Épisodes

  • A Homeowner’s Pest Control Checklist for Jasper, GA

    A Homeowner’s Pest Control Checklist for Jasper, GA
    Jul 7 2026
    Well, howdy neighbors! Fred Talley here again from Faith Pest Control, right here in the heart of Jasper, Georgia. Now, if you read my last article about those nasty warning signs, you know that pests can cause some serious, expensive headaches in our beautiful mountain homes. But today, I want to talk about how we can stop those critters before they ever get a foothold inside your house. Living up here in Pickens County, we are surrounded by beautiful woods, red clay, and plenty of moisture. That means we have to be proactive. I always tell folks that pest control isn’t just about what we spray; it’s about changing the environment so bugs don’t want to live there in the first place. To make it easy for you, I’ve put together a simple, straight-to-the-point Homeowner’s Pest Control Checklist. Walk around your house this weekend and check these off, and you’ll save yourself a whole lot of grief. 1. The Perimeter & Foundation (The First Line of Defense) Your foundation wall is ground zero for pests—especially termites and ants. [ ] Maintain a 6-inch clearance: Make sure there is at least 6 inches of clear foundation visible between the ground and the start of your siding. If dirt or mulch is piled up against your siding, it’s an open invitation for subterranean termites to tunnel right in without being seen. [ ] Keep mulch away from the walls: Mulch holds moisture like a sponge. Keep it pulled back at least a foot from your foundation. Better yet, use pine straw or crushed stone right against the house. [ ] Trim the greenery: Tree limbs, shrubs, and ivy should never touch your roof or siding. They act like a highway bridge directly onto your home for carpenter ants, squirrels, and mice. Trim them back at least 2 feet. 2. Moisture Control (What Pests Crave Most) Bugs don’t just come inside for food; most of the time, they are looking for water. [ ] Check the gutters and downspouts: Clean those gutters out! Blocked gutters cause water to back up, rotting your fascia boards (the wood behind the gutter). Roof rats and wood-boring beetles love soft, rotted wood. Make sure downspouts carry water at least 3 feet away from your foundation. [ ] Inspect the crawlspace or basement: If you have a dirt crawlspace, it needs a proper vapor barrier. High humidity under your house leads to wood rot, which attracts termites like crazy. Look for standing water or leaking pipes under there, too. [ ] Fix outdoor spigots: A dripping outdoor faucet creates a constant puddle that feeds entire colonies of ants and mosquitoes. Replace those washers! 3. Exclusion (Locking the Doors) If there’s a hole the size of a dime, a mouse can squeeze through it. If it’s the size of a pencil lead, an insect can get past. [ ] Check door sweeps and weatherstripping: Turn off the lights inside and look at your exterior doors during the day. Can you see daylight peeking through the bottom or sides? If light can get in, a bug can too. Replace worn-out sweeps. [ ] Seal utility penetrations: Look where your AC lines, water pipes, and electrical wires enter the side of your house. Use silicone caulk or stainless steel mesh (like copper stuff fit for stuffing holes) to seal up any gaps around those pipes. [ ] Screen your vents: Ensure your attic vents, crawlspace vents, and chimney caps have intact, heavy-duty wire mesh screens to keep out squirrels, raccoons, and bats. 4. Food & Waste Management (Removing the Rewards) Don’t make it easy for them to throw a party at your expense. [ ] Secure the trash cans: Use heavy-duty bins with tight-fitting lids. Wash them out occasionally with bleach water so the smell doesn’t attract midnight visitors like raccoons or bears. [ ] Don’t leave pet food out: Feeding Fido or your outdoor cats on the porch? Don’t leave the bowls full overnight. That’s a free buffet for opossums, rats, and ants. [ ] Store firewood properly: Never stack firewood against the house or inside your garage. Keep it elevated off the ground and stacked at least 20 feet away from your home. Only bring in what you’re going to burn right then. Fred’s Honest Truth: You can do everything on this checklist perfectly, and because we live in the North Georgia woods, some determined pests are still going to try their luck. That’s where a professional protective barrier comes in. Look, I want to be YOUR BUG MAN! I don’t want to just be a guy you call when things go wrong; I want to help you protect your biggest investment year-round. If you want a professional set of eyes on your property, give me a shout. I offer an unmatched personal guarantee: If you use Faith Pest Control and you aren’t completely satisfied within 30 days, I’ll come back out and treat it again for FREE until you are. If you’re still not happy, I’ll give you a full refund plus an extra $25.00 for wasting your time. Give us a call or a text at 770-823-9202 to set up your FREE Complete Termite and Pest Inspection. We ...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    8 min
  • The Most Common Entry Points Pests Use to Get Inside

