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The word “termites” can strike fear in a homeowner and for good reason.  The damage their voracious appetite can cause to wooden structures can be devastating. But did you know that the powderpost beetle can cause as much damage as those dreaded termites.  A Garden District resident recently discovered their subfloors had been infested with powderpost beetles and had to undertake an extensive repair job to floors and subfloors to eradicate the damage inflicted on their home. 

We are providing information on this menace to give homeowners something to reference when discussing possible infestation with your exterminator and an idea of what to look for to spot the potential presence of the beetle.

The following information regarding powderpost beetles is taken from the Terminix website.

Powderpost” is the descriptive name given to several different species of wood-boring beetles that can infest homes. These insects lay their eggs in the pores of wood. Their larvae then hatch from the eggs, feeding on the wood and creating a series of tunnels as they go.

Eventually, the larvae will mature into pupae and then adult beetles. Once the insects reach adulthood, they tunnel their way out of the wood, leaving behind a tiny exit hole. This life cycle can take two to five years to complete, meaning the larvae are literally eating the wood in your home for years.

Like termites, some powderpost beetles will feed on hardwoods — such as oak, ash, walnut, bamboo and hickory — and softwoods like pine. As the frames from most homes are built from softwoods, certain species of powderpost beetles can cause structural damage to houses.

Other species of powderpost beetles will only eat hardwood, but that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. While you may not see structural damage from these species, it is possible to discover infestations in wood paneling, crown molding, window and door frames, plywood, hardwood floors or furniture.

How Do I Know If I Have an Infestation?

Short of actually laying eyes on a powderpost beetle, one of the only ways to know that you have a problem is to see the frass they leave behind. Frass is a mixture of powderpost beetle larvae excrement and miniscule wood particles that falls out of the exit holes the adult insects make as they emerge.

Depending on the species of beetle, the frass can either be extremely fine — like flour or baby powder — or slightly gritty like cornmeal. The best way to determine whether the residue you find in your home is a result of powderpost beetle damage or the work of another insect is to arrange for an inspection by a trained pest control professional who will better be able to identify the culprit.

How to Treat Powderpost Beetles

There are DIY treatment methods that you can find online, but the effectiveness of these is hard to gauge, making them risky solutions. Because of this, it’s best to consider a professional pest control service provider.

What Does Powderpost Beetle Treatment Cost?

Fortunately, because treatments are customized to your situation, there’s not an exact number for how much treatment will cost. The final figure will depend on factors such as where in the country you live, the size of your home, location and extent of the activity. Additionally, it’s possible that repairs will be needed to address powderpost beetle damage, which can further increase the final price tag.

The Garden District Civic Association’s annual fall Champagne Stroll was held Sunday, October 27, under a perfect autumn sky.  The stroll offered chilled champagne and scrumptious eats at each host home, and live entertainment at our final stop. Four Chambongs, donated by GDCA board member and owner of Red Cake Events, Mrs. Heather Day, were raffled off at each stop of the stroll .  GDCA members as well as neighbors and friends from within and outside the neighborhood participated in the stroll.  We were elated to meet new residents of the Garden District who have recently relocated here from as far away as Boise, Idaho and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Welcome to the neighborhood!!

The homes featured by this year’s stroll highlighted various styles of architecture that make our Garden District neighborhood such a unique and sought after place to live.  Our first stop, a Greek revival-style home was hosted by owners Catherine and Jeff Russell who greeted strollers on their lovely front porch.  Sweet and savory hors d’oeuvres were generously provided by Robert Johnson and Rick Vallet. At our second stop, a mid-century modern ranch, homeowners Mindy and Luke Piontek, greeted strollers with champagne, appetizers and mini muffulettas provided by Cannetella’s Italian Grocery. The third stop was the quintessential, craftsman bungalow-style home of Beth Floyd and Steven Barker.  Is there anything more inviting than a bungalow’s front porch?  Beth and Steven welcomed strollers onto their comfortable front porch and offered tasty appetizers provided by Bet R Supermarket and Trader Joe’s.  We are very fortunate to have such generous local businesses here in Baton Rouge!  The final stop of the stroll was hosted by Flo and Bill Rodman at their Dutch Colonial-style home.  Participants gathered in the huge backyard for some of Bill’s scrumptious jambalaya, more champagne and world class entertainment provided by the duet of Carly Vicknair and partner.

Once again, the annual champagne stroll was a huge success.  The GDCA would like to express our sincerest gratitude to our hosts Catherine and Jeff Russell, Mindy and Luke Piontek, Beth Floyd and Steven Barker and Flo and Bill Rodman.  Also a huge thank you to our local businesses who donated all the delicious foods including Robert Johnson and Rick Vallet, Cannetella’s Italian Grocery, Bet R Supermarket and Trader Joe’s.  And finally a huge thank you to Anne Trapp, our GDCA board member and organizer of this year’s stroll.  We appreciate all of your hard work to make this activity a success. 

Social Media and marketing were provided by Eolas LLC.

