Midmorning With Aundrea - May 15, 2020 (Part 2)

(Part 2 of 2) Allie Martin gives an informative report on termites and how you can protect your home from them.

And CBS reporter Laura Podesta gives some recommendations for some online games even parents will like.

A a wet winter and spring means better conditions for an unseen enemy that can destroy homes if not detected in time.

Wcbi's allie martin talks with an expert who tells us how to spot signs of termite activity and what can be done about the pests.

Warmer temperatures and wet weather means things get busier for gene welsh and the local terminix office.

"perfec conditions will be a 70 degree day such as it is now, you get a rain shower and get some of that mugginess that comes after the rain and that's when the termites like to swarm.

" welsh is branch manager for the tupelo terminix office and wants homeowners to know how they can prevent termites, which form colonies underground, and find food sources in wood and sheetrock.

Welsh encourages homeowners to avoid stacking firewood in grassy areas against a house, and anytime water collects near a home's foundation is an invitation for termites.

There are certain things homeowners can look for to spot possible termite infestation.

"if they have wooden floor, look for dark spaces or bubbling in the floor, also wavy sheetrock or any kind of soft spots in sheetrock, we look for swarmers naturally, mud tubes, look like straws, termites travel in those, and any objects in house that would be eaten by termites as well, anything with cellulose.

" standup bridge to defend a home against termites, terminix has a bait defense system, these stations are placed in the ground every fifteen feet.

Termites eat the poison and take it back to their colony.

It kills the other termites and protects your home.

"termites are no going away, they are still in the yard , still around property, but now we have a means to control them."

If termite damage is found, it can be treated, but the homeowner will have to pay for repairs, and those repairs are not covered by homeowners insurance.

Welsh encourages homeowners to get a termite inspection to help protect the biggest single investment for most people.

In tupelo, allie martin, wcbi news it is estimated that termites cause about five billion dollars in damage every year in the united states.

Still to come, who has control over the controllers at your house?

And why some game time isn't with home classes ending, you may be worried your child is playing too many video games.

You're not alone.

But as cbs news' laura podesta explains, there are loads of game, many free, parents may actually want their kids to play.

With most sports cancelled& and hang outs at the mall mostly off limits... this is the scene in many american households right now.

Screen time, is the preferred playtime.

Dylan and juliana barnett say the games& "so - wait you wer playing before, right?"

&are usually team- oriented, so they're strategizing and socializing with friends!

"my parents don' give me limited screen time."

5th grader and girl scout mira joseph has been zooming her troupe meetings during this pandemic& and also playing video games with her fellow girl scouts.

"i don't like th games where you just shoot.

I like the games where you build up your character and get stronger."

A study published earlier this year in the american journal of sociology found that despite the growing time spent on screens&kids these days are just as socially adept as those who entered kindergarten in 1998, before the dawn of the ipad and iphone.

That's news susanna pollack, is hardly surprised by.

She's the president of "games fo change,"... a non profit that supports developers trying to teach real world lessons through video games.

"so what we'r seeing is an increase in the conversation about how games provide a positive outcome and positive tools for society."

Gamesforchange.o rg has links to nearly 200 games available online.

Many are free, all are educational...from learning about the environment, to refugees, to even pandemics.

Laura podesta cbs news.

The website has games available for just about every console or screen you may own...even several, in virtual reality.

We'll