    The Most Common Entry Points Pests Use to Get Inside
    Jul 14 2026
    Well, howdy neighbors! Fred Talley here again with Faith Pest Control, comin’ to you from right here in Jasper, Georgia. Now, we’ve talked about the warning signs to look out for, and we’ve gone over your backyard checklist. But today, I want to talk about how these little buggers are actually breaching your perimeter. Think of your home like a fortress. Pests are the invading army, and believe me, they are excellent scouts. They will spend 24 hours a day looking for a weak spot, a crack, or a gap to sneak past your defenses. Up here in the North Georgia hills, our houses settle, our wood expands and contracts with the mountain humidity, and before you know it, you’ve inadvertently rolled out the red carpet for mice, ants, and spiders. If you want to stop them, you have to know exactly where they’re breaking in. Here are the most common entry points I see everyday when I’m out inspecting homes in Pickens County. 1. The Gaps Under Your Exterior Doors (The Front Door Entry) Let’s start with the most obvious one, though it gets overlooked all the time. Walk over to your front door, your back door, or that side door in the garage. Look down at the very bottom. Do you see a sliver of daylight peeking through between the door and the threshold? If you can see daylight, you might as well leave the door wide open. A field mouse can squeeze through a gap no bigger than a dime, and a cockroach or a spider needs only the thickness of a business card. If your door sweeps are worn out, brittle, or torn from years of use, that’s entry point number one. 2. Utility Lines and Pipe Penetrations (The Hidden Highways) Take a walk outside and look at the side of your house where your outdoor HVAC unit sits. See those copper refrigerant lines and electrical wires that go through the siding and head straight into your basement, crawlspace, or walls? When builders install those lines, they often drill a hole that’s way bigger than the pipe itself. If that gap wasn’t sealed correctly with heavy-duty caulking or expanding foam—or if that old sealant has cracked and fallen out over time—it becomes a superhighway for mice, rats, and ants straight into your home’s interior skeleton. 3. Rooflines, Fascia Boards, and Eaves (The Attic Assault) Up here in the mountains, we get plenty of gray squirrels, flying squirrels, raccoons, and bats. They aren’t looking at your foundation; they’re looking at your roof. Water often gets trapped behind our gutters, which rots out the wood on the fascia boards (that’s the long board running right behind your gutter). Squirrels and rats can smell that soft, rotted wood. They will chew a tiny hole into a giant entrance within a matter of days. Once they’re past the fascia, they are living large in your insulation, chewing on your wiring, and making a mess right above your head. 4. Crawlspace Vents and Foundation Cracks (The Underbelly) A huge number of homes in Jasper are built on crawlspaces. To keep moisture down, those crawlspaces have vents built into the block walls. Over time, the cheap wire mesh on those vents rusts out or gets torn open by a determined opossum or stray cat. Once they tear that screen open, your crawlspace becomes a wildlife hotel. From there, bugs and rodents follow the plumbing pipes right up through the floorboards into your kitchen and bathrooms. 5. Firewood Stacks and Attached Garages (The Trojan Horse) I love a good, roaring fire on a chilly mountain evening just as much as anyone. But if you stack your firewood right up against the side of your house or inside your garage, you are literally carrying the enemy across your own borders. Woodpiles are prime real estate for carpenter ants, termites, mice, and black widow spiders. When you stack that wood against your siding, they just crawl sideways right into the nearest weep hole or siding gap. Fred’s Field Note: Knowing where they get in is half the battle. The other half is having the right tools, the right materials, and the patience to seal them out for good. That’s what we call “pest exclusion,” and it’s one of the best investments you can make for your piece of mind. Listen, neighbors… I want to be YOUR BUG MAN! You don’t have to tackle this alone. My team and I know exactly what to look for because we do it every single day. If you think your home’s defenses have been breached, give me a call or a text at 770-823-9202. I’ll send one of our expert technicians out to give your home a FREE Complete Termite and Pest Inspection and Entry-Point Audit. We’ll point out exactly where the critters are getting in and tell you exactly how to fix it. And remember my ironclad promise: if you aren’t completely happy with our service within 30 days, we’ll keep working for free, or give you your money back plus $25 for your trouble. (Don’t forget to tell us you read this article so I can give you $25.00 OFF your first service!) Keep those perimeter walls locked tight, ...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    7 min
  • 5 Warning Signs You Need Pest Control Right Now In Jasper

