She's the mother of three accident prone children all under the age of six. She's a former morgue assistant, ambulance dispatcher, pre-school teacher and even a volunteer animal rescuer and as a result, has had to deal with everything from gushing blood to dead people, injured animals and grossly sick children, you'd think nothing would phase this 35-year-old.  But there is one thing that can make K'Andrea Moxey-Wright cringe and it's those creepy crawly insects.  Nothing frightens her more than the multi-legged creatures that invade people's living spaces during summer time.
"When I know summer is almost here I get nervous because I know all those bugs that hibernated for the cooler months are coming back to torment my soul," says the mother who says her house is in desperate need of extermination.  As a mother, she knows all too well about having to cut corners, but learned her lesson after getting "burned" on an extermination gone bad a few years ago.  She hired someone at a "good price" to rid her home of termites.  She later found out that the price was too good to be true after the termites came back and the other insects seemed to multiply.  Moxey-Wright says she now knows better and is looking for a good company to rid her home of its insect problem as the temperatures continue to scorch warming the ground and making the insects swarm.
"The warm temperatures in the country, especially around summer time is perfect for insects of all kinds to grow and swarm as they come out to forage and stock up for the winter months," says Handfred Rolle, proprietor of Pioneer Exterminators, who says if you are not willing to share your living space with these creatures -- roaches, termites, ants, bees, centipedes -- then it is the best time to get an exterminator before the problem gets too bad."
In his line of business Rolle says he has noticed that many people tend to shy away from doing regular exterminations of their home because they assume their house will have to be covered in a tent for days and the family will have to find an alternative living space, while this is being done.  He says this is not necessarily true in all instances, as there are many problems, and just as many solutions for the infestations.  And he says solving the problem may have to be more than the old-fashioned, do-it-yourself remedy some people adopt, like swatting, spraying and baiting the insects.  Rolle says this may work for small confined problems, but says sometimes it is better to call in the experts to solve the problem.
The 17-year veteran says it is often better to get a exterminator rather than attempt to eradicate a major  problem yourself.  While it is common for the average homeowner to purchase over-the-counter pesticides, he says some of them tend to be more harmful than good and that bug sprays for example are toxic especially in the excessive amounts that people use and often inhale accidentally.  And if you have a recurring problem with roaches or termites you definitely need to call in an exterminator as there is obviously a bigger problem than you are seeing.
Rolle says the chemicals an expert will use to get rid of indoor pests are water-based and less likely to be inhaled or consumed than the aerosol insecticides the average person uses.  Other hazardous situations  you put yourself into by being a "weekend warrior" is purchasing rat poisons over-the-counter and not considering the amount of yard space you have.  Doing this he says can result in over or under-treating the problem, and if you have a pet or the yard is easily accessible to neighborhood animals you can also end up killing them.  He says a proper exterminator will consider all of these factors and find the best route of extermination for your situation.
"It doesn't benefit you or anyone if you opt to experiment and prolong doing a proper extermination," says Rolle.  "There are some things you can live with and others that you shouldn't.  Sugar ants and lizards are generally harmless, but things like roaches, ticks, fleas and termites are things you need to deal with immediately.  Roaches can carry diseases and can generally infect surfaces.  While you do love your indoor pet, the ticks and fleas they attract can carry lime disease which you don't want to contract much less your children.  To save your home from prematurely rotting you will want to get rid of termites as quickly as you can too."
The exterminator also says people should not believe the "old-wives" myths that are bandied about as to how to solve their insect problems, because they don't want to spend the money on a professional.  A common practice he has come across time and time again is the use of diesel to treat a pest problem.  He says he has heard many people swearing by it.  As an exterminator he says he has yet to find any merit in it.
Another popular myth he has heard involves burning a termite's nest that is on the ground to solve the  problem.  This he says is not true as the nest is sometimes underground as well and after a month if not a few weeks, the problem will return again.  He says if you have a termite problem it is important to get an expert rather than believe you can treat it on your own.
"People need to be aware that it doesn't pay to take shortcuts.  You will find people who will give you a seemingly good price for relatively costly exterminating jobs like dealing with drywood termites and subterranean termites, but with these bugs you need the problem to be done thoroughly.  Drywood termites, especially if they are throughout a building, require you to fully tent the structure and then pump gas in to properly exterminate.  If someone tells you they can do it without tenting you are looking at the problem coming back in no time and still having to pay an expert to do it properly.  Similarly, with subterranean termites, you will need to drill the walls so chemicals can be put in to get to the root of the problem.  If someone says they can do it without drilling, or only [drilling] one or two holes, you are looking for the problem to come right back."
The exterminator says it is also important for people to know that not every insect with wings that isn't a roach, wasp or bee is a termite.  He says there are many different types of ants and other bugs that have wings that can be an annoyance and you may hire the first guy who says he knows what he is doing to kill termites when the problem was never termites.
Rolle says he has met many people who say they hired an "exterminator" a year or even months before only to have the problem they thought was taken care off, reappear in no time.  He encourages homeowners to call different exterminating companies, allow them to come into the home to assess the problem and give a quote, to give themselves options to best deal with the problem, with the company that has a good record.  He says forget about your cousin's brother's friend who will just charge you a few bucks, and says you save yourself stress by hiring a reputable expert or company to do the job right the first time.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian