you the floor to tell folks what you want them to know about what Volunteer Rid-A-Pest is doing, will continue to do, and how you can protect homes concerning this pandemic. Well, we’re kind of in a unique position. We’ve been declared an essential business, so we are allowed to stay open and continue to do business. But we’ve got to be very careful with our employees, with our customers, because we go from house, to house, to house throughout the day. So, we definitely don’t want to go in one house, pick up the virus, and then carry it and expose someone else, so we have to be very careful. So the number one thing we’re doing is, we’re trying to just do exterior only treatments during this time, and we hope it’s going to be brief. If our customer has an active problem inside their home, if they have ants, or roaches, or whatever, we will go inside. But we’ve issued all our guys the N-95 masks. We’ve got nitrite gloves. We’ve got hand sanitizer. We’ve got instant soap and water we take with us, and we just try to stay as clean and germ-free as we can. When we come out of a home, we dispose of the gloves and the mask, use the hand sanitizer before getting back in our truck. So we’re trying to take every precaution we can not to transmit anything, but still do our job. Because here’s the thing, you can’t just shut down everything because of the virus, because the reason were deemed an essential service is because we’re part of the public health system. If it weren’t for us, roaches, ants, all these different insects carry disease, germs, and bacteria. And flying insects, like mosquitoes, do as well. And then rodents, or ants and mice carry all kinds of disease, and they can contaminate our food supplies. So it’s essential that we do our job to keep our customers from having these problems. Well, that’s obviously something that’s real important to homeowners in the Chattanooga area. I know one thing that you’ve added to your website recently, which is your COVID-19 policy, and I encourage everyone to go to any of your websites, ChattanoogaTermiteAndPestControl.com, or VolunteerRidAPest.com, and you can see that COVID-19 policy. Anything you want to comment about the policy and the information that folks can get there online at your website? I mean, we want to give our customers some assurance that we are taking this seriously, and we’re going to make sure that we take every precaution we can not to cause them to get sick. Again, I’ve got a number of employees. We don’t want any of those guys to get sick. We don’t want them taking it home to their families, and we don’t want to bring it from one customer to another, and cause your family to get ill. So far, so good. Everything is moving along. None of the guys are ill. Everybody is working, and we hope to keep that up until this thing passes. Well, I know you’re doing a great service for all the homeowners, and your customers there in Chattanooga when it comes to pest control. So, thanks again. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast, share it with your friends, because Erik Gardner and Volunteer Rid-A-Pes, and ChattanoogaTermiteAndPestControl.com, they are the experts at making sure you have a pest-free home. We’ll see you next time on the Volunteer Rid-A-Pest podcast.

