# Rozier Pest Control & Waterproofing: Frequently Asked Questions > Customer questions and answers, copied from the service page each one appears on. Source: https://www.callrozier.com/knowledge/ (generated from the live website at build time). ## Pest Control From https://www.callrozier.com/pest-control/ ### What areas do you serve? We are based in South Hill, Virginia and serve a wide area of southern Virginia and northern North Carolina, including Petersburg, Danville, Emporia, South Boston, Roanoke Rapids, Henderson, Oxford and the Lake Gaston communities. If you are not sure whether you are inside our area, call and ask. ### Are your treatments safe around children and pets? We select products with children, pets and sensitive household members in mind and apply them responsibly. Your technician will tell you before they leave what, if anything, you need to do about re entry, pet bowls or toys left outside. ### Do you handle both pest control and moisture work? Yes. Damp conditions under a house are what invite termites, roaches and rodents in the first place, so one team treating the infestation and correcting the moisture produces a result that lasts longer than either job alone. ### Do you offer free estimates? Yes. Inspections and estimates are free and carry no obligation. You will get a clear explanation of what we found and what we recommend before any work is scheduled. ## Termite Control From https://www.callrozier.com/pest-control/termites/ ### How do I know whether I have termites or flying ants? Termite swarmers have two pairs of equal length wings, a straight waist and straight antennae. Flying ants have a pinched waist, elbowed antennae and front wings noticeably longer than the back pair. If you have found wings on a windowsill and are not sure, save a few and we will identify them during the inspection. ### Do I need a termite inspection to sell my house? Most lenders and closing attorneys in Virginia and North Carolina ask for a wood destroying insect report before a residential sale closes. We perform those inspections and provide the report. ### How often should a home be inspected for termites? Termite pressure in southern Virginia and northern North Carolina is steady rather than seasonal, so the crawl space and foundation are worth looking at on a regular schedule. Your technician will set the interval that suits your property. ## Rodent Control From https://www.callrozier.com/pest-control/rodents/ ### Why do rodents keep coming back after I set traps? Traps reduce the population that is already inside but do nothing about the opening that let it in. Unless the entry points are sealed, a new group moves into the same void, often within a few weeks. Exclusion is what makes the result last. ### I hear scratching in the walls at night. Is that rodents? It often is. Rodents are most active after dark, and wall voids and ceiling cavities carry the sound. An inspection will confirm the species and locate the runway before anything is treated. ### Do you handle rodents in vehicles and outbuildings? Yes. Sheds, barns, garages and stored vehicles are common harborage in our service area, and they are frequently the source feeding an indoor problem. ## Mosquito Control From https://www.callrozier.com/pest-control/mosquitoes/ ### How long does a mosquito treatment last? Barrier treatments are generally applied on a recurring schedule through the warm months, because rain and new growth gradually reduce the treated surface. We will recommend an interval based on your property and how much shade and standing water it holds. ### Will treatment harm pollinators? We apply to resting sites rather than blooming plants and choose timing that reduces exposure to bees and butterflies. If you keep hives or a pollinator garden, tell us at the inspection and we will plan the application around it. ### Do I need to stay off the lawn afterwards? Your technician will tell you the re entry interval for the specific product used before they leave the property, along with anything you should do about pet bowls or toys left outside. ## Ant Control From https://www.callrozier.com/pest-control/ants/ ### What kind of ants do I have? Small brown or black ants trailing through a kitchen are usually odorous house ants, also called sugar ants. Large black ants, especially with sawdust nearby, are usually carpenter ants. Mounds of loose soil in the lawn with ants that sting are fire ants. The inspection confirms the species before anything is treated. ### Why does spraying ants not work? Spray kills the workers on the trail and leaves the colony intact. Some species respond by splitting into more nests. Baits and non repellent treatments let the workers carry the product back to the queen, which is what changes the outcome. ### Are ants covered by the pest prevention program? Yes. Ants are one of the general household pests the program covers, along with camel crickets, earwigs, millipedes and other occasional invaders, on a recurring schedule set out in your service agreement. It does not cover termites, powder post beetles or other wood destroying insects, bed bugs, stinging insects, German roaches, rodents or wildlife. Fire ant control in the lawn is available as an add on to the program. ### Is the inspection really free? Yes. Pest inspections are free and carry no obligation. A technician identifies the species, finds where the ants are coming in and explains what we recommend before anything is scheduled. ## Cockroach Control From https://www.callrozier.com/pest-control/cockroaches/ ### Do cockroaches mean my house is dirty? No. Cockroaches are looking for warmth, moisture and a small amount of food. They travel in on grocery boxes, appliances, furniture and through shared walls, or come up from drains and crawl spaces. Spotless homes get them too. ### How long until the population is gone? Bait works through the harborage over successive feedings, so numbers usually fall over a matter of weeks. A vacuum cleanout brings a severe German cockroach population down at once. Your technician will explain the expected course for your situation and when a follow up visit makes sense. ### Can you treat a restaurant or commercial kitchen? Yes. Commercial food service needs a documented program built around inspection, sanitation and monitoring rather than routine spraying, and we handle that work. ### Why do you ask about leaks before you treat? Cockroaches need water more urgently than food. For American and smoky brown cockroaches especially, a treatment applied over an active leak or a damp crawl space buys a short break and little more, so we ask you to fix the water first and then treat inside, under and around the home. ## Bed Bug Treatment From https://www.callrozier.com/pest-control/bed-bugs/ ### How do you treat bed bugs? With liquid chemical treatment. The first visit treats the whole home, and follow up visits treat the areas where activity remains. Mattress and box spring encasements may be used as part of the plan. Follow up is planned from the start because eggs hatch over the days after the first visit. ### How do I know it is bed bugs and not fleas? Bed bug bites usually appear on skin exposed while sleeping and are often accompanied by small dark fecal spots along mattress seams and headboards. Flea bites concentrate around the ankles and lower legs. An inspection will confirm which one you have. ### Is the inspection free? Yes. Bed bug inspections are free and carry no obligation. If the bites turn out to be something other than bed bugs, you will hear that rather than a treatment quote. ### Will the neighbors know? We understand that discretion matters with bed bugs and we handle the visit accordingly. ## Stinging Insect Control From https://www.callrozier.com/pest-control/stinging-insects/ ### When are stinging insects worst around here? Late summer. Wasp and hornet colonies start with a single queen in spring and reach their largest size in August and September, which is when the traffic at a nest is heaviest and most stings happen. Carpenter bees are the exception; they are most visible in spring when the females are drilling. ### Is the inspection free? Yes. Pest inspections are free and carry no obligation. We identify the species, find the nest and tell you whether it needs treatment. Plenty of stinging insects, such as mud daubers and cicada killers, do not. ### Do you treat honey bees? Honey bees are handled as a relocation question where that is practical rather than as an extermination. Most calls about honey bees turn out to be yellow jackets, so we identify the insect first and go from there. ### Can you treat a nest inside my wall or attic? Yes. Nests in a void are treated in the cavity so the treatment reaches the colony. We never seal the opening first, because a sealed colony chews its way out somewhere else, often into the living space. The entry point is closed once the activity has stopped. ## Fly Control From https://www.callrozier.com/pest-control/flies/ ### How do I know what kind of fly I have? Size, color and where they gather tell most of the story. Small fuzzy gray flies sitting on a bathroom wall are drain flies. Small tan flies hovering over fruit or a drain are fruit flies. Shiny blue or green flies in numbers are blow flies. Sluggish gray flies at a window in winter are cluster flies. Save a few in a jar and we will confirm it during the inspection. ### Why do the flies come back after I clean? Cleaning removes what attracts the adults without removing where they hatch. If the breeding site is inside a drain, under an appliance, in a damp crawl space or in a wall void, the population keeps producing no matter how clean the surfaces are. Finding that site is what the inspection is for. ### Do you treat restaurants and other businesses? Yes. Restaurants, bars, grocery back rooms and warehouses have the same breeding sites as a home at a larger scale, and they need inspection, sanitation guidance and monitoring more than routine spraying. We can set the schedule around how the building operates. ### Is the fly inspection free? Yes. Pest inspections are free and carry no obligation. We will tell you what species you have, where it is coming from and what we recommend before any work is scheduled. ## Flea and Tick Control From https://www.callrozier.com/pest-control/fleas-ticks/ ### Where do ticks actually live in a yard? At the edges rather than in the middle. Tall grass, leaf litter, shaded ground cover and the boundary between lawn and woods hold the humidity ticks need, which is why treatment concentrates there. ### What do I need to do after a flea treatment? Vacuum daily for seven days. That is not housekeeping advice. Vacuuming prompts pupae to emerge so they contact the treatment rather than maturing behind it, and it is the step that decides whether one visit is enough. Washing pet bedding before the visit helps too, and your technician will confirm what applies to your home. ### Do I need my vet involved? For fleas, yes. Treating the house while the animal remains an untreated reservoir puts the population straight back. We handle the property and the veterinarian handles the animal, and the two need to happen together rather than in sequence. ### How many treatments does it usually take? One or two, in most homes, provided the daily vacuuming is done for the week afterward and the pet is being treated by a veterinarian at the same time. Properties with heavy outdoor pressure, wooded margins or untreated animals coming and going can take longer, and we will tell you if yours looks like one of those. ## Spider Control From https://www.callrozier.com/pest-control/spiders/ ### Which spiders in this area should I be careful around? Black widows are the one to recognize. They are native here and live in low, sheltered spots such as under grills, in firewood and around crawl space doors. Brown recluses are rare in this region. Everything else you are likely to meet is harmless, and we can identify what you have at the inspection. ### What does a spider treatment involve? The technician dusts the webs all the way around the house, from the foundation to the eaves, then sprays the perimeter. The webs come down, and the spiders and the insects they feed on both meet a treated surface. The same work is a standard part of every pest