    5 Warning Signs You Need Pest Control Right Now In Jasper
    Jun 29 2026
    Well, howdy neighbors! Fred Talley here from Faith Pest Control, comin’ to you straight from our beautiful little corner of the North Georgia Mountains. If you’re like most folks living around Jasper, Ellijay, or Pickens County, you love the fresh air, the mountain views, and the changing seasons. But let’s be honest—living up here means we share our neck of the woods with a whole lot of critters. Now, I’ve been crawling under houses in this red clay for a long time, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that most homeowners aren’t pest experts—and that’s okay. You’ve got plenty of other things to worry about. But you do want to protect your home, your family, and your four-legged friends from damage and nasty diseases. The trouble is, bugs and rodents are sneaky. They don’t always walk through the front door and introduce themselves. Usually, they leave a trail of breadcrumbs. If you notice any of these 5 warning signs around your property, it means the eviction notice is long overdue and you need to get a professional out there right now. 1. The Dreaded “Coffee Grounds” (Cockroach Droppings) If you open up your kitchen cabinets or look behind your toaster and see what looks like a spilled pile of black pepper or tiny coffee grounds, don’t reach for the mug. That’s cockroach frass (pest droppings). Roaches love dark, warm, humid spots near water. If you’re seeing their droppings out in the open, it means their hidden hiding spots are completely full and they’re expanding their territory. 2. Mud Tubes on Your Foundation Wall Up here in Georgia, we have a major battle with Eastern Subterranean Termites. These sneaky little devils eat your home from the inside out. Because they need moisture to survive, they build pencil-sized tunnels made of mud and saliva to travel from the red dirt up into your wooden framing. If you see these little mud veins running up your concrete foundation or in your crawlspace, do not brush them away and forget about it. That is an active highway into your home’s structure. 3. Strange Noises in the Night (Scratching and Scuttling) When the mountain wind quietens down at night and you hear scratching, chewing, or tiny pitter-patter footsteps right above your head or inside your drywall, you’ve got roommates that aren’t paying rent. Mice, rats, squirrels, and even bats love to take advantage of small gaps in our mountain siding or rooflines. Once they get into your attic or walls, they start tearing up insulation for nesting material and gnawing on electrical wires—which is a massive fire hazard. 4. Mysterious Wood Shavings (Frass from Carpenter Ants) Unlike termites, carpenter ants don’t actually eat your wood for food—they chew through it to build giant galleries and nests for their colonies. As they hollow out your support beams or window frames, they push the leftover debris out of the nest. If you spot tiny piles of clean, powdery sawdust (often mixed with dead bug parts) at the base of your baseboards or out on the porch, you’ve got an active construction crew destroying your wood framing. 5. Hollow-Sounding Wood or Sagging Drywall If you tap on a door frame, a windowsill, or a baseboard and it sounds completely hollow—or worse, your screwdriver easily pokes right through the paint—the damage is already done. Termites and wood-boring beetles leave the outer layer of wood or paint completely intact so they stay protected, completely hollowing out the inside. Similarly, if you notice your drywall looking slightly blistered or sagging, it can mean pests are tracking moisture right through your walls. Fred’s Golden Rule: Termite and pest control work is serious business. It involves your home, your family, and your pets. If going with the cheapest price just to save a few bucks is all you’re looking for, we are definitely NOT the company for you. Cutting corners in this business can end up being something you seriously regret later on. Listen… I want to be YOUR BUG MAN! I want the chance to earn your business. If you’re noticing any of these warning signs, don’t wait until a small problem turns into an expensive nightmare. I am so confident in our team that I offer an unmatched personal guarantee: If you hire me to get rid of your pest problem and you aren’t 100% happy at the end of 30 days, I’ll keep treating your home for FREE until you are. And if you’re still not satisfied, I’ll give you every penny of your money back, plus an extra $25.00 for your trouble. No one else would dare make you that offer. Give me a call or text today at 770-823-9202 and let’s set up a FREE Complete Termite and Pest Inspection and Audit. (And hey, if you mention you read this article, I’ll take $25.00 OFF your very first service!) Have a great day, neighbors!The post 5 Warning Signs You Need Pest Control Right Now In Jasper first appeared on Faith Pest Control.
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    7 min
  • The Real Value of Monthly Pest Protection in Jasper