    5 min

  9. 15/04/2020

    Volunteer Rid a Pest 50th Anniversary

    It’s another episode of the Volunteer Rid A Pest Podcast, with your host Mike Stewart and pest expert Erik Gardner. And this is an exciting episode because we have got a celebration. Now, most people know that April 1st is April Fool’s Day. But no, not this year. April 1st, 2020 is the 50th anniversary of Volunteer Rid a Pest. Now, that means that business has been successfully taking care of pest problems in the Chattanooga area for over 50 years. Well, Erik, I want you to tell us the story of how it got started. I assume your family was part of the originators and the builders of it in the beginning, and that you’ve carried on the tradition and you’re going strong today, taking care of pest problems. So let’s hear about the 50th anniversary of Volunteer Rid A Pest. Well, Mike, it all started way back in 1970. My dad was working for the Orkin termite and pest control company, and he was a manager there and had had some good success. And he worked at Oak Ridge office at that time. And they wanted to give him a promotion. They wanted him to go and take over the Memphis office, which was probably a five times larger office. And he didn’t really want to go. I was about to enter the first grade. My older brother was in the third grade, and he said, “I just don’t want to be moving around with my kids being in school. I’d rather just stay in one spot.” They said, “Well, you don’t understand. Your job’s in Memphis or you just don’t have a job.” So he had been thinking about starting his own business for a while and that kind of gave him the impetus to go ahead and do it. So he got with a friend of his, his name’s Ed Tipton. And he and Mr. Tipton started Volunteer Exterminating Company on April the 1st, 1970, and my mom, Carolyn, was their chief bookkeeper and still is today. Wow. Well, now, when did you get involved with the business? I assume if you, you’re admitting your age here, that if in 1970 you were starting first grade, you were pretty young and probably wasn’t aware of all the things that your dad was going through to … My dad had that same issue back when I was young. They told him, “Either move here or you don’t have a job.” And I was the reason he didn’t want to leave Bristol, Tennessee. So you’re telling me that your dad brought family first and got the inspiration to be an entrepreneur. So now let’s move forward years later. When did you get involved and when did you get become passionate about carrying the torch that your dad started? Well, it’s funny, he started me working in the business when I was 14 years old. So he had seen me sitting around the house in the summer and said, “Why don’t you get … Come on. Come on with me.” So he got my older brother and I, and he took us to the housing projects where he had the contract to get rid of the roaches. So that’s how I cut my teeth in pest control was working at the housing projects, treating for German cockroaches. So kind of at the the worst possible job you could have. So I didn’t particularly like the pest control industry. Matter of fact, my senior year in high school, the guidance counselor called me in, said, “Erik, you planning to go to college?” And I said, “Well, I don’t really know yet. I’m thinking about it.” He said, “Well, do you know what you want to do as far as your career?” I said, “You know, I really don’t. I’m kind of interested in construction, but I know what I don’t want to do. I do not want to be in the pest control business and I do not want to be in sales.” And here we are all these years later and I’m in sales and I’m in the pest control business. Well, something had to change because you’re doing it so well. What changed your mind? Because you know what? You can’t really take the advice and thought patterns of a teenager. I’ve raised many of them myself, I bet as well as you have. And to quote my father, he said, “When I was 18, my dad was the dumbest man in the world, and at 25 I was amazed how much he learned in seven years.” And what I mean by that is something must have changed because you’re doing the business so well that … What changed that made you realize that carrying the tradition of a great pest control agency in Chattanooga is something that you’re going to carry the torch for your dad? Well, it’s something my dad taught me as we worked together for 21 years. And early on, I was sort of just wanting to get the job done and move on. And he said, “You know something? If these people are going to trust us, we want to make sure that they are glad they did. We don’t want to do anything to make them regret that.” He said, “They’re giving us their hard-earned money. We’re going to give them our very best effort to take care of their problem.” And I also began to learn that it was an opportunity to solve people’s problems. If you want to be a hero, this is a good business to be in, because if you’ve got a housewife that’s got a rodent issue or she’s got ants on her kitchen counter and you can solve that problem for her, you’re a hero, at least for a little while. And if they’ve got termites destroying their home and you can stop that, you just solved a very major problem in their life. And if you can do it at a reasonable price, that’s even better. Well, it couldn’t be more true. When people don’t realize that if they want to have a successful business, they got to be problem solvers … And to quote Zig Ziglar, “When I get you what you want, I get what I want.” So in other words, what people want is peace of mind and a pest-free home. And when you provide that, that is a noble service that needs to be done. Now, my final question is, what special plans have you got for this 50th anniversary? What’s everybody going to do and what are you planning on to commemorate it in April? And even if people hear this a year later, we want to know what happened for the 50th anniversary. Well, we’re planning to have a big celebration. My mom, who was there from the very beginning and was probably my dad’s number one cheerleader and she would get on the phone every night and call and make appointments for him so that he could go out the next day and do the work and make the sales and all that. So they worked really well together. We want to make sure it’s special for her to know that something that she helped start … Because it’s so rare, I’m finding, for a business to be in business for that long with the same ownership. A lot of businesses will change hands, keep the same name, but to have the same ownership, the same family for 50 years, is really pretty rare. So we’re trying to come up with some promotions to kind of mark it off of this 50 years in business. But we just want customers understand, we’ve been around a long time in this area. We know the bugs that people have problems with here. We’re not coming from out of town and trying to figure it out. We know, and we can get rid of them quick. So the fact that we’ve been here so long should be a testimony that we’re reliable, we do what we’re supposed to do, and customers in this area can trust this. Don’t do business with some out of town company that if you have a problem, you have to call them out of state. If you have a problem with our company, I’m right here. Just pick up the phone and I’ll talk to you about it and we’ll get it resolved. Well, that sounds like a great testament to your dad and your mom and to the Gardner family for creating a … We got to support local business. You’re not some giant corporation with no one to talk to where the buck stops. The buck stops with the Gardner family and they’re going to take care of you. So you call Volunteer Rid A Pest if you have any problems in Chattanooga. And happy 50th anniversary to you and your family. Thank you, Mike.

