Pill Bugs in Your Basement May Mean You Have Potential Mould Growth

Summer is a great time to check your home for potential mould growth.  It is recommended that you check your home for potential mould growth and pill bugs at least once every season.  Checking your home for mould growth doesn’t need to be a drawn out process.  It doesn’t even require a lot of time or knowledge.

The best place to start checking for potential mould growth is at the bottom…the basement.  Ideally do a walk through every room and closet in the basement, main floor and upper floors.  You will want to pay special attention to outer or perimeter walls, baseboards, under carpeting or are rugs and inside closets.  What are you looking for?  Pill bugs and mould growth.

Pill bugs are small bugs the size of an eraser on a pencil that look round or like a pill.  They almost look like a miniature armadillo.  What is the problem with pill bugs?   Pill bugs love moisture or dampness.  Dampness can lead to mould growth.  So the presence of pill bugs can mean potential mould growth.

Have a look throughout the basement in all the areas mentioned above for the pill bugs.  You will usually see more than one and you will see a few live ones and usually quite a few dead ones.  All of the areas showing pill bugs could be hiding mould growth.  Continue your search throughout the home and the attic if it is accessible.  You may also want to note the presence of carpenter ants or large black ants as they also like to make their nests in damp wood.  Damp wood can also indicate a potential mould growth issue.

If you see pill bugs or carpenter ants, smell dampness or mould growth, or see actual mould growth…do not touch it.  Call or email us.  We can help.

We will send one of our trained technicians to have a look at your potential mould growth issue and provide you with honest and qualified advice on what you need to do next.  In some cases, small mould growth issues can be cleaned up easily by yourself with some guidance.  In other cases, we may have to provide a quote on having the mould growth problem professionally removed.

Please keep in mind that touching or cleaning mould growth without really knowing what you are doing can make it worse.  This can make a small mould growth issue more expensive to remove and can put you and your family at risk.

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