    The Real Value of Monthly Pest Protection in Jasper
    Jun 22 2026
    Well, howdy neighbors! Fred Talley here from Faith Pest Control, coming to you from right here in our beautiful corner of the North Georgia Mountains. Living up here in Pickens County, we really do get the best of everything. We get the gorgeous changing leaves in the fall, the blooming dogwoods in the spring, and a front-row seat to nature all year round. But because we live right smack in the middle of all this beautiful nature, it means the local insect and rodent population is constantly knocking on our doors, looking for a warm place to stay and a free meal. A lot of folks call me up and say, “Fred, I think I’ll just call you whenever I see a bug, and you can come spray. Why on earth would I need you out here every single month?” It’s a fair question! But today, I want to share a little secret with you about how bugs operate up here in Jasper, and why a regular monthly pest control routine is the only real way to protect your home, your family, and your peace of mind. The Myth of the “One-and-Done” Spray A lot of people look at pest control like taking an aspirin—you only do it when you have a headache. But true, professional pest control is actually a lot more like changing the oil in your truck or keeping up with your garden. It’s all about prevention. When we come out and apply a high-quality, professional-grade protective barrier around the perimeter of your home, that treatment doesn’t last forever. The intense North Georgia summer sun, our heavy mountain downpours, and even the natural breakdown of the material mean that any protective barrier starts to naturally wear thin after about 30 days. If you are only treating your home when you see a line of ants in the kitchen or a roach under the fridge, you are playing a game of “catch up.” By the time you actually see those pests out in the open, it means they’ve already established a hidden nest deep inside your walls, crawlspace, or attic weeks ago. The Power of the Monthly Perimeter Defense When you switch to a monthly protection plan, the entire strategy changes. Instead of chasing bugs around your living room with a can of spray, we focus almost all of our energy on the outside of your house. We create a continuous, unbroken shield around your foundation, windows, and doorways. Because we refresh it every month, the barrier never breaks down. Here is exactly what a monthly routine interrupts throughout the year: The Pest Breeding Cycles: Insects lay eggs at an alarming rate. A single female roach or ant can spark a massive population explosion in just a few weeks. Monthly treatments ensure that as new eggs hatch outside, the young nymphs hit our barrier and die before they can mature and reproduce. The Changing of the Guard: Pests don’t take vacations, they just change shifts. In the spring, we’re fighting termites and carpenter ants. In the summer, it’s wasps, mosquitoes, and fleas. In the fall and winter, the mice and scorpions start looking for a warm spot near your heating vents. A monthly service adapts to what is actively trying to get into your house based on the exact time of year. Constant Inspections: Every time a technician from Faith Pest Control steps onto your property, they aren’t just spraying. They are inspecting. We look for early signs of termite activity, active wasp nests forming under your eaves, or a new crack in the foundation where a field mouse could squeeze in. Catching these things early saves you thousands of dollars down the road. Keepin’ the Tail Waggin’: Safe for the Whole Family I talk to a lot of neighbors who worry that monthly service means their home will be constantly filled with harsh chemicals. Let me set your mind at ease: that is simply not how we do things. Because our monthly program is so effective at keeping the bugs outside, we rarely ever have to spray a drop of liquid pesticide inside your living spaces after the initial cleanup. We use targeted, low-toxicity products precisely placed where bugs live, and our exterior treatments are entirely pet and family-friendly once dry. My goal is to protect your home while keeping the environment completely safe for your kids and your four-legged friends. Fred’s Pro Tip: Think of pest control like a castle moat. If you let the moat dry up for a month or two, the invaders walk right across. Keeping that moat full every single month means the inside of your castle stays completely secure. My Iron-Clad “Make You Happy” Guarantee Termite and pest control work is serious business. It involves the safety of your structure and the health of your family. I have never believed in cutting corners just to save a buck, and I never will. That’s just not how I do business. I want the chance to earn your business and be your regular bug man. That’s why I back up our monthly service with the absolute best guarantee in the industry: If you hire me to protect your home and, at the end of 30 days, you are not 100% HAPPY,...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    8 min
  • Power of Cockroach Baiting Systems in North Georgia

