Pest Control in West Boylston, MA

Walking a shore lot

A shore lot is walked from the house to the water side. The technician checks the lower walls, the cellar windows and any door at grade, because these are the entries closest to the ground. The walk does not skip the water side because it is less used, since a gap there can carry insects into the building as easily as a gap at the front.

Plants and stored material against the lower walls are moved for the walk and put back afterwards, and the homeowner is told where the ground needs to be kept clear.

The house and the attic

The attic and the upper rooms are walked first, as UMass describes the overwintering spaces. The roof edge, the eaves and the gables are checked from outside, and the attic from the hatch with a light. The frames and the cable and pipe openings are then marked on the plan.

The sealing is finished where the materials allow, and the list records any opening that waits for a later visit.

A shore house can also have a deck, a patio or a porch at the back, and the spaces under those are checked for openings to the house, since they are easy to overlook from the front.

Outbuildings and the shore

A boathouse, shed or garage near the water is walked as a building in its own right, since UMass names sheds among the overwintering sites. The door, the vents and the stored material are checked. A building that shares a wall with the house is checked at the joint, and that joint is listed separately.

Questions for a West Boylston caller

Ask for the business name, the technician's name and the licence details on request by phone. Tell the technician which side of the house faces the water, and which outbuildings are near it, so the walk can be planned. The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is named for the licence, and the details are checked on mass.gov.

Frost, thaw and the shore lot

The sources give no West Boylston weather record, but a lot near open water can see its ground move with the seasons. The walk records any gap that has opened at the foundation or the soil line, and any place where the ground has settled away from the wall.

These are maintenance observations for the homeowner. The page does not link them to an insect.

The house, the lot and the list

A West Boylston house is walked in the same order as any other house: the attic and roof line, the frames and penetrations, the cellar and the sill, then the lot. The shore side is walked in its place in that order, not at the end, so that the lower walls are not missed when the list is written.

Each entry is recorded by position, and the report notes which entries are on the water side of the house.

Notes for a homeowner between visits

Between visits a homeowner can check the lower walls after heavy rain, looking for soil built up against the siding and for any gap that has opened at the foundation. A note with the date is enough for the next technician to find the place.

The page does not link these observations to any insect, and they are a maintenance check as much as a pest check.