Facts/Thoughts on Crawl Space Venting During the Winter

Since relative humidity  in air raises when it is cooled, it can be lowered when we heat the air.  During the winter we could open vents in our crawl space on a cool or wintery day bringing in near freezing air to mix with the much warmer air under our house that will significantly lower the relative humidity to 5% or less.  This dry air will begin to dry out the crawl space.  Granted the cooler outside air will lower the air temperature in the crawl space, but the wood and other materials will dry out and there will be no condensation.

Some of the negative side of this process includes: cold floors, cold drafts, and increased utility bills!

Busy Ants!

When I was a kid, I noticed that ants traveled around on trails going like crazy back and forth… busy, busy ants.  They were fascinating to me as an 8 year old!  For some childish reason, I decided to smash them with a nail hammer all along their trail.  I guess it was my bad side thinking I was doing some good to rid the world of these ants. 

So, I crawled along this very long line of ants, not paying any attention to Mom watching me nearby.  Mom called out to me: “What are you doing?”  While still hammering I retorted, “I am killing ants!”  Mom did not like me doing this.  She told me that these ants were not doing anything wrong and that they were beneficial to the world.  I said: “you do not like them when they come into the kitchen.”  She explained that sometimes beneficial insects become pests when they get in our way, but these insects are not in the way and not being a pest at all – they are just part of nature being productive to their colony.  She said that I was just wasting time, not doing anything productive. 

I am not sure I totally understood what she meant that day, but I have not killed any more ants unless they are being pests to people!  This brings to mind a quote from Henry David Thoreau who used ants to make a point about being productive: “It is not enough to be busy, so are ants.  The question is: What are we busy about?”

How Good is an Electrical Sump Pump Without Power?

A sump pump without power is not going to pump much water out of your basement or crawl space!  Most of the time when we get water from outside it comes in at a good pace from a rain storm.  And, unfortunately, too often the electrical power goes out.  How is the electrical pump (without power) going to pump out that water before it floods the basement/crawl space?

It will not pump out any water when there is a power outage, unless you have an alternate source of power.  Two other sources of power are available: generators and batteries.  A disadvantage (not counting cost) of a generator is that you need to be present and awake to turn the generator on to start the pumping.  Batteries are generally less expensive and can be hooked up to automatically supply power when needed to activate the pump when the electrical power is off.

How much back-up power do you need?  That question can be best answered by our professional, certified specialists at ACCA... we can suggest what you will need and properly install it for you.  If you do not have a power back-up for your sump pump, call ACCA before the next rain storm to provide you with power protection and peace of mind.  Call 812-479-8905 to schedule a free inspection.  This would be a great time to test the pump to ensure it is working properly.

What About Mold on Basement Walls?

Before we can resolve mold problems on walls, we need to look at solving the causes.  We first must drain away all of the water from the basement floor.  Now let us look at the walls.  Basement walls allow water vapor to pass through them.  Block walls allow water vapor through easily because of their hollow cores and allow cold, damp outside air to pass through, as well.

Chances are those basement walls are damp, stained and nasty looking.  They are often stained from moisture, mineral and mold with shades of gray & black colors.  Mineral stains look ugly, too.  Most walls are chalky & flaky with peeling paint or other types of coatings.  There are several possible solutions or options for these ugly, nasty walls.

• Use ZenWall paneling for a finished look without fully finishing the basement.
• Use ThermalDry Wall System when you plan to finish the basement.
• Use BrightWall paneling for an unfinished basement.
• Use CleanSpace for stone walled, unfinished basements.

Will mold grow behind ZenWall, ThermalDry, BrightWall, or CleanSpace?  Mold will not grow on clean concrete or plastic.  Mold needs organic material such as wood, paper, cardboard, latex paint or just plain dirt for it to grow.  We must keep organic materials dry to keep mold from growing.  Inorganic materials like concrete, plastic, metal, glass, etc., should be used in places that can’t be kept dry.

Say What? No, Say Who!

Pictured here is the oil portrait by Charles Willson Peale of Thomas Say in the uniform of the first Long Expedition, 1819, from the Ewell Sale Stewart Library, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.

Say who, Thomas Say… that is who!  He was an American naturalist (1787, Philadelphia, PA—1834, New Harmony, IN) who is the founder of descriptive entomology in America.  In fact, Thomas Say is considered the Father of American Entomology! Let me take you back in time, say (pun intended) to the early 1800s in southwest Indiana.

New Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana, United States. It lies 15 miles north of Mount Vernon, the county seat. It is part of the Evansville metropolitan area.

Established by the Harmony Society in 1814, the town was originally known as Harmony (also called Harmonie, or New Harmony). Bought at two dollars an acre, the 20,000 acre settlement was the brain child of George Rapp and was home to exclusively German Lutherans in its early years.  Here, the Harmonists built a new town in the wilderness, but in 1824 they decided to sell their property and return to Pennsylvania. Robert Owen, a Welsh industrialist and social reformer, purchased the town in 1825 with the intention of creating a new utopian community and renamed it New Harmony. While the Owenite social experiment was an economic failure just two years after it began, the community made some important contributions to American society.

New Harmony became known as a center for advances in education and scientific research. New Harmony's residents established the first free library, a civic drama club, and a public school system open to men and women. Its prominent citizens included Owen's sons, Indiana congressman and social reformer Robert Dale Owen, who sponsored legislation to create the Smithsonian Institution; David Dale Owen, a noted state and federal geologist; William Owen; and Richard Owen, state geologist, Indiana University professor, and first president of Purdue University. The town served as the second headquarters of the U.S. Geological Survey and numerous scientists and educators contributed to New Harmony’s intellectual community, including William Maclure, Marie Louise Duclos Fretageot, Thomas Say, Charles-Alexandre Lesueur, Joseph Neef, Frances Wright, and others.

Now, all the way back to more modern times.  Over the last 25 years or so, as a Pest Control Professional, I maintained the monthly pest control program of most of the New Harmony’s historic buildings.  I do not ever recall any mention of Thomas Say… most of the other people mentioned above, I have known about them in detail.  I find it odd that I do not remember him discussed within my profession, either.  I have been familiar with entomology since I was a kid in 4-H, I took the entomology project, entering my display box of the insects I had collected and labeled at the county 4-H Fair.  I knew what too many others did not know that entomology is the study of insects, not the study of words (which is etymology).

I was a participant in the State 4-H Entomology Judging Contest held at Purdue University my last 2 years of being a 4-H’er.  Later in life, my kids took entomology in 4-H.  In all of this time I did not know of the Father of American Entomology, Thomas Say, who lived and died not far from where I have lived my whole life!  This is the purpose of this blog article: to ensure that southwest Indiana people learn about this famous individual.

Thomas Say was a self-taught naturalist.  At the age of 25, he became a charter member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Living frugally in the Academy building, Say took care of the museum and became a friend of William Maclure, President of the Academy from 1817 to 1840.

In 1818 Say accompanied Maclure and others members of the Academy on an expedition to the off-shore islands of Georgia and Florida. In 1819-20, Major Stephen H. Long led an exploration to the Rocky Mountains with Thomas Say as zoologist, and in 1823, Say served as zoologist in Long's expedition to the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

During the 1819-20 expedition, Say first described the coyote, swift fox, western kingbird, band-tailed pigeon, Say's phoebe, rock wren, lesser goldfinch, lark sparrow, lazuli bunting, and orange-crowned warbler.

Thomas Say accompanied William Maclure and other scientists and educators from Philadelphia on the famous "Boatload of Knowledge." The party arrived in New Harmony, Indiana, in January, 1826. One of the passengers was the artist Lucy Way Sistare, whom Say married secretly, near New Harmony, on January 4, 1827.

In New Harmony, Say continued his descriptions of insects and mollusks, culminating in two classics:

Thomas Say, American Entomology, or Descriptions of the Insects of North America, 3 volumes, Philadelphia, 1824-1828.

Thomas Say, American Conchology, or Descriptions of the Shells of North America Illustrated From Coloured Figures From Original Drawings Executed from Nature, Parts 1 - 6, New Harmony, 1830-1834; Part 7, Philadelphia, 1836. (Some of the illustrations in American Conchology were drawn by Mrs. Say.)

Say was a taxonomist, as were most of the early entomologists, and he described considerably more than 1,000 new species of beetles and over 400 insects of other orders, including species in every important insect order. A hasty check of his writings shows 404 new species definitely listed from Indiana, including eight orders.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, his work, which was almost entirely taxonomic, was quickly recognized by European zoologists.  Say accompanied various expeditions to North American territories, including an exploration of the Rocky Mountains led by Stephen Long in 1820. He served as curator of the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia (1821–27), and was professor of natural history at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (1822–28). He was invited to join the experimental ideal community at New Harmony, Indiana. Although the community was disbanded in 1827, Say remained in the town, which grew as a cultural center.