    Power of Cockroach Baiting Systems in North Georgia
    Jun 15 2026
    Well, howdy neighbors! Fred Talley here from Faith Pest Control, right here in our beautiful corner of North Georgia. If you’re sitting in your kitchen here in Pickens County, enjoying a quiet evening, and you suddenly flip on the light to grab a glass of water and see something scurry across the counter—I know exactly that sinking feeling you get in your stomach. We take a lot of pride in our homes up here in Jasper, and seeing a cockroach feels like a personal insult. Your very first instinct is probably to head straight to the hardware store, grab the biggest aerosol can of “Max Force Mega Killer” spray you can find, and blast the living daylights out of your baseboards. But I’m here to tell you why that “spray and pray” method is actually the biggest mistake you can make, especially if you’re dealing with the notorious German Cockroach. Instead, let’s talk about a much smarter, safer, and entirely more effective technology: professional cockroach baiting systems. The Big Problem with Liquid Sprays To understand why baiting works so well, you first have to understand why standard liquid sprays fail. When you spray a heavy chemical barrier along your baseboards, you are only killing the few roaches that happen to walk directly across it while it’s fresh. But cockroaches—especially those small, light-brown German roaches with the two dark stripes on their heads—don’t spend most of their time out in the open. They live deep inside your walls, behind your refrigerator coils, inside your microwave panels, and inside your electrical outlets. Even worse, many over-the-counter sprays act as a repellent. The roaches can smell them. When they detect that chemical barrier, they panic and run deeper into the cracks and crevices of your home. It scatters them. Suddenly, a problem that was just contained to one side of the kitchen island has spread into your bathrooms, your laundry room, and your bedroom closets. How a Baiting System Works: Using Their Habits Against Them Professional cockroach baiting is a complete 180-degree turn from traditional spraying. Instead of trying to chase the roaches with a chemical they want to avoid, we use a specialized, highly attractive gel or station bait that they actively seek out. We use their own biology and nesting habits to destroy the colony from the inside out through a process called the domino effect. Here is how the system works step-by-step: 1.The Attraction:Step 1. A technician precisely applies small dots of professional-grade gel bait in hidden areas where roaches naturally forage—like hinges on cabinets, gaps under appliances, and wall voids. The bait contains a slow-acting ingredient combined with a high-protein food matrix that roaches find irresistible. 2.The First Meal:Step 2. The foraging roaches find the bait, eat it, and because it is slow-acting, they don’t die right away. This is crucial. If it killed them instantly on the spot, the other roaches would get smart and avoid it. 3.Returning to the Nest:Step 3. The roach travels back deep into the hidden voids and nesting areas where the rest of the population is hiding out. It begins to succumb to the active ingredient back in safety. 4.The Domino Effect:Step 4. Cockroaches are natural scavengers, and they are notorious for eating the droppings (feces) and the carcasses of their dead nestmates. Because the bait remains potent inside the roach’s system, the hidden nymphs (baby roaches) and adults that never leave the nest consume the dead roach and get eliminated too. The Benefits of a Professional Baiting Approach Aside from completely wiping out the hidden pockets of an infestation, professional baiting systems offer a few massive advantages for your North Georgia home: No Mess, No Fumes: Unlike heavy liquid broadcast spraying or old-school bug bombs, professional baiting doesn’t require you to empty your kitchen cabinets, pack up your pets, or leave your house for four hours to avoid breathing in airborne fumes. Targeted and Safe: The bait is placed precisely into micro-cracks, crevices, and structural areas that are completely out of reach for your children and your four-legged friends. Long-Lasting Protection: High-quality professional baits don’t dry out instantly. They stay palatable and effective for a long period, continuously working in the background to catch any new roaches that might hitchhike into your home inside a cardboard Amazon box or a bag of groceries. Fred’s Pro Tip: A cockroach can live for a month without food, but only a few days without water. If you want our baiting system to work at lightning speed, starve them of options! Fix that leaky faucet under the kitchen sink, dry out your sink basins before bed, and don’t leave pet water bowls overflowing on the floor overnight. The Faith Pest Control Unmatched Guarantee Termite and pest control work is serious business. It involves the health and safety of your...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    9 min
  • Understanding Ant Trails in North Georgia

