April showers bring May flowers...and termites, according to Bob Vila.
“Termites are the biggest pests that threaten anybody who’s a homeowner,” the renowned home improvement expert told Cheddar Tuesday. “They cause over $5 billion worth of damages to American homes each and every year.”
So how do you check if you’ve got termites?
Take a walk around your garden or yard, said Vila. “Look for...mud runnels, like cracks in the foundation…[or] any holes that would allow insects in and out of the house.”
Another telltale sign is...crap. Literally.
“One of the things to look for is called frass, [which] is really a polite term for their excrement, their poop.”
Termites will usually “eat a hole through the side of the wood and just toss [their poop] out,” explained Vila.
“Once the termites are in the house, they’re not going to leave, they’re very happy eating up all the wood,” said Vila.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/bob-vila-on-keeping-your-home-pest-free-for-summer).
A California appeals court on Wednesday will consider reviving the dismissed lawsuits of two men who allege Michael Jackson sexually abused them as children for years, a move the court appears likely to make after a tentative decision that would order the cases back to a lower court for trial.
An intense police search of the Long Island home of Rex Heuermann is now complete, authorities said Tuesday as they ended a 12-day hunt for evidence that involved ripping up the yard and the discovery of a basement vault containing hundreds of weapons kept by the man accused of killing at least three women more than a decade ago.
A towering construction crane caught fire high above the west side of Manhattan on Wednesday morning, then lost its long arm, which smashed against a nearby building, dangled and then plummeted to the street as people ran for their lives on the sidewalk below.
