Pest Control in Valley Mede
Valley Mede is a quiet stretch of Ellicott City close to Route 40 and I-70, a few minutes from the historic district. Most of the houses went up between the 1970s and the 1990s: colonials, split-levels and contemporaries on big lots, many with mature trees, sloping yards and a stream or woods at the back. Cypressmede Park is the local green space.
Pest control in Valley Mede mostly follows the trees and the slope. Houses built into a grade often have a walk-out lower level that stays a little damp, and a back yard that runs downhill into the woods.
Walk-out basements on a sloped lot
Walk-out basements are great to live in and easy for pests to reach. The downhill wall is often half below grade on one end and fully exposed on the other, so water runs toward it in heavy rain. That damp corner draws camel crickets, spiders and carpenter ants, and a sliding door with a worn sweep is an open invitation to mice in October. A general pest visit that starts at the lower level usually turns up the problem spots quickly.
Homes of this age are also at the point where original windows, door sweeps and garage seals are wearing out. Those gaps let mice in, along with the fall stink bug crowd, and fixing them once helps with both.
Carpenter ants and the trees out back
Mature woods behind the house mean stumps, dead limbs and the odd hollow tree, and that's where carpenter ant colonies live. Workers follow branches and fence lines to the house and set up satellite nests in damp trim, a deck ledger or a window frame. If you're seeing large black ants inside in spring, carpenter ant control is the place to start. Yellow jackets use the same stumps and old root holes in late summer.
Deer travel those wooded backs, too, and ticks come with them. Valley Mede has a lot in common with the 1950s and '60s streets of Dunloggin, and the stone-foundation houses closer to the old town are just down the road. Our tick guide covers what to watch for in yards like these.
Oak leaves in the gutters by November
Big trees and a house from the '80s usually mean gutters that fill up every fall. When they overflow, water runs down the siding and soaks the trim and the top of the foundation, which is right where carpenter ants and termites like to start. Clean them in late fall and again in spring, and make sure the downspouts carry water well away from the walk-out wall. While you're up on the ladder, look at the soffits and attic vents. Torn screens there let stink bugs in by the hundreds in October. If you'd rather have someone look over the whole house once, a spring visit catches the ants before they settle in and spots the places yellow jackets will use by August.
Around Valley Mede: Cypressmede Park · Baltimore National Pike (Route 40) · Interstate 70 · Southview Road · Greenway Dr. (ZIP 21042)
Also serving Old Ellicott City, Dunloggin, Turf Valley, St. Johns Lane, Columbia, Catonsville, Clarksville, Woodstock and Marriottsville, Elkridge.
