Well, howdy neighbors! Fred Talley here with Faith Pest Control, right here in Jasper, Georgia.

Have you ever walked down into your basement or opened up your crawlspace door, flipped on the overhead light, and had a strange, spider-looking bug launch itself three feet in the air straight at your face? If your heart jumped up into your throat, you are not alone. You just met the infamous camel cricket—often called the cave cricket or “spricket.”

October is peak season for camel cricket complaints throughout Pickens, Gilmer, and Cherokee counties. Homeowners frequently call our office asking, “Fred, what are these jumping spider bugs, and why are there dozens of them in my basement all of a sudden?”

Camel crickets are wingless, humpbacked insects that thrive in dark, humid environments. During the summer, they live in damp woods, beneath rotting logs, and inside dense ground-cover mulch. But as October rolls in, dry autumn leaves fall, outdoor moisture drops, and nighttime temperatures tumble, driving them into humid crawlspaces, dark utility rooms, and damp foundation walls.

Unlike typical field crickets that chirp on summer nights, camel crickets do not produce any sound. Instead, they gather in silent, creepy clusters in dark corners. When they sense vibrations or light, their only defense mechanism is their powerful hind legs. They do not jump at you to bite; they jump blindly toward whatever startles them in an attempt to scare away predators!

While they do not carry venom or bite humans, a camel cricket infestation causes real problems:

Property damage: Camel crickets are scavengers. They will chew on stored cardboard boxes, fabrics, wallpaper, and carpets.

Attracting secondary predators: A thriving colony of camel crickets in your crawlspace serves as an all-you-can-eat buffet for mice, wolf spiders, and brown recluses.

High moisture indicators: If you have camel crickets, your crawlspace or basement has an elevated relative humidity issue that could also encourage mold and wood-destroying fungi.

Getting rid of them requires addressing crawlspace dampness by laying down proper vapor barriers and eliminating exterior hiding spots like wood piles resting against your foundation.

At Faith Pest Control, we conduct detailed crawlspace inspections to locate their breeding grounds, treat the perimeter safely, and keep them from taking over your storage areas. If you want your basement back, give me a call at 770-823-9202. We will take care of it with our 100% satisfaction guarantee!

Well, howdy neighbors! Fred Talley here from Faith Pest Control in Jasper, Georgia.

October is one of the prettiest times of year to live up here near Sharptop Mountain and Burnt Mountain. The air gets crisp, fire pits get fired up, and high school football is going strong. But right when you settle into your recliner late at night, that faint scritch-scritch-scritch sound starts echoing from your ceiling or behind the baseboards.

If you are hearing scurrying sounds in the dark, you are not imagining things. October marks the seasonal surge when field mice, deer mice, and roof rats pack their bags and head straight for North Georgia crawlspaces and attics.

Why does this happen so suddenly in October? Two things drive rodents inside: falling outdoor temperatures and shrinking food supplies. Once the hardwoods shed their foliage and wild seeds dry up, mice use their keen sense of smell to track the warm air currents wafting out of your home’s subfloor and attic vents.

Most homeowners ask me, “Fred, my doors and windows stay closed tight—how on earth are they getting inside?” The reality is that mice possess incredible physical flexibility. A full-grown field mouse can slip through an opening the size of a dime—just a quarter of an inch wide!

The most common entryways we uncover across Pickens County homes include:

Gaps around AC line sets: Where the insulated refrigerant lines enter the exterior siding, plumbers and HVAC techs often leave small gaps that mice treat as an open front door.

Foundation and crawlspace vents: Rusted vent screens, unlatched crawlspace access doors, or gaps beneath wooden sills allow rodents immediate access to warm subfloor insulation.

Rooflines and overhanging tree limbs: Tree branches touching gutters give mice, rats, and squirrels elevated bridges to bypass your foundation entirely and enter gable vents or roof joints.

Once inside, rodents pose serious risks. They gnaw on electrical wiring, shred fiberglass insulation to build nests, and leave unsanitary droppings. Standard foam spray from the hardware store will not stop them either; mice chew right through plain expanding foam. You have to back it with coarse stainless steel wool or hardware cloth to stop their teeth cold.

If you suspect uninvited four-legged guests have set up camp above your head or beneath your floors, do not let them multiply. Call me at Faith Pest Control at 770-823-9202. We will pinpoint the entry points, handle the pests, and keep your home protected.

Why Are Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs Swarming Jasper GA Homes in October?

Well, howdy neighbors! Fred Talley here with Faith Pest Control, right here in beautiful Jasper, Georgia.

If you have walked out on your porch this October, glanced up at your sunny siding, or tried to enjoy an afternoon watching the leaves turn across Pickens County, you have probably noticed those shield-shaped critters buzzing against your window screens. Every autumn, right as the night temperatures dip down into the 40s, our phones light up with folks asking the exact same question: “Fred, why are brown marmorated stink bugs covering my house?”

Here is the straightforward answer: stink bugs are cold-blooded overwintering pests. During the spring and summer, they stay out in orchards, gardens, and timber lines feeding on plants and tree sap. But when October hits North Georgia, those bugs receive an unmistakable cue from nature that winter is around the corner. They start searching for warm, sheltered spots to enter a state of dormancy called diapause—essentially insect hibernation.

Your house happens to be the biggest, warmest rock on the hillside. Stink bugs seek out the sunny south and west-facing exterior walls of your home in the heat of the afternoon. As the sun sets and the outside air chills, they crawl right into the tiniest structural crevices they can find. A stink bug only needs a gap about the thickness of a toothpick to squeeze behind your vinyl siding, slip through worn door weatherstripping, or shimmy past an attic gable vent screen. Once inside wall voids or attic rafters, they stay protected from freezing mountain temperatures until warm days fool them into creeping into your living room.

To keep them from moving in with your family this season, run through three practical steps:

Check window and door screens: Make sure screens fit tightly and do not have tears. Stink bugs love crawling through corner tears where the spline has pulled away.

Inspect outdoor pipe and wire penetrations: Grab a tube of exterior silicone caulk and seal the openings where plumbing, gas lines, or air conditioning conduits punch through exterior siding.

Never crush them indoors: If a few make it inside, vacuum them up or sweep them gently into soapy water. Crushing them releases that telltale coriander-like defensive odor and signals to other bugs nearby.

At Faith Pest Control, we do not believe in just doing a generic spray-and-pray. We perform a thorough 58-point pest analysis to locate exact crawlspace, foundation, and roofline entry routes. Plus, we back everything we do with our unmatched guarantee: if you hire me to solve your bug problem and you are not 100% happy after 30 days, we retreat your home for free until you are!

Do not spend October swatting smelly bugs off your curtains. Give me a holler at 770-823-9202, mention you caught this message, and let us protect your home.

• Our Winters Aren’t Cold Enough: In North Georgia, we rarely experience prolonged, deep freezes that penetrate far below the frost line.
• They Head Deeper Into the Soil: Subterranean termites survive cold snaps simply by digging a little deeper into the earth, where ground temperatures remain steady and mild.
• Your Heated Home Is an All-Inclusive Resort: Once worker termites find their way into your crawlspace, basement, sill plates, or wall studs, your heating system keeps them perfectly cozy. Inside your walls, it feels like spring all winter long.

• Mud Shelter Tubes: Termites need moisture to survive. They construct pencil-thin mud tubes along foundation walls, piers, and crawlspace footings to travel safely between the moist soil and the wood in your home.
• Hollowed Wood: Wood that sounds papery or hollow when tapped, especially around baseboards, windowsills, and floor joists.
• Tight-Fitting Doors and Windows: Moisture and structural shifting caused by termite tunneling can make doors stick in their frames.
• Bubbling Paint or Drywall Discoloration: Often mistaken for minor water damage, termite tunnels just under paint or sheetrock can cause bubbling and ripples.

• Wolf Spiders: Large, hairy, and fast on their feet. They don’t spin webs to catch prey; they hunt on foot. They look intimidating, but they are generally harmless to humans.
• Cobweb Spiders (Cellar Spiders): Long, spindly legs that love dark corners in basements and garages.
• Black Widows & Brown Recluses: The two we treat with real caution. Black widows prefer damp, dark woodpiles and cluttered crawl spaces, while recluses favor dry, tucked-away storage boxes.

1. Seal the Perimeter: Replace worn weatherstripping around doors, fix torn window screens, and caulk gaps around outdoor pipe penetrations.
2. Declutter Cardboard: Spiders love nesting in cardboard boxes. Switch your seasonal storage in basements and attics over to sealed plastic totes.
3. Control Their Food Source: Routine pest defense keeps the insect population down, which gives spiders zero reason to hang around.

• Gaps around HVAC lines and outdoor spigots
• Worn-out garage door bottom seals and weatherstripping
• Unscreened foundation vents and crawlspace doors
• Roofline openings where tree branches touch gutters

• Seal the gaps: Use coarse copper mesh or stainless steel wire wool mixed with silicone caulk around pipe penetrations—mice chew right through expanding foam alone.
• Store food in hard plastic or metal: Never leave dog kibble, birdseed, or pantry grains in paper bags in the garage or basement.
• Trim the perimeter: Keep firewood stacked at least 20 feet away from your foundation and cut back tree limbs hanging near your roof.