    Understanding Ant Trails in North Georgia
    Jun 7 2026
    Hey there, neighbors. Fred Talley here from Faith Pest Control. If you live up here in Pickens County, you know that spring and summer in Jasper are absolutely beautiful. The weather warms up, the trees fill out, and unfortunately, the local insect population decides it’s time to move indoors. Lately, the phones have been ringing off the hook with folks saying the exact same thing: “Fred, I woke up, went into the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee, and there is a solid line of ants marching straight across my countertop!” If you’ve seen that tiny, marching army in your kitchen or bathroom, you are looking at an ant trail. To help you understand what you’re dealing with, let’s look at how these trails work, why they choose your home, and what you can do about it. The Science of the “Invisible Highway” Ants don’t just wander onto your counters by accident. They are master communicators. When a single scout ant leaves the nest looking for food, it wanders around randomly. But the moment it finds something tasty—like a drop of spilled sweet tea on your kitchen island or a forgotten crumb of dog kibble—it hits the jackpot. As that scout ant runs back to the colony to tell the family, it presses its abdomen to the ground and leaves behind a chemical scent trail made of pheromones. Think of it like a high-tech GPS navigation system. The other worker ants smell that trail with their antennae, follow it straight to the food source, and leave their own pheromones on the way back. Before you know it, you have a busy, invisible highway running right through your baseboards. The Two Most Common Trail-Blazers in Jasper While there are dozens of ant species around North Georgia, two main culprits usually cause the trails you see inside Jasper homes: Argentine Ants & Odorous House Ants: These are those tiny, fast-moving brown or black ants. Their colonies can be massive, and they love sweets. If you squish an odorous house ant, it actually releases a distinct smell that folks say reminds them of rotten coconuts. They create massive, highly organized trails. Black Carpenter Ants: These guys are much larger. Unlike the small sugar ants, carpenter ants don’t actually eat wood, but they chew through damp, decaying wood to build their nests. If you see a trail of large black ants leading toward your porch, deck, or window frames, you need to act fast before they cause structural damage. The Big Mistake Most Homeowners Make When folks see a trail of ants, their first instinct is to grab a can of heavy-duty bug spray from the hardware store and blast the line. Please, don’t do that. Spraying a visible ant trail with a standard contact killer only eliminates the workers you can see. It doesn’t touch the queen or the thousands of ants waiting back in the nest. In fact, with species like Argentine ants, spraying them can trigger a survival mechanism called budding. The colony panics, splits into multiple smaller groups, and suddenly you have three ant infestations instead of one. Instead, you want to use the ants’ behavior against them. Fred’s Tips to Stop the March To get rid of ant trails for good, you have to break their communication and cut off their access. Here is how you can protect your Jasper home: Wash away the scent: If you see a trail, wipe it down with soapy water or a mixture of white vinegar and water. This doesn’t just clean the surface; it completely erases the chemical pheromone trail so the remaining ants get lost. Seal the entry points: Take a walk around the outside of your house. Look for tree branches touching your roof, gaps around utility pipes, or cracks in your foundation. Use a good silicone caulk to seal up those tiny doorways. Keep it dry: Ants need water just as much as food. Fix leaky faucets under the sink, don’t leave pet water bowls spilling over, and make sure your gutters are redirecting water away from your crawlspace or foundation. When to Call in the Pros If you’ve wiped down the counters, sealed the cracks, and those marching lines keep coming back week after week, the colony has likely established itself deep inside your walls or right up against your foundation. That’s where we come in. At Faith Pest Control, we don’t just spray the line; we use specialized, non-repellent treatments that the ants can’t detect. They walk right through it, carry it back to the hidden nest on their bodies, and eliminate the whole colony from the inside out. If you are tired of sharing your kitchen with a thousand uninvited guests, give us a call here in Jasper. We offer a free consultation and a clear, honest plan to get your home back to normal. Got an ant problem that won’t quit? Give Faith Pest Control a shout today, and let’s get those critters hitting the road!The post Understanding Ant Trails in North Georgia first appeared on Faith Pest Control.
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    7 min
  • Jasper Georgia, The History of My HomeTown