    9 min

  10. 31/03/2020

    Termite Season Is Now In Chattanooga, They Will Swarm

    Hello everybody. It’s Mike Stewart again here with Erik Gardner of the Volunteer Rid a Pest podcast. And we’ve got some great questions that Erik’s going to answer today. Erik, how you doing? I’m great. How are you? I’m awesome. It’s crazy times at this time that we’re recording this, but I understand that not only with all the things that are going on, it is termite season. So what new information can you tell me about termite season and is it true, is it termite season? Yeah, you know, termites are actually active all year round, 365 days a year. You know, on really cold days, they go down in the ground a little deeper, but they’re like you and I, they’re hungry all year round. So, and what they feed on is wood, the cellulose in wood products. So if they’re feeding on your home on a super cold day, they may go down into the ground until it warms back up. But as soon as it does, they’re right back to business and they’re feeding on the wood in your home. Now in the spring time, that’s their mating season. And they swarm out. You’ve probably heard of a termite swarm. Well that’s what happens. They swarm out. But that’s really just a symptom of the bigger problem, and that bigger problem is they’re eating your home. And so the swarm will go away, but unless you take proactive measures and treat your home, they’re still going to be eating it. And if you allow that to happen over a period of time, they can do significant damage. Well I know that termite damage is significant and it has to be repaired. So the goal is to keep them from ever getting to eating the house. And you’re saying that they’re prevalent all year long, even though the only time that we see them visible is during the swarming? And so are they eating the house during the cold weather? Yeah. Yeah. They feed year round. Like I say, on a cold day if it’s 20 degrees, they’re going to retreat down into the ground because it’s you go down about three feet, it’s going to be 58, 60 degrees in the ground. But as soon as it warms back up, they come back up to the surface and they get eating again. So they’ll shut down for a little while, but in the southeastern United States, we don’t have that much cold weather, and when we do have a cold snap, it’s usually pretty brief. So they go down into the ground and they can go back and forth between eating your home and down to the warmer area under the ground, the subterranean, to protect themselves during cold weather. So is that mean they’ve got pathways and tunnels between the warm area and your wood of your home? Yeah. And see, that’s one of the misconceptions about termites. A lot of people think that when they attack your home, they just move in and begin eating it. What actually happens, they have a colony somewhere underground. It can be anywhere from three feet to six or eight feet deep, and only about 10% to 20% of the colony ever leave to go out and forage for food. The other 80% to 90% stay behind in the colony in the ground. So those that go out and forage for food, get the food, which is the wood, and they bring it back to the colony and feed the rest of them. So that’s how a termite colony actually works. Oh, so they’re living underground and they’re sending out people to go get the food and bring it back to the colony all through the year, right? All through the year. Yeah. And so they’ve got a huge network of tubes and tunnels that they crawl through. So once they get into your home, they’ve got the network there. They can continue to build on that network and have anywhere from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of termites feeding on your home. Well, this is a question I have. If the colony is the majority of them are staying underground, what is the job of the guys underground? What they’re doing is taking care of the queen. She is the chief reproductive. She’s not the only one typically, but she lays thousands of eggs every day. And so the majority of those worker termites or taking care of the queen, taking care of the eggs, taking care of the young termites. And there’s also in the colonies soldier termites. They have very large mandibles or mouth parts and they guard the termite colony from ants and other natural invaders, natural adversaries that they have. And so it’s a very complex system that they live under. The Queen’s in control and she sends out pheromones that tell the other termites what to do. But the queen is 100% in charge. Wow. She can communicate with the whole colony just with pheromones. That’s… You never stop learning on the Volunteer Rid a Pest podcast. Erik, this is great. So here’s what I’ve learned folks, and this is a little quick recap. It’s always termite season and you don’t want them eating your home. And what do you guys do at volunteer Rid a Pest? What are some of the services to help homeowners have a termite free home? Well, we have the most effective termite treatment system in the area. We use the Termidor HP II system. It’s a high tech device that very precise. It mixes the Termidor in the little injector that we use. It puts it into the ground at 4,000 PSI. And you know, so a pressure washer is at about 1800 PSI. This is at 4,000. So it’s very powerful. It injects into the soil and we’re so confident in it. We have a five year money back guarantee. So if you have a termite issue, it’s your home and we treat it, if the termites are not gone for a full five years, if they show up anywhere, we will retreat your home for free, give all your money back, plus repair any damage that they do. So that’s how confident we are and no other company does that. Well that’s an awesome opportunity for people of Chattanooga to take care and protect their homes from termites. Well this is Mike Stewart for the Volunteer Rid a Pest podcast. Be sure to subscribe to us on Apple, Google podcast, on Spotify. Share it with your friends. When you want to know about what to do about pests in Chattanooga, this is the podcast to help the Chattanooga homeowner know what to do and be sure to contact Volunteer Rid a Pest when you have any challenges with any kind of pest problems.

    8 min
  • 10 Episodes

About

Call 423-698-7205

Information