Mary Pittman, a lifelong Garden District resident and 3rd grader at Baton Rouge Foreign Language Academic Immersion Magnet elementary school in French, had an idea! Her mom and current GDCA President recently came home with an interesting issue. After a meeting with the Garden District’s friendly neighborhood off-duty policy liaison, Officer Seth Gautier, he recommended the board look into obtaining more up-to-date alley signs with the current ordinance that applies to them. That got her thinking that the signs just in front of her house and in the alley are covered in so much gross mold and dirt that they were unable to see what the sign said.

So last Saturday morning, Mary gathered her supplies: mildew spray, bucket of hot water, rags and a tall ladder. With a little bit of elbow grease and some help from her parents, voilà! The street signs on Cherokee Street and Drehr Avenue were revealed!

Have the street signs around your house disappeared behind a layer of grim?! Before the GDCA orders more alley signs, Mary is asking for all Garden District residents to check their alleys and street(s). We are encouraging EVERYONE to take some time out of your weekend and clean the alley and street signs around your house. If you need an alley sign with the ordinance on it, please let the GDCA board know at https://gdcabr.org/contact-us/

This month the Garden District Civic Association is delighted to spotlight Red Six Media, a full-service media and advertising agency, owned and operated by Garden District resident Matt Dardenne.

Matt along with several of his LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication classmates started Red Six Media one month after graduating from LSU. Red Six Media got its start at the Louisiana Business and Technology Center business incubator program. After graduating from that program and building their business, Matt and his partners moved to 3rd St. in downtown Baton Rouge where they have been located for the past seven years.  In June of this year, Red Six Media celebrated their tenth year in business.

Matt states that their business culture and creativity make their business unique. The company was named a Best Place to Work by the Baton Rouge Business Report in September. “We have an amazingly talented and tight knit team who love our work and each other.  We affectionately refer to our services set as the Red Six-Pack: Advertising, Design, Video, Digital, Strategy, and Branding.  From creating a company brand and logo to building websites to developing integrated ad campaigns and placing and producing media across all traditional, digital and social platforms, we help clients reach their goals and solve their problems with creative solutions.”

Red Six Media currently has twenty employees who Matt states are proud to work with clients from across many industries. Notable clients include Dow, ExxonMobil, Turner Industries, Austin Industrial, Party Time, Tiger Athletic Foundation, LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication, and Rotolo’s Pizzeria.

The company is civically involved and supports their neighbors by volunteering services to various Baton Rouge non-profits including; The Capital Area United Way (CAUW), Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge, and Mid City Gras.  Matt also serves on the board of Friends of Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

Red Six Media has been recognized by local organizations as well as local and national publications.  The company recently made the list of Inc. 5000‘s Fastest Growing Companies in 2019. For the past four years, Red Six Media has been recognized by LSU’s E.J. Ourso College of Business as one of the top 100 fastest growing LSU alumni-owned businesses.  The company was named a Best Place to Work by the Baton Rouge Business Report in September.

Red Six Media uses Facebook, Instagram, and www.redsixmedia.com, to promote and advertise their business.  The email address is [email protected], office number is 225-615-8836 and cell number is 225-252-1083.

Matt was born and raised in Baton Rouge. He attended St. Aloysius Elementary, Catholic High School and Louisiana State University. He graduated from LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication in 2009.  Matt has lived in the Garden District since May 2015. In his own words, “I love our neighborhood’s charm, the beautiful homes, gigantic trees, awesome neighbors, and proximity to my favorite bars, restaurants and grocery stores and the Wearing of the Green parade.”

As always, the GDCA applauds Matt Dardenne, a neighborhood business owner, on his fine company and asks our Garden District neighbors to please support our home-grown businesses.

The GDCA fall social activities began this past Sunday, September 29, with the annual fall picnic.  Although we did not have the crisp, cool autumn weather we were hoping for, Garden District families came out to enjoy the delicious food, live entertainment, face painting, bounce house and good conversation and interaction with neighbors and friends.  

The GDCA provided BBQ pulled pork from Memphis Mac and lemonade. The attending families contributed various side dishes and desserts. All dishes were finger-licking good, and there was plenty to go around.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed the bounce house and face painting artists, and everyone enjoyed the guitar picking and performance from Brad Storin & David Pearce.   And of course the neighborhood camaraderie was enjoyed best of all.

Our local councilwoman, Tyra Wicker, also stopped by for a visit.  She had a chance to speak individually with some of our neighbors and discuss their concerns regarding street flooding and other issues.

GDCA would like to offer our sincerest thanks to The Purgesons for hosting the annual fall picnic at their lovely home.  Their back yard, filled with magnificent live oak trees, was the absolute perfect setting for launching the first in our series of fall/winter activities. Also their daughter and her friends did the face painting!

We also want to thank our board members and others who helped to set up and break down all the tables and chairs and for cleaning up after the picnic.  We have a hard working and committed group of board members and we certainly appreciate their effort.

The GDCA’s next social activity will be the Champagne Stroll scheduled for Sunday, October 27.  Get your tickets early as this event sells out quickly.

The Garden District Fall Picnic and other organized activities are made possible by member dues and the generosity of you, our neighbors!! If you are not already a member, please consider becoming a GDCA member or Sponsor at https://gdcabr.org/product-category/join/