Jim Sells The Suncoast: Buying and Selling Real Estate in Sarasota, Manatee County, Tampa, Port Charlotte, and Beyond

Pest Control Tips for Florida Home Buyers and Owners ft. Adam Burnside

September 02, 2024 • Jim Ahearn • Season 1 • Episode 2

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In this episode of Jim Sells the Suncoast, host Jim Ahearn sits down with Adam Burnside from Good News Pest Control to discuss the crucial role of pest control in Florida's real estate market. With over 35 years of family expertise in the pest control industry, Adam shares valuable insights into how common pests like ants, roaches, termites, and rodents can impact property sales and value.

Listeners will learn about the importance of wood-destroying organism (WDO) inspections, the influence of pest issues on negotiations, and the differences between DIY pest control solutions and professional services. Adam also provides practical tips for preventing pest infestations and emphasizes the significance of consistent pest control strategies in Florida's subtropical climate. This episode offers both sellers and buyers essential knowledge to ensure smoother transactions and maintain long-term property health.

Key Takeaways:

  • The importance of WDO inspections in Florida real estate
  • How pest issues can affect property value and negotiations
  • The process and benefits of professional pest inspections and treatments
  • Differences between DIY pest control and professional services
  • Preventive tips and strategies for maintaining a pest-free environment
  • Insights into seasonal pest activity and specific pests in different home types

Follow Jim Sells the Suncoast to stay informed on how to navigate the unique challenges of Florida’s real estate market and ensure your property remains in top condition.

Looking to buy or sell a home on the Suncoast? Reach out to Jim at jim.ahearn@gmail.com or visit his website, Jim Sells the Suncoast

Take care of your home today by reaching out to Adam Burnside: Good News Pest Control (Website) |  adam@goodnewspest.com





A Personal Note from Jim:

Hey there, I’m Jim Ahearn, your go-to real estate guide and host of Jim Sells The Suncoast podcast! 🎙️✨ Dreaming of Florida life? I’ve got you covered! As your dedicated buyer's agent, I’ll handle everything from walk-throughs to closing, making your home-buying journey as smooth as a Florida breeze.

Whether you're local or tuning in from afar, I’ll bring the Suncoast to you with virtual tours and expert advice. Let’s chat about your dream home and I'll connect you with all the right people to make it happen.

Ready to move to paradise? Drop me a line – I can’t wait to help! 🌴🏡

Jim:

Hello, Suncoast friends. Welcome back to Jim Sells the Suncoast, your ultimate guide to all things real estate in our beautiful corner of Florida. Today, we're tackling a topic that might make you shiver, or at least itch a little, pests. I'm thrilled to have Adam Burnside from Good News Pest Control with us. Adam's family business has been keeping Florida's critters at bay since 1989, and he's here to share the lowdown on pest control in our subtropical paradise. Which had about the usual suspects, ants, roaches, termites, and rodents. And why dealing with these pesky intruders is crucial for anyone buying or selling a home. Adam will walk us through the importance of wood destroying organism, WDO inspections, a must have for Florida property sales and how pest problems can shake up negotiations and home values. We'll also dive into the process of pest inspections and treatments, the difference between DIY fixes and professional help, and his top tips for preventing and managing infestations. From seasonal pest activity to the safety of pest control products. We've got you covered. Plus Adam will share some success stories where top notch pest control turn potential real estate nightmares into smooth transactions. So grab your favorite drink, settle in, and let's get pest smart with Adam Burnside on today's episode. Good morning and welcome to Jim sells the Suncoast with me today. I've got Adam Burnside from good news. Pest control. They've been in the business since 1989. So 35 years family business from Tampa down to Fort Myers and Adam here has been doing this for 14 years plus. So welcome Adam.

Adam:

Thank you very much. Glad to be here.

Jim:

Great. I'm glad to have you. I wanted to talk a little bit about how pest control particularly here in Florida and on the Suncoast, how that can relate to buying and selling. What are the most common pest issues that new homeowners should be aware of?

Adam:

Fortunate for me, there's a lot of job security and pest control in our area. Pests are a year round issue. We like to say that there's a bug of the month. And we don't ever get a strong enough cold season to kill off the bug. So there's new things to deal with all throughout the year. But primarily the most prevalent issues are ants and roaches. But then as far as economic damage and issues that could Really affect the real estate transaction. Termites and rodents are the two primary things that we find in our inspections.

Jim:

So WDO, a big issue is we're looking at particularly new builds or existing builds out there.