• Inspect the perimeter: Walk around your foundation and look for cracks in mortar, gaps around plumbing pipes, or openings where electrical lines enter the home.
• Caulk and seal: Use silicone-based caulk for small gaps and steel wool backed by expanding foam around larger pipe penetrations (mice can chew right through standard spray foam, but steel wool stops them cold).
• Check the garage door: Ensure the bottom weatherstripping makes a tight seal against the concrete slab.

• Check crawlspace vents: Ensure screens are intact and undamaged by squirrels or raccoons.
• Monitor moisture levels: Excess dampness attracts camel crickets, silverfish, and termites. If your crawlspace stays damp, consider a vapor barrier or dehumidifier.
• Look up in the attic: Check gable vents and ridge caps for openings that bats, squirrels, or rodents could use for entry.

• Stack firewood high and dry: Keep firewood racks at least 20 feet away from your foundation and elevated off the ground. Firewood piles harbor spiders, ants, and mice.
• Trim back branches: Cut back tree limbs and shrubs so they do not touch siding, rooflines, or gutters. Overhanging branches act as highways for rodents and ants.
• Clear leaf litter: Rake damp leaves away from the foundation wall to eliminate hiding spots for overwintering beetles and roaches.

• Check weatherstripping: If you can see daylight beneath exterior doors, replace the door sweep immediately.
• Fix torn screens: Repair tears in window screens before opening windows to catch the autumn breeze.

Well, howdy neighbors! Fred Talley here from Faith Pest Control, right here in our beautiful corner of North Georgia.

If you’ve lived in Jasper for more than five minutes, you know we’ve got a lot to be proud of in Pickens County. Living up here in the North Georgia Mountains, we get the best of everything—the stunning views, the fresh air, and a front-row seat to every beautiful season. Today, I want to step away from talking about crawlspaces and attics for just a minute to shine a spotlight on one of the real gems of our hometown: Lee Newton Park.

Right in the center of downtown Jasper at 500 Veterans Memorial Boulevard, Lee Newton Park is the heartbeat of our community. Whether you’re looking to get a little exercise or just want a peaceful place to sit, the park has it all. There’s a beautiful, babbling creek running right through the property and a wide-open grassy area that’s perfect for a family picnic. If you’re looking to stretch your legs, the park features some great walking trails, with a smaller 0.3-mile loop and a larger 0.42-mile loop if you want to get your steps in.

But Lee Newton is a whole lot more than just a park. It’s a place where we honor our heroes at the Pickens County Veterans Memorial Park. It’s also home to the Pickens County Visitor Center and the Georgia Marble Museum, where you can learn all about our rich local history as the Marble Capital of Georgia.

And let’s not forget the events! This park is the proud staging ground for some of our best memories. From the famous Georgia Marble Festival that takes over the grounds every October, to the Jasper Lions Club Carnival celebrating the 4th of July with midway rides and fireworks, Lee Newton Park brings our whole community together.

Now, as much as my family and I love spending a day outdoors by the creek, I’d be remiss if I didn’t put my “bug man” hat back on for a second. You know what else loves creeks, trees, and tall grass? Mosquitoes, ticks, and ants.

Nature is beautiful, and bugs have their rightful place out in the woods and the parks. But we want to leave the bugs at the park, not let them set up shop in your backyard or, worse, inside your home. We take a lot of pride in our homes here in Jasper. Seeing a roach, an ant trail, or a termite isn’t just a nuisance—it feels like a personal insult.

If you’re noticing some “uninvited guests” hanging around your property after your weekend out, don’t run out to the big-box store for a “bug bomb” that’ll just scatter those critters deeper into your walls. Give my team a call. We aren’t some giant national chain where you’re just a ticket on a screen; we live and work right here in Pickens County. We don’t just “spray and pray”—we perform a thorough 58-point pest analysis to find exactly where those critters are hiding.

Whether it’s squirrels in the attic, termites in the floorboards, or those nasty German cockroaches in the kitchen, don’t let ’em bug ya. Give me a holler at 770-823-9202. Let’s get those pests out of your house and back to nature where they belong.

And remember my Personal Guarantee: 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. And I’ll keep on treating it for FREE until you tell me you ARE happy. If that still doesn’t do it, I’ll promptly and politely give YOU back every penny of your money, plus an additional $25.00 for your time and trouble. Period.

See you at the park, neighbors!