The Money Pit

[ksmith]

Exterminator will come by tomorrow morning to scope out the ant issue. After a short lull, the little *&^$%# are back, so I'm glad I went ahead and made the call.

In a day or two, I'll be meeting with the roof guy. I want him to check out the roof near where the ants come marching in, just in case there's a rotting board. I also am hoping he can install some fancier venting that will help reduce the condensation that builds up when I run the A/C.

Then I will be calling a tree service to trim some branches. If money were no object, I would have the two pines closest the house removed, but maybe that can wait until next year.

I would like to have a ceiling fan or two installed in the living room to improve the air flow. Wondering about a combo humidifier/dehumidifier, assuming such a thing exists.

It's only money...

Comments

[michaeldthomas.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I'm so sorry.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I am hoping that none of these jobs blow up into anything major.

I rejoined Angies List. That's where I found the exterminator. I recommend it, fwiw.

[coffeeinhell.livejournal.com]

Ex-exterminator husband also says, in addition to the trees, look at power lines and cables coming into your house. If it looks like they're using those to come in, you can use axle grease on them. Apparently, they don't like that.

He also says that if your exterminator is reputable, they should have one guy who does nothing *but* carpenter ants this time of year.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Given the location, I suspect they came in via the trees. The guy who redid the roof in 2000 warned me that the part of the roof in question was difficult to dry out because of the shade from nearby trees.

I found the exterminator through Angies List--a family operation with good ratings. When I explained the issue to the guy who took my call, he seemed to be very familiar with that sort of problem.

"Wondering about a combo humidifier/dehumidifier"

[(Anonymous)]

Like Steve Wright once rambled, you should get one of each, put them in the same room, and let them fight it out.

Dave