My husband and I love our cozy Broad Ripple bungalow almost as much as the resident arthropods.
 
I’m not a bug hater by any means. I happily cohabit with spiders and centipedes, so long as they limit their wanderings to the basement, the ceiling or the far reaches of a room’s corners. But I draw the line when it comes to invading species like ants, termites, beetles – or worse, the contemptible cockroach.
 
When we purchased our home two years ago, our house inspector pointed out evidence of a termite infestation. A few of the wood beams near the foundation and a floor joist were pocked with tiny holes and crumbled when poked.

We were assured this was old damage, and learned a previous owner got rid of the unwelcome tenants by hiring an exterminator. We still use the company to do yearly inspections to make sure the termites haven’t returned.

Another insect that likes to munch on our house is the carpenter bee. Several have taken up residence in our cedar window frames. While many homeowners would find these wood-boring insects to be a nuisance and kill them with poison, I’m taking another approach: I’m trying to evict them.

One way to deter them is to paint wood surfaces. That’s an option I’m considering and have searched Angie’s List for highly rated painters.

In the meantime, I’ve tacked screening over the windows. As far as I can tell, the screens have deterred the bees everywhere except one window, where a determined squatter chewed right through. 

If her brood doesn’t survive, maybe I won’t have to call that painter after all.