Volumes of Say’s American Entomology, on which he began work in 1817, were published in 1824, 1825, and 1828. His American Conchology, 6 vol. (1830–34), was illustrated by Charles A. Le Sueur, a colleague in the New Harmony experiment. Collections of Say’s extensive writings in entomology, conchology, and paleontology were published after his death.

In her book, Thomas Say: New World Naturalist (Hardcover, 340 pages, published May 1st 1992 by University of Pennsylvania Press), Patricia Tyson Stroud states:

Explorer, pioneering natural scientist, and a founder of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, Thomas Say (1787-1834) devoted his life to establishing the authority of American scientists to name and describe their native flora and fauna (until then, specimens were sent to Europe for that purpose). He was the first to name and describe for science the coyote, plains grey wolf, and swift fox, in addition to several western birds and many amphibians. He ranks with William Bartram, Alexander Wilson, Thomas Nuttall, and John James Audubon as one of the great naturalists of early America. In the early nineteenth century, Say was successful in founding the sciences of entomology and conchology in the United States. He wrote the first book published in America on insects, American Entomology (1824-1828).

The Purdue University entomology department’s web site is supporting a movement to enact through the Indiana State Legislature, the creation of a state insect.  State Representatives Sue Scholer and Sheila Klinker are sponsoring a bill to name the Pyractomena angulate (Say) as the Indiana State Insect, known as Say’s firefly (or by many of us as a lightning bug).  It is, specifically, Say’s firefly that he described in New Harmony about 1824 that is being proposed.  Fireflies are widely known as beneficial, attractive and… enlightening!

Son of a wealthy Quaker merchant, Say himself chose to sacrifice material comforts for the sake of science and was chronically ill from the malnutrition he experienced as a young man. In the 1820s he followed British philosopher Robert Owen to Indiana, where Owen established the utopian community of New Harmony. While the utopian experiment failed and Owen returned to England, Say remained in New Harmony and made it the base for all his scientific expeditions. 

Each moss,
Each shell, each crawling insect, holds a rank
Important in the plan of Him who fram'd
This scale of being.
--Stillingfleet

This epigram graces the three-volume work American Entomology: or Descriptions of the Insects of North America (1824-28), the masterwork of Thomas Say (1787-1834), the Father of American Entomology.

Fireworks & Beetles!

July 4th. is all about Independence for the American Colonies and the forming of the United States of America.  We celebrate this day with picnics, parades and fireworks.  The other night I watched fireworks from our neighbors and noticed a few fireflies and thought back to the days as a kid catching lightning bugs in a jar and watching them glow.  I also remembered helping my kids catch these interesting blinking bugs in our back yard.  I thought I knew quite a bit about these little insects, but decided to do a little extra research to post for this blog.  I was pleasantly surprised by what was posted by Purdue's Entomology website about this beneficial flying nocturnal insect. http://www.entm.purdue.edu/entomology/outreach/firefly/

SUPPORT A STATE INSECT FOR INDIANA

Insects constitute 80% of the world's animal species, and they are critical to the ecological balance of our earth. Insects are decomposers and recyclers, serve as pollinators of flowering plants and are an important food source for many animals. Insects have been used in song and poetry, For instance, the only insect-related song to top the popular music charts was "Glowworm." Sung by the Mills Brothers, this rewrite of a German folk song was a Number One hit in the 1950's.  Robert Frost wrote in his poem "Fireflies in the Garden": Here come real stars to fill the upper skies, And here on earth come emulating flies. James Whitcomb Riley states: "And fireflies like golden seeds are sown about the night."  We have a state tree (the tulip poplar), a state flower (the peony), and a state bird (the cardinal). Indiana should join 40 other states that recognize the contribution insects make to the quality of our lives by also having an official state insect.

Fireflies (also known as "lightning bugs") are widely recognized as beneficial and cool insects. A firefly would be an excellent representative of Indiana's natural wildlife heritage. In addition the lure of fireflies has been shared by many generations of Hoosiers.

The magic of cold, living light production by fireflies has fascinated scientists for years. Understanding the chemistry of firefly light has resulted in the life-saving glow sticks that duplicate the light production system of this insect. Luciferin and luciferase have also been used in medical research as cancer and multiple sclerosis.