Adam:

That's right. WDO can be a new. It's a term for people moving into the area. It stands for wood, destroying organism inspection and wood, destroying organisms include insects like dry wood or subterranean termites. There are different wood, boring beetles, There's wood decaying fungus or fungi that comes from wood rot. And we find that at a lot of door frames and, all kinds of wood surfaces that rot over time because of the high moisture in our subtropical climate.

Jim:

Because in Florida, we can't just have insects. We got to have it all.

Adam:

That's right. We're actually the only state that requires that on a report. So it's new for most people when they're moving here. But part of the routine. For our inspectors.

Jim:

Good. So how can a pest control inspection affect the buying or selling process?

Adam:

Hopefully we make it as smoothly as possible because of all the years of experience that we have, it can be a delicate conversation to have either for the buyer and the seller and everybody involved, but because it's such a prevalent thing, termites can scare people. Termites can Put risk into a real estate transaction. But what we like to do is treat every inspection, whether we're representing the buyer or the seller with the same consistency, the same honesty, the same attention to detail so that you have all the information going into a negotiation. It may be that the house has had termites in the past, or we Find a current infestation that needs to be handled the good news is that we can handle that before you move into the house, we can rectify those problems so that you can have peace of mind moving forward that your house is protected and that you won't have surprises, as you're moving your family into your new home.

Jim:

And very rarely you're going to find a report that says, Hey, there's nothing going on, there's no issues. So your experience with this, you see it. So it's nothing to necessarily be afraid of as long as we react and treat it the right way.

Adam:

That's right. Yes. It is something routine for our inspectors, for me personally, I've seen it every which way. And so certainly nothing to sound the alarm about or to scare anybody over. Everything can be handled very simply. Here's the evidence we saw. This is the treatment that would guarantee to solve that problem. This is how much it costs. How that's going to work into the financials of the deal.

Jim:

What should a buyer look for in a pest control report?

Adam:

There is one approved and state form for a wood destroying organism inspection. All reports should be in the same format. So you'd want to make sure that your inspection company is using that state form. It's called a 13 645 form. And so it's a 2 page document. The 1st page will show you what evidence, if any, there was any damage, anything alive that they found. And then the 2nd page is any areas that were inaccessible. So there should be fields and sides of that report fill out. You want to make sure that the inspector is licensed by the state of Florida And if anybody has any second opinion needed to look over a form, obviously your Realtor is there as your advocate, but then I've been sent a number of inspections and asked about a second opinion and that's certainly something I'd be happy to help with.

Jim:

Great. Are there specific pests that are more prevalent in older homes versus newer homes?

Adam:

That's a good question. I think they're equal opportunity offenders. We see the same problems in new construction as we do in older. Although the statement is true that homes in our area either. will have termites at some point in its life. So

Jim:

they're doing what they can to help build, to minimize the impact, but you still need to check for them and see what's going on.

Adam:

I would say that builders have paid better attention in recent years to rodent issues, especially. There was a season where especially with barrel tile roofs. That there were little openings left and that we were finding rodents in a lot of addicts in new communities. But I think that it happened often enough that everybody got wise to those common areas where they were left unsealed and so now it's not as prevalent of an issue in new construction. But still certainly happens.

Jim:

You know what? And I think that's interesting because I wonder how many people coming in looking at a house would go, let me check the roof for the mice because that's not the first place that you would think about it.

Adam:

No. And it can be as simple as where the air conditioning system meets the house. There's a little shroud there that all it takes is a couple of minutes of attention to make sure that's sealed up. But if it's not done, it can be a superhighway up into the attic.

Jim:

How often should homeowners schedule pest control service? What are you seeing in Florida and is there a difference between summer and our, month of winter?

Adam:

Sure. There is pretty consistent pressure in our area from all kinds of pests, especially ants and roaches, silverfish, spiders, wasps. So I would say a program throughout the year is important to have if you don't want to be seeing pests in your environments.

Jim:

So that consistency, so that you're not up and down allowing them and killing them.

Adam:

Exactly. Keeping a good program around the house will hopefully. stop the problem before it reaches the entryway and into the living space. But there's always a bit of a bell curve in the activity in the summer. The summer is when everything is out and about. it's the mating season for termites, the swarm season, they call it. That's certainly the most pressure, and then it might die down a little bit towards the winter, but really, even mosquitoes, they're all out and about until the temperature drops consistently below 55 degrees, and that doesn't happen for very long in that area.

Jim:

That's noteworthy just in itself. Preventive measures can homeowners take to avoid pest infestations?

