Homeowner’s Academy
This is your guide to interesting facts, tips and general homeowner information. We hope you find the information useful – and feel free to share with friends!

Feeling Itchy? 9 Tiny Intruders That Could Be Infesting Your Florida Home

Spring cleaning often comes with a fresh coat of paint. Painting can be a great way to change the feel of a room or give your home some great curb appeal. Painting also plays a role in home repair by protecting the wood of your home against the elements, essential here in Florida.

If you decide to try your hand at painting this spring, People’s Trust has some tips that can keep the experience enjoyable and safe for everyone in your family.

Try Some Eco-friendly Paint

Spring conjures up the sniffles for many people in the great outdoors, but paint may do the same thing inside of your home. Household paints have previously contained up to 300 toxic chemicals, including the hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that release particles into the air for years after you paint.

Try a low-VOC paint, which tends to be water-based, for any home interior painting. These have taken off in recent years and come in every shade and finish imaginable. Some brands also create no-VOC paints by replacing chemicals with more natural ingredients. These no-VOC paints are often pet-safe, but always check the label and never leave your pet unattended in a room where paint cans are open.

Home Repair Supervision

If you have children, never let them be in a room with open paint cans by themselves. If children are under the age of 10, they should never be in a room with any open painting materials. Even eco-friendly paints are extremely dangerous if ingested. If you believe your child has ingested any paint, immediately call poison control at 1-800-222-1222.

Try Cloth Catchers for Indoor and Outdoor Painting

You can pick up plastic sheets to protect your floors and lawn, but these often move and tear as you walk around painting. Turn to cloth or canvas drop cloths that will stay in place easier and can be weighed down with objects without the risk of tearing.

For painting the outside of your home, try a tarp with tie-holes. These can be staked into the ground to provide a steadier surface for a ladder.

Ventilate: Make Room to Breathe

If you’re painting inside, open the doors and windows. If your room has a fan, turn it on. You want proper ventilation for any space you’re painting to help air out the room and not breathe in paint fumes. If you can’t ventilate where you’re working, get a respirator and only paint in short stints.

Ventilation is essential to most common home repair improvements.

Stick to the Shade

If painting outside, you know that you need to take a break in the shade, but what about your materials? Paint, paint thinner and lacquer all need to stay in the shade as much as possible when painting outdoors.

Not only can heat and sun alter some of these items when they’re sitting in the can, but heat can also be a big problem for these flammable items. The city of Las Vegas actually warns its citizens to be careful when painting their homes or canvases outside because paint thinner has been ignited by the sun and started home fires.

Clean Up after Home Repairs

When you finish painting for the day, clean up the entire space. This will prevent spills and any accidental exposure.

Latex paints can typically be cleaned from surfaces and your skin with soap and water. Oil-based paints will have specific cleaning instructions located on the paint can itself. Take a look at your can before you start painting and write down what it says, because paint often spills on the outside of the can during the painting process.

Gasoline was once used to clean paint off of brushes, but this should never be used. Gasoline is extremely dangerous and should never be used as a cleaner for any object.

It’s always a smart practice to clean up and watch your space clearly when doing any home repair project.

Feeling Itchy? 9 Tiny Intruders That Could Be Infesting Your Florida Home

Pests and bugs are more than a nuisance, they can pose serious hazards to your home and family. Unfortunately, Florida’s mild, humid climate makes it a pest’s paradise, especially in the central and southern regions of the state.

Here’s the buzz on 9 common Florida household pests and what you can do to keep ’em out of your home.

Mosquitoes

Florida is home to roughly 80 different types of mosquitoes, more than any other state. These pesky insects breed in any form of stagnant water, including ponds, marshes, floodwaters, storm drains, old tires, and even watering dishes for potted houseplants.

Guilty Of… Spreading diseases, including West Nile virus, malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, encephalitis, and Zika virus, which has become a growing concern for pregnant women over recent months. Not to mention bites that can itch for days.

Watch Out For…

  • Buzzing noises, especially in the evening.
  • Bite marks on people; reactions can range from mild irritation to inflammation and swelling.
  • The presence of immature mosquitoes in standing water.

Palmetto Bugs (Roaches)

are an inevitable part of Florida life thanks to the state’s “tropical” weather. Anyone who lives in Florida has that one Palmetto bug horror story to share…

Guilty Of… Scaring the living daylights out of unsuspecting victims. These creepy crawlers often catch homeowners by surprise as they scurry across walls, and many Floridians have claimed to be “attacked” by a flying Palmetto bug. While Palmetto bugs are not really hazardous to humans, their bodily excretion may trigger allergic reactions.

