Everyone loves a fantasy, be it vampires, paradise, the perfect car, you name it. One of the most popular genres across most types of media, such as books and tv, is fantasy, especially the supernatural. Supernatural, the tv show, is a popular saga detailing the journey of two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, who hunt ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and any other kind of monster you can think of. 
Over the course of 15 seasons, this show has become a smashing hit. While the later seasons are primarily plot based, the first few seasons are meant to be individual episodes you can watch separately, like short scary movies. My LEAST favorite episode of the show is Season 1, Episode 8: “Bugs.” This episode follows the Winchesters to Oklahoma where people are being killed by bugs eating them alive. In the first 5 minutes of the episode, a construction worker falls into a ditch and before he can get up, thousands of beetles swarm around him and burrow into his brain.
At the scene of the construction worker’s death, Sam and Dean investigate:
DEAN: So, what? Some sort of creature chewed on his brain?
SAM: No, there’d be an entry wound. Sounds like this thing worked from the inside.
DEAN: So you found some beetles. In a hole, in the ground. That’s shocking, Sam.
SAM: There were no tunnels, no tracks. No evidence of any other kind of creature down there. You know, some beetles do eat meat. Now, it’s usually dead meat, but –
DEAN: How many did you find down there?
SAM: Ten.
DEAN: It’d take a whole lot more than that to eat out some dude’s brain.
SAM: Well, maybe there were more.
You would think it should be my favorite episode since I work in pest control but the thousands of murdering creepy crawlers in the episode gave me chills.
The scene that traumatized me the most was the climax of the episode. Sam and Dean discover that a housing development is being built on cursed Native American land and must save the developer and his family from meeting the same fate as the construction worker. The curse is on the land itself, forced to protect the area from any intruders with insects as the instruments of death. In the heat of the action, the Winchesters usher the developer and his family into their house as a large swarm of termites surround them. To combat the termites, Dean grabs a can of Raid and a lighter and uses it like a flamethrower. When he runs out of Raid, the group runs to the attic. When they lock themselves in, the termites change directions and attack from the outside in, chewing their way through the wood in a frenzy to kill the members inside.
DEAN: All right, I think everybody needs to get upstairs.
[Suddenly, hundreds of thousands of bugs come into the living room, swarming all around them. They scream and try to protect themselves. DEAN uses a lighter with the can of bug spray to make it flare up. The flame wards some of the bugs away.]
DEAN: All right, everybody upstairs! Now! Go, go, go!
He goes upstairs with them into the attic, and SAM closes the door. After a moment of being in the attic, sawdust begins to fall from the ceiling. The buzz of the bugs gets louder.
JOANIE (the wife): Oh, God, what’s that?
DEAN: Something’s eating through the wood.
MATT (the husband): Termites.
DEAN: All right, everybody get back. Get back, get back, get back!
After only a few moments of gnawing their way through the wood, they break inside and swarm the Winchesters and the family. The termites relent only after the sun rises and the curse becomes dormant until that evening. The thought of termites breaking into my house in a matter of seconds gave me nightmares as a pre-teen, literal nightmares.
While termites cannot work nearly that fast in real life, they can still do just as much damage. They’re not just chewing through the siding of your home, they can gnaw through certain support beams and other weight bearing pillars, weakening the structure of the building. If left to their own devices, termites can cause your home to collapse. That’s why it’s crucial to have your home inspected for termites on a regular basis. Here at Eco-Safe, our termite division, known as Miss Phoebe’s, can prevent, identify, and treat for termites before it’s too late. Furthermore, you do not want to rely only products like Raid for a multitude of reasons. For example, Raid is not natural, can be weaker than commercial grade products, and Raid would not be effective against solving termite issues. 
Termites are typically small, white or tan insects that create tunnels in wooden structures and leave sawdust behind. If you hear gnawing or clicking sounds in your walls, you may have termites. When it comes to treating for termites, DIY termite control may seem like the cheaper option, but it often only makes the situation worse. Treating yourself actually makes it more difficult for a professional termite technician trying to inspect for termites and eliminate the infestation.
If you’re worried your home or business has termites or want to take preventative measures before termites become an issue, call Miss Phoebe’s for a free visual inspection and consultation with a termite professional.