Adam:

Sure. One good thing that you can do is keep an eye on entryways and any kind of settlement cracking, any kind of seals around windows and doorways, things that look to us as very minimal, but to an ant, let's say, is a wide open door. Seasonally, I would say every season. Just doing a quick check around the house for those types of things that can be wear and tear type of deteriorations around trim and seals. Doing the pest control on a three or four time of year basis is great. And then having an annual inspection for issues like termites, I would highly recommend.

Jim:

Okay. What are some signs of a pest infestation that might not be immediately obvious?

Adam:

Good question. Most people, the first time they see termite evidence, if they've never seen it before, might think that the little pellets could be coffee grounds or sawdust or something similar. Drywood termites leave a little pellet. Six sided pellet. It's all very similar to a coffee grounder or. So just look for that in windows and other shelves. You might not recognize it at first, but for those that are familiar with it now it's very unique.

Jim:

So definitely if you clean it up and it comes back, that's something that we should. Take a look at right. Okay. Can you explain the typical process for a pest control treatment?

Adam:

Absolutely. Our approach to pest control is what's called integrated pest management. So rather than using what would be the most potent product around your house to just make sure anything around the doors glows green and we'll stop anything in its tracks. What we use is a green. Pest control, minimum risk, active ingredients that you can place strategically around the areas where the pest would want to be close to water sources or close to entryways, close to food sources that they might find when they're inside. and so the way that would look would be a perimeter treatment with a non repellent type of product that they get into unknowingly. they're very social. Creatures. So they share food, they groom each other. And so that ingredient would pass through the colony and create a much deeper broader solution to the problem that gives you a longer reprieve between treatments and then dry products on the inside of the house so that you're not exposed to any pest control. Around the baseboards or the floors. And those things are usually around where plumbing comes through the walls or into a bathroom or laundry room or kitchen and tucked up in a way in areas where the bugs will find it, but nobody else will get into it.

Jim:

How long does it usually take to resolve a pest issue once detected?

Adam:

It is dependent on the life cycle of the individual pests that we're dealing with. So initially you will get control over the adult population. You can get a quick knock down a lot of times and you'll see a reduction. But then within a week to 2 weeks, the next generation will hatch out of these eggs. And so you might see a slight spike. Typically within 14 days or so, you can have a solution to the problem, but when you're introducing a new product into their environment it's a bit of a spike at first and then decline.

Jim:

have to go through each generation to completely stop it or at least really minimize it.

Adam:

That's right. Especially with things like German roaches or fleas or ticks, those kinds of occasional invaders. you'll knock down a generation at a time and come back typically one or two times in the first two to three weeks, but then you can drop back to a normal program.

Jim:

What are the most effective pest control methods for termites?

Adam:

That's a great question. So there are two Primary types of termites that we deal with some that are living in the walls in a piece of wood, dry wood termites can be anywhere in the house. they don't have to go back to an exterior nest. If, for instance, they're in this piece of wood. cabinet behind me. I'd have to treat the cabinet itself. The most prevalent way and the most guaranteed way to do that is with a gas. You can do a fumigation. If you tend to house, then it's guaranteed to cover every square inch of the home and kill. Any dry wood termites. Subterranean termites have the colonies underground. So you could tent a house with subterranean termites and it would never touch the actual colony. It would just touch maybe any of the termites that were up in the house at the time of the tenting. So you have to treat the soil and you can treat the soil with either a bait or a liquid. Both of which would get transferred from one termite to another down into the ground, into the heart of the colony. And eliminate the colony over the next, 60 to 90 days.

Jim:

Is there one more prevalent than the other in our area?

Adam:

They are about equally split. And in fact the building code requires treatments for subterranean termites because they are. Known to be in every part of the state anytime you're pouring any new cement or building a home or any structure, then that area has to be treated by building code before you can get your.

Jim:

How can homeowners differentiate between do it yourself pest control solutions and professional services?

Adam:

Oh, that's a great question. Many of the active ingredients that we're using Sometimes unfortunately because not everybody has the same professional training of how to apply these things. They're supposed to be applied according to the label at a certain rate and in a certain way. And it's important.

Jim:

more isn't necessarily better.

Adam:

That's right. Yeah. More can actually do harm. And so it's a delicate balance between repellents and non repellents and dates. And so the mix of that strategy altogether is something that a professional company can do. Would have an understanding of and we get better results from if you're using something over the counter you, you'd have to be very careful not to create further problems. For instance, if you have ants in the kitchen and you use a repellent around that you can lock them in the kitchen because they won't want to cross that line anymore fracture off and go. Up the wall into the ceiling and then come down in the next room.