Watch Out For…

  • A distinct, musty smell.
  • Chew marks on curtains, stamps, envelopes, and book bindings.
  • Shed skins and droppings in cracks and crevices around your home.

are social insects, and often live in colonies of thousands or even millions of individuals. Ants live a very busy but short life, with an average life expectancy of only 45-60 days.

Guilty Of… Damaging lawns and landscaping, contaminating food, and infesting food preparation areas and pet food bowls. Some ants are also known for biting and stinging people – most notorious in Florida are fire ants. They may be small, but ants certainly make up for their size in numbers.

Watch Out For…

  • Ant hills around your yard.
  • Company – if you spot one ant, you can be sure there are more hiding nearby.
  • Long trails of ants moving around a food site and surrounding areas.

Termites are pesky wood-destroying insects. The most common species of damage-causing termites found in Florida are Drywood termites and Subterranean termites. There are also various termite species unique to Florida, including the Asian subterranean termite, the Nose termite, and the Florida Dampwood termite.

Guilty Of… Causing damage to structural and non-structural timbers of a home.

Watch Out For…

  • Discolored or sagging sheetrock on ceilings or walls
  • Buckling or sagging floors
  • Termite holes in attic crossbeams or in wood paneling on walls
  • Bubbling or peeling paint
  • Wood that crumbles easily
  • Jammed doors or windows
  • Wood that sounds hollow when tapped

If you’ve ever driven on the highway during lovebug season, you know exactly what we mean when we say lovebugs are one of Florida’s most annoying pests.

Lovebug flights typically occur during a few weeks in May and September. Since lovebug pairs are weak fliers, they tend to stay near emergence sites when there is little or no wind, and are most abundant in moist, grassy habitats. They’re also attracted to methane gas, which is often simulated by car exhaust – so they tend to hang out on roadways. SPLAT!

Guilty Of… Ruining paint on cars, obstructing car windshields, gathering in corners of homes and leaving behind a foul smell.

Watch Out For… There are no precautionary signs to detect a lovebug infestation, other than spotting the pests themselves.

Fleas

can infest household pets and other small animals. They can then cling onto shoes, pants, or blankets, which can transport them to new environments.

Guilty Of… Causing allergy dermatitis in pets, and their debris can cause similar allergic reactions in humans. Flea bites typically produce painful, itchy red bumps on the skin. Fleas can also transmit tapeworms, bacterial diseases, and even the rare bubonic plague.

Watch Out For…

  • Pets frequently scratching or grooming themselves.
  • Bite marks on people.
  • “Flea dirt,” or adult flea feces, which consists of dried, digested blood and resembles course ground black pepper.

Millipedes

thrive in dark, cool, and moist environments. They’re nocturnal and often slither around sidewalks, patios, and foundations at night. Millipedes tend to migrate into homes when the weather is excessively wet or dry.

Guilty Of…Secreting an irritating, foul-smelling fluid that can be toxic to small animals and pets, and can trigger allergic reactions in humans sensitive to insect toxins.

Watch Out For… There are no precautionary signs to detect a millipede infestation, other than finding the pests themselves.

Lizards

Leapin’ lizards! We’ve all witnessed (or performed) at least one wild lizard chase around the house… These small, sly critters can easily sneak through vents, pipes, cracks around windows and doors, and other openings in your home.

Guilty Of… Carrying Salmonella, which can cause serious health problems in humans. Salmonella infection can spread through direct or indirect contact with lizards or their droppings.

Watch Out For… Black droppings with white tips on them.

Rodents

Eek! A mouse … or even a rat! The common house mouse can be found throughout Florida, as are the two most common nuisance rat species found in homes, the Norway rat (also known as the brown rat) and the black rat. Mice generally avoid bright lights, while rats have poor eyesight but make up for it with other very developed senses, including ultrasonic hearing.

Guilty Of…Transmitting diseases to humans, and causing damage to a home’s electrical wires, insulation, roof, and water pipes.

Watch Out For… Mouse and rat droppings, often in attics, basements, and toolsheds.

 

Keep ‘Em Out!

Stop these pesky critters in their tracks… Here are 9 simple steps you can take to prevent pests from invading your home:

  • Wipe down surfaces after meals and food preparation.
  • Seal all holes and cracks in your home with caulk.
  • Put leftovers in airtight containers and throw away old food.
  • Replace any wood that is rotting or will rot soon.
  • Keep your plants and shrubbery trimmed and away from the house.
  • Store firewood at least 20 feet away from the house and off the ground.
  • Keep bathrooms, kitchens, basements, and crawl spaces cool and dry.
  • Get rid of any standing water near the house.
  • If you discover an infestation, call a pest control specialist immediately.