    Jasper Georgia, The History of My HomeTown
    May 30 2026
    Well, howdy neighbors! Fred Talley here from Faith Pest Control, comin’ to you straight from our beautiful little corner of North Georgia. Now, if you’ve listened to my podcasts or read my articles before, you know I’m usually talkin’ to you about things that scurry, buzz, or try to eat your home from the inside out—like those sneaky subterranean termites or attic-dwelling bats. But today, I want to talk about something else that’s been dug deep into this red clay for a long, long time: the history of our very own hometown, Jasper, Georgia. You see, I’ve been in the pest control business around here for years, and one thing you learn when you’re crawling around under old structures is that a town’s history is a lot like a good foundation. If you don’t understand what it’s built on, you’re missing the whole story. So let’s take a little stroll down memory lane and look at how Jasper became “The First Mountain City.” The Early Days and Foundational Stones Long before any of us were here, this beautiful land at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains was home to the Cherokee Indians. They stewarded these hills and valleys until the tragic events of the Trail of Tears in the 1830s. Fast forward a bit to December of 1853, and the Georgia legislature decided to slice off pieces of Cherokee and Gilmer counties to create Pickens County. Now, the folks in charge needed a county seat, and they picked a spot right in the exact geographical center of the county. In 1857, that little spot was officially incorporated as the town of Jasper. We were named after a real-deal Revolutionary War hero, Sergeant William Jasper, who famously lost his life saving his regiment’s flag at the Siege of Savannah in 1779. A Little Fun Fact: Our county, Pickens, was also named after a Revolutionary War hero—General Andrew Pickens. So we’ve got patriotism baked right into our names! A Town Divided: The Civil War Era Now, here’s a piece of history that a lot of folks don’t know, and it shows the independent streak of our mountain ancestors. When the Civil War rolled around in 1861, Pickens County was deeply divided. We didn’t have the big plantations or the slave economy of south Georgia; we were mostly independent mountain farmers. In fact, local leaders actually voted against secession. To show you just how stubborn and brave those mountain folks were, when Georgia decided to leave the Union, a group of local citizens raised the U.S. Stars and Stripes flag right in front of the county courthouse in Jasper. And get this—they guarded it day and night, keeping it flying for nearly a month after the state seceded! Throughout the war, Jasper was occupied by both Union and Confederate troops at different times, and it was a rough, rocky road for the citizens living here. The Two Booms: Rail and Marble After the war, Jasper grew pretty slowly. By 1880, the census recorded only 146 people living here! If you walked down the street back then, you’d see a log jail, a couple of churches, a brick courthouse, and a lot of log cabins. But then came 1883, and two massive things changed Jasper forever: The Marietta and North Georgia Railroad chugged into town. The Georgia Marble Company started booming over in nearby Tate. Suddenly, we weren’t just an isolated mountain village anymore. The railroad gave us a way to ship out the local timber, cotton, and most importantly, that world-famous Pickens County marble. The Capital of Pure Stone Our local marble isn’t just any old rock. It’s some of the purest, most beautiful stone in the world. If you’ve ever been to Washington, D.C., you’ve probably looked right at a piece of our home—Georgia marble from our county was used to build the Lincoln Memorial, parts of the U.S. Capitol, and more than half of the monuments up there! Locally, you can see it everywhere, from our historic 1949 courthouse to the famous Tate House built out of rare pink marble. [ THE JASPER TIME-LINE ] 1853 ── Pickens County formed out of Cherokee/Gilmer. 1857 ── Jasper officially incorporated as a town. 1861 ── Union flag flown at courthouse in defiance of secession. 1883 ── Railroad arrives; the marble industry explodes. 1920s── Expansion of Georgia Marble Co. keeps Jasper afloat. 1940 ── Amicalola EMC brings rural electricity to the hills. 1990s── GA 515 expansion connects Jasper to Atlanta. Keeping the Heritage Alive Through the Great Depression, the collapse of the cotton industry, and the turning of the centuries, Jasper held onto its small-town heart. We went from a tiny mountain outpost to a bustling city of over 4,000 residents today. We celebrate that rich history every single year during the first full weekend of October at the Georgia Marble Festival. If you’ve never been, you’re missing out on great music, incredible stone carving, and some of the finest folks you’ll ever meet. A Message From Your Local “Bug Man...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    10 min
  • Sherriff’s JeepFest Coming To Jasper This September