Jim:

So you're just driving them to another area. Exactly. And that's a good point. I don't know that I've ever looked at repellent versus non repellent. I just looked at, I'm going to get rid of these.

Adam:

Or you put a bait in a house for an ant problem and it ends up drawing in the whole colony rather because you don't have enough of it. To really solve the problem. You just have a little bit of a taste that they like, and then they bring in reinforcements and it's too much surprise when we brought the whole

Jim:

family for dinner.

Adam:

Exactly.

Jim:

Are there any pest control treatments that are considered safer for children or pets?

Adam:

Sure. There's a whole arsenal of pest control products that are essential oils based. Essential oils work very well in pest control. They just have to be applied in the right amounts and at the right frequency. Because if you're using them outside, especially they just don't have the resiliency of some other products to hold up to the heat and to the rain and things like that. So you have to do it more often. There's a number of products that are, organic based ingredients And in the right amounts can be very effective. Boric acid is another one. It's a common ingredient that's used in many different applications and for pest control can be a great thing for termites, for all kinds of bugs.

Jim:

I think the key there is knowing what's the right dose and the right frequency. What should sellers do if a pest invitation is found during a home inspection? What are their options and what kind of resolution can they have so that they can continue to market their house and have it ready?

Adam:

Sure. Many things like we've talked about can be solved within a week to two weeks. If it's especially a problem with something other than termites those things can be handled by the time a real estate closing happens. Typically in the summer. Like in this month of August if you had dry wood termites and you needed to tense your house, there's a chance that the schedule might be backed out, six weeks or so potentially just based on the number of jobs on the schedule. And so sometimes it actually makes more sense to give a credit to the buyers to handle it, especially if it's a conventional loan or no financing involved. But when you have some kind of special financing, like the FHA or kind of other like a USAA or, yeah those loans sometimes require a solution and a guarantee prior to close

Jim:

before.

Adam:

Exactly. In that case, I would say that the timing Is critical. If you know you have a problem I would ask the company who found it to give you a quote immediately so that you could take action on it and address it as quickly as possible.

Jim:

Leads into my next question of how can pest control companies help in negotiating home sales price if pests are discovered. I think you alluded to some of it there, what kind of time frame are we looking at, credits? Are we doing it now or later?

Adam:

Yes. Now or later is a great tool to have in the toolkit. And we've been very flexible with people who are on a time crunch to, obviously we're here to help people get to the closing table. The things that we find in a house, the facts are the facts we can't bend or change the report to help you get to a closing. But we can, facilitate the solution and deal with the payment out of closing or after closing. We can put something on the schedule, reserve that spot so that maybe we could do the treatment between the time that the seller moves out and the buyer's moving in.

Jim:

When it's empty already and not really disturbing or displacing anybody from what they have going on. It's a

Adam:

great time to do it.

Jim:

What kind of warranties or guarantees do pest control companies offer for their services?

Adam:

That's something across the board that most people would give a retreatment guarantee for the pests that they are dealing with, especially termites. If we were to attend a house, then I would say across the board you get a year of a guarantee. So that if there was any kind of reinfestation or a failure of any kind, you would know it within the year and it could be re-treated at no cost. And then we offer and many others do an extension of that re-treatment guarantee. That's a year to year renewal. And renewals can be offered for many different periods of time. We offer it for 10 years, which covers most people for the life of the time that they're in that home so if you were to find a problem, deal with it before closing, you could have peace of mind for 10 years or more that if there was ever a reoccurrence that it would be covered at no cost for us to retreat the problem and take care of it.

Jim:

Okay. And how do seasonal changes affect pest activity and what can homeowners do to prepare?

Adam:

Although we see that there are little spikes in activity when the weather does cool down, it's all relative, but when it's cooler weather it, tends to drive mice and rats and things to the attic or to some place to keep warm. And when it gets very rainy, then it washes everything that's living low up to higher ground. So you'll see. More ants, more roaches, things when there's a lot of rain during the summer months and then when it's dry, then they come in looking for water. Really great to just have. a guy for that in

Jim:

your

Adam:

arsenal, somebody that, you can call if you see a problem and that's what we like to be for everybody moving here. We're the Florida toolkit for pests.

Jim:

What are some common misconceptions about pest control?

Adam:

I would say that a lot of people have a picture in their mind of an exterminator that might be from a movie or from a TV show.