prevention visit. ### Why do the spiders keep coming back? Because the food does. Spiders settle where insects are steady, so a porch light, a damp crawl space or a wooded lot keeps supplying them. Treatment holds the population at the lowest practical level. It does not remove spiders from the landscape around the house. ### Is the inspection free? Yes. Pest inspections are free and carry no obligation. You get a plain explanation of what was found and what we recommend before anything is scheduled. ## Nuisance Pest Control From https://www.callrozier.com/pest-control/nuisance-pests/ ### What counts as a nuisance pest? The insects that are present rather than destructive. Camel crickets, earwigs and millipedes are the three we are called about most in this region, followed by silverfish, stink bugs and house centipedes, along with the other occasional invaders that use the same entry routes. Termites, cockroaches, bed bugs and rodents are not nuisance pests and are handled under their own services. ### Why do I have so many camel crickets? Almost always because there is a damp crawl space or basement below. Camel crickets need high humidity and darkness, and an unsealed crawl space provides both on a scale nothing else on a property matches. Treating indoors without addressing that space treats the overflow rather than the population. ### Millipedes appear every time it rains. Is something wrong? It is normal behavior rather than an infestation. Heavy rain saturates the soil they live in and they move, some of them inward. A house is too dry for them, so they die indoors within a day or two. Reducing leaf litter, mulch against the foundation and moisture at ground level is what lowers the numbers. ### Is this covered by a recurring plan? Yes. This category is what the pest prevention program is largely built around, and it is where most households with recurring camel cricket or millipede pressure end up rather than booking single treatments. ## Commercial Pest Control From https://www.callrozier.com/commercial-pest-control/ ### Do you offer commercial pest control? Yes. We provide pest control for commercial properties across our service area in southern Virginia and northern North Carolina. ### How is commercial pest control priced? Every commercial property can be different, so we send someone out to take a look first. Each property is treated and priced based on its pest problems and its building. ## Crawl Space Encapsulation From https://www.callrozier.com/crawl-space-encapsulation/ ### How long does an encapsulation take? Most residential crawl spaces are completed in a small number of working days, depending on size, access, how much debris has to come out and whether drainage work is needed first. You will have a schedule before we start. ### Will encapsulation lower my energy bills? Many homeowners see a difference, because the air being drawn up through the floor is no longer humid and the HVAC system is not fighting it. How much depends on the house, so we will describe what to expect rather than promise a figure. ### Do I need drainage work as well? Sometimes. If water actively enters the crawl space after rain, that has to be handled before sealing, otherwise the water is simply sealed in. The inspection will tell us which situation you are in. ## Crawl Space Repair From https://www.callrozier.com/crawl-space-repair/ ### How do I know whether I need repair or encapsulation? Repair addresses damage that has already happened to the structure. Encapsulation prevents the conditions that cause it. Many homes need some of both, and the inspection is what tells us the proportion. ### Do you pull permits for structural work? Permit requirements vary by locality across our service area. We will tell you what your project requires in your jurisdiction before work begins. ### Is the inspection free? Yes. Crawl space inspections are free and carry no obligation to proceed. ## Basement Waterproofing From https://www.callrozier.com/basement-waterproofing/ ### How do I know where the water is getting in? That is what the inspection determines. We look at the grade around the house, the gutters and downspouts, the wall condition, the cove joint and the water lines and staining inside, because those together tell us the path. ### Sometimes it is only damp, not wet. Does that still matter? It does. Persistent damp produces the same mold, odor and pest conditions as visible water, just more slowly, and it is usually a great deal cheaper to correct at that stage. ### Will fixing my gutters solve it? Sometimes, genuinely. Downspouts discharging beside the foundation saturate the exact soil you least want saturated. If that is your problem, we will say so rather than quoting a drainage system. ## Foundation Repair From https://www.callrozier.com/foundation-repair/ ### How do I know whether my foundation is actually moving? Movement leaves a pattern rather than a single symptom. A horizontal crack in a basement wall, a wall face that is no longer plumb, doors and windows that have gone out of square in one part of the house, and floors that slope locally all point the same direction. An inspection measures it rather than guessing from one crack. ### What foundation methods do you perform? Steel I-beam reinforcement, installed from the footer to the sill plate, and carbon fiber wall strips. Those are the two methods we offer, and the inspection decides which one fits your wall. ### Is a cracked foundation wall always serious? No. Some cracks are shrinkage in the concrete and carry no structural meaning. Horizontal cracks, stepped cracks through block joints, and cracks that widen over months are the ones that matter. Which yours is depends on its direction, width and location, and that is what the inspection establishes. ### Why does a pest company do foundation work? Because in this region the same water causes both problems. Moisture that softens a sill plate also draws termites to it, and a crawl space wet enough to grow mold is a crawl space where wood is losing strength. Working both sides of the problem means the structural damage and the conditions behind it get assessed together in one visit.