A Special Firefly

The firefly proposed as the official Indiana State Insect is Pyractomena angulata (Say), also known as "Say's Firefly." It was named by Indiana's eminent naturalist, Thomas Say, in 1824. Say lived and worked in New Harmony in Posey County, and is considered the Father of American Entomology. By naming this particular species as the state insect, we are also honoring one of the great figures in Indiana history.  Purdue has presented a strong case for fireflies to become Indiana’s State Insect!

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The University of Kentucky website:

WHAT IS A LIGHTNINGBUG?

Like all beetles, Lightningbugs, also called Fireflies, have chewing mouthparts and hardened front wings (elytra) that meet in a straight line down the back of the abdomen when closed.  Most lightningbugs have glowing abdomens, but even the species that do not glow are easily recognized by their elongated bodies, distinctive black-and-orange colors, and their hood-like "pronotums."

All insects have a pronotum, the first plate on the top of the thorax, but lightningbugs have large pronotums which conceal the head when viewed from the top.  Lightningbugs are also unusual among beetles because their elytra, while more hardened than normal insect wings, are much softer than the elytra of most beetles.  Most lightningbug species are about 1/2-3/4" long, but some species are much smaller, at about 1/4". MYTHS - LEGENDS - FOLKLORE Because they are so noticable, lightningbugs have always been a part of human culture, and they have often been the subject of myth, legend, and folklore.  Europeans once believed that if a lightningbug flew in a window, a person would soon die.  The Chinese believed that lightningbugs were produced by burning grass.  Native Americans smeared glowing lightningbugs on their faces for decoration.  Japanese believed that fireflies represented the souls of the dead, an idea expressed in the animated movie, Grave of the Fireflies (1988).  There is also a novel called Fireflies (1970) by Shiva Naipaul.  In the book, a Trinidad man is fascinated by fireflies on his first trip to the countryside.

From the National Geographic Website: 

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/firefly/

Fireflies are familiar insects that are actually beetles, nocturnal members of the family Lampyridae. There are about 2,000 firefly species. Fireflies love humid, moist regions of Asia and the Americas.

Many people don't know how the insects produce their signature glow. Fireflies have dedicated light organs that are located under their abdomens. The insects take in oxygen and, inside special cells, combine it with a substance called luciferin to produce light with almost no heat. Firefly light is usually intermittent, and flashes in patterns as an optical signal that attracts mates. Scientists are not sure how the insects regulate this process to turn their lights on and off. Firefly light may also serve as a defense mechanism that flashes a clear warning of the insect's unappetizing taste.

From Wikipedia:

The Lampyridae are a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera. They are winged beetles, and commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous use of bioluminescence during twilight to attract mates or prey. Fireflies produce a "cold light", with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies. This chemically produced light from the lower abdomen may be yellow, green, or pale red, with wavelengths from 510 to 670 nanometers.  Firefly luciferase is used in forensics, and the enzyme has medical uses — in particular, for detecting the presence of ATP or magnesium.

^{From NC State University Entomology website: http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/library/compendium/coleoptera.html} 

The name Coleoptera, derived from the Greek words "koleos" meaning sheath and "ptera" meaning wings, refers to the modified front wings which serve as protective covers for the membranous hind wings.

Coleoptera (beetles and weevils) is the largest order in the class Insecta.  As adults, most beetles have a hard, dense exoskeleton that covers and protects most of their body surface.  The front wings, known as elytra, are just as hard as the rest of the exoskeleton.  They fold down over the abdomen and serve as protective covers for the large, membranous hind wings.  At rest, both elytra meet along the middle of the back, forming a straight line that is probably the most distinctive characteristics of the order.  During flight, the elytra are held out to the sides of the body where they provide a certain amount of aerodynamic stability.

Now, you know a little more about this special beetle that can create its own fireworks.  After generations of Hoosier & Tri-State kids catching fireflies (or lightning bugs as we always called them) in jars, these little bugs may become Indiana’s State Insect.  Thinking back many years, give me a special glow for the memories of my childhood with the hopes and dreams of my youth.

Are Your Gutters Clean?

This spring I watched all of the winged seeds from my neighbor's huge Maple tree make their way into my yard and on my roof and the car.  They come twirling down into my back yard from the high up limbs to annoy me every year.  I really should not complain too much since the pine cones from our very tall White Pine mostly fall into that same neighbor’s front yard.  We both get lots of pine needles, too.