    Sherriff’s JeepFest Coming To Jasper This September
    May 21 2026

    Howdy, neighbors! Fred Talley here from Faith Pest Control. If you’ve lived in Jasper for more than five minutes, you know there’s one weekend where the rumble of engines is louder than the mountain wind. I’m talking about the Sheriff’s JeepFest, and it’s rolling back into town this September!

    This event is near and dear to my heart because it’s about more than just mud and metal—it’s about our community coming together to “Crawl for the Kids.”

    Rev Your Engines for a Great Cause

    Mark your calendars for September 3rd through September 6th, 2026. The home base is right here at 8795 Hwy 53 East in Jasper.

    If you haven’t been before, you’re in for a treat. Sheriff Donnie Craig and the Pickens Sheriff’s Office put on a show that draws folks from all over the country. Here’s what’s happening:

    • The Obstacle Course: Watching these Jeeps navigate the rocks and mud right at home base is a sight to behold.

    • Trail Rides: Hundreds of Jeeps heading out into our beautiful North Georgia mountains to tackle the terrain.

    • The “Caring for Children” Mission: Every bit of the proceeds goes to help kids in need through the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes, Special Olympics, and the Boys and Girls Club.

    • Spectators are FREE! You don’t need a Jeep to come out and enjoy the food vendors, the music, and the incredible atmosphere. It’s a family-friendly weekend that truly shows the spirit of Jasper.

    Off-Roading is Fun—Until the Bugs Start Off-Roading in Your Attic

    Now, while those Jeeps are busy tackling the mud, there’s another kind of “off-roading” happening closer to home. As we get into late summer and early fall, the pests in North Georgia start looking for a dry place to hunker down.

    I’ve seen ants trail up a foundation faster than a Jeep on a flat stretch, and spiders set up shop in your garage like they’re the event organizers. And don’t even get me started on termites—those guys don’t need a trail map to find the wood in your home!

    Listen… I want to be YOUR BUG MAN!

    When you see a Jeep stuck in the mud, you call a winch. When you see a pest problem getting out of hand, you call me. I use pet-friendly, common-sense methods because I know your furry friends are part of the family—just like mine.

    My Personal “Make You Happy” Guarantee

    I’m a man of my word, and I stand behind my work. Here is my promise to you:

    If you hire me to get rid of your pest problem and, at the end of 30 days, you are not 100% HAPPY, I will come back and retreat your home for FREE. If you’re still not happy, I’ll give you back every penny of your money, plus an additional $25.00 for your time and trouble. Period.

    So, head on out to Hwy 53 this September, cheer on the drivers, and help us support the kids. It’s one of the things that makes Jasper the best place to live.

    But if you come home and realize your house has become a “fest” for roaches or ants, don’t you wait.

    Give us a call at 770-823-9202. Let’s keep the bugs out and the tails waggin’!

    See you on the trails,

    Fred Talley, Owner/Operator Faith Pest Control, Jasper, GA 770-823-9202

    The post Sherriff’s JeepFest Coming To Jasper This September first appeared on Faith Pest Control.
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    5 min