Jim:

It

Adam:

looks like a giant mask and toxic chemicals and the chemistry in our industry has changed so much over the years and developed to the point where it's so advanced and just. Really microscopic amounts of the right product in the right place can do wonders. Especially with new ingredients that are minimum risk or exempt from having pesticides in them. So I think, yes the crawl suits and the respirator. And the dirtiness of what would be considered a very blue collar industry has been elevated in years recent. And we do a lot for public health. If we didn't exist, then public health issues would be just exacerbated even more.

Jim:

Absolutely. So how do we, I think we touched on it, but climate and location impact pest controls need in Florida specifically. And we're talking beach side. coming inland maybe a little more flat land. There's always rivers, there's always lakes, anything that's germane to each area, or we're across the board.

Adam:

we see the same things in many areas. Although mosquitoes are exceptionally bad in areas with low lying areas. Areas don't dry out over time. Those areas are breeding grounds, right? and it seems like places close to the water have the right habitat for rodents. They just always have a food source and a water source there close to the water. So they seem to go hand in hand as well. Do you

Jim:

see any different with homes near saltwater versus freshwater?

Adam:

For some reason, I find a lot of raccoons near saltwater. I don't have any real data to back that up. But just in my experience, many of the raccoon calls that I've gotten have been homes that are on the water or close to the water. Maybe some of that is because they like to have pools that are open air to enjoy being close to the water. They don't have cages. And raccoons like to wash up in there. Just as much as the homeowners do, unfortunately.

Jim:

Interesting. I think the first thought when you think of an open pool is going to be snakes and alligators, but it could be raccoons.

Adam:

Can

Jim:

you share any success stories where pest control significantly impacted a real estate transaction?

Adam:

Wow. I have so many. It's been a everyday part of my life for years now where something that is potentially, scary. We can make smooth and easy, especially if tenting a house is needed. Recall recently there was a house that had a tent. It was under contract and the buyers when they found out at the pest inspection that there was a termite issue, they were worried enough about it that they actually backed out of the deal. And so I got involved at that point. We were able to tent the house for an out of state seller. They were able to, handle everything at a distance. one of the things that I do really well is getting a house ready for that process because I've done it hundreds of times now. So I was able to help them make it as easy and smooth as possible. Worry free. We tented the house and so that way, the next time a buyer came along, there was a 10 year guarantee on the house against termites. It was a non issue. They can move straight to closing without any concerns and with the backing of a company that they knew. wasn't going anywhere and would do the right thing if there was ever a reoccurrence.

Jim:

You know what? I think that goes a long way. The importance of an inspection and knowing what you're getting into as well as the peace of mind that comes from knowing that. And then a 10 year guarantee is going to be probably a huge relief for most people.

Adam:

Yes.

Jim:

What advice do you have for homeowners looking to prevent future pest issues after treatment?

Adam:

Oh, I would say documenting the areas that there was an issue in before taking pictures and keeping records is good. It will help you to remember and also help potentially the company. if there's ever a reoccurrence it just happened to us this past week I got a call from somebody who was concerned that they may see some new evidence. We went back and compared photos and records. Oh, yep. This little area. was where the evidence was originally cleaning that up is important. A lot of times the pest control company doesn't do that for you. So if you know where it is and you can clean it up and or make small repairs to move forward, with a clean slate, then you'll know for sure if anything is coming back. So that's important doing the cleanup or doing the repairs afterwards. If you do it, it will help just with a clean slate and monitoring for the future.

Jim:

That's a good point. And with cell phones and everything now, there's no reason not to document and put it together so that you have peace of mind. And then it's a lot easier to explain when you come in and say, Hey, here's a picture of what I've got versus me trying to describe it over the phone.

Adam:

My phone is full of photos of my business card and a date in some far corner of an attic where I found evidence that we want to make sure we knew this was here in 2024.

Jim:

Perfect. Adam, thank you so much for joining me today. Any other advice or anything to let people know when they're looking to buy or sell a home? concerning pest control.

Adam:

I appreciate being on with you today. And my best advice is to have the inspection. It's a very nominal price and you'll be glad for just a peace of mind if there's nothing found. But it could potentially be a big difference maker in how you negotiate and what you know about your home as you're moving in.

Jim:

Thank you, Adam. Ladies and gentlemen, this was Adam Bernstein from Good News Pest Control. We'll have contact information in the show notes, so I appreciate you coming on, Adam. And with that, we'll sign off. All right, take

care.

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