Usually after the seeds have fallen, I get out my extension ladder and spend a few hours cleaning out my gutters.  This year was different because it seemed to rain most days and when it did not rain, I was too busy to get at it.  I only work part-time now that I am “retired” which means I have time to do all of those other things I could not do when I worked full-time!  To make my point even clearer, I now have reached the time in my life when I have little “spare” or “extra” time to do things like gutters, trimming bushes and fixing things around the house like I did when I worked full-time!

When we got those hard rains last month, we noticed water was coming in from around one of the back basement windows.  I went out into the rain to see why this was happening and noticed that the water was running off the roof and over the gutters that were full of Maple seeds.  This was filling up the window wells around the basement windows.  The window had a leak around it somewhere.  It was raining hard and the forecast was rain for the next 3 or 4 days.  I needed a solution now, no matter how temporary.  I went to a hardware store and got a window well cover… they are nice and I needed one long before that day.  Problem solved for now!!!  Being the man of the house, I take a lot of pride when I manage to solve a situation like this one.  I showed my wife how clever I was and she reminded me that she told me we needed that cover about six years ago.  I did not let her remarks hold back my pride in a job well done.

That night it rained long and hard… no water in the basement.  However, the water from the roof was still running off over the gutters and now hitting the window well cover making a sound like a very loud drum.  Needless to say, but we did not get much sleep that night.  The next morning someone was insisting that I clean the gutters that day, no matter if it was raining or not.  In a light rain, I worked at cleaning out the gutters… I wanted to sleep, too!  And, that night we slept most of the night until the thunder woke up the dog and the barking and whining began.  Such is life!

Eventually, things were back to normal and we got some much needed sleep and peace.  Then I remembered that the basement window had leaked and needed repairing.  I decided that I would get the ACCA Waterproofing professionals to replace that old leaky window with a modern new window.  And next year the gutters will get cleaned earlier after the seeds stop falling, even if I have to hire someone to do it for me.

Are You Ready for the Invasion of the Summer Bugs?

Bugs are showing up more everyday!  It is a sign that summer is here.  Flies, mosquitoes and wasps are some of the most annoying summer bugs.  Spiders build their webs in the doorway all summer long.  Those webs that we walk into everyday that seem to stick all over our head are actually beneficial since the spider is catching flying insects that are trying to get into our homes.  I would prefer to call in professionals like the ones at ACCA Pest Control (812-479-8905) to get rid of the flying insects and the spiders!

ACCA is getting more complaints about ants parading into kitchens and bathrooms.  Those pesty ants come marching in like they own the place.  The people who study these types of things, state that ant trails can come as far away as four miles!  A colony of ants usually have at least 100,000 members.  Some colonies have a million or more ants.  If those numbers are not bad enough, there are many colonies in our yards... and our neighbors' yards!!!  ACCA will fight these ants for you, give them a call to send out a fully trained, experienced ant terminator.

Have you heard all of the chirping and singing of the 13-year cicadas as you drive along in southwest Indiana?  They are a reddish colored good-sized insect that invades foliage in fields and woods.  Soon, the large cicada killer wasps will emerge to capture cicadas.  We already have seen many carpenter bees drilling into wood.  These black with yellow backs look like large bumble bees and can do lots of damage to wooden decks, fences and sides of buildings.

All of this talking about bugs can be an unhappy experience for many people.  Call the ACCA Professionals to develop a plan to eliminate or drastically reduce any and all of these pest problems - you will be glad you called.

What Happens When the Snow Melts?

Snow can really cause mobility and safety problems.  It can be very serious when we are trying to drive on slippery roads… just walking outside can cause us to fall and injure ourselves.  ACCA Companies urges everyone to slow down and be patient with others on snow and ice covered roads.  When we get into a hurry to get somewhere, make sure it is not the hospital or the cemetery!

Most of us cannot wait for all of the snow to just melt away.  However, with lots of snow, we will get lots of water from the melted snow.  This excess water saturates the ground around building foundations often finding ways to get into our crawl spaces or basements.  This water can cause a great amount of damage to items in the basement, mold, structural or other building materials.

When the snow disappears is when it can cause the most problems!  Give ACCA Waterproofing team of professionals a call to solve any water leaks or other moisture problems.  Call us at 812-479-8905.