SHEBOYGAN, Wisc. — Renee Pouliot's life has always revolved around color. She comes from an artsy family.
Her grandmother and mother both worked at beauty salons and Pouliot followed in their footsteps, while also pursuing her love of art in other ways — like painting.
Dozens of canvases line the walls of Soiree Salon on Michigan Avenue in Sheboygan. Pouliot has owned the business for over a decade and owned the property for three years.
"This whole building — I painted the floors, I took the walls out, I did all the remodeling.”
But all of those blood sweat and tears may have been for nothing.
Pouliot has a termite infestation.
The craziness began back in May when she noticed a stump didn't look quite right. The little critters were crawling all over — the backyard, the salon and her home in the upstairs unit.
Watch: Termite infestation costs salon owner thousands of dollars:
"In the back of my mind I just kept thinking about termites and about my building and about the years I put in… to have it just all gone, eaten up," Pouliot said.
It's affecting her work and personal life.
During a chemical treatment, she had to close her salon and camp out in the yard with her two cats.
The infestation has cost her about $4,000 to date and there are likely more bills on the way. Pouliot has yet to figure out the full extent of the damage to her 138-year-old wood building that already sways in severe storms.
“Seeing the damage on the outside, I can only imagine what it looks like on the inside," she noted. "I don’t want to give up. I’m not ready to give up on the building yet because I don’t know where I’d go.”
Termites have been found in all 50 states except Alaska, according to Terminix, but are generally located in warmer climates in the South, Southeast, West and Southwest regions.
But Renee's experience isn't a one-off story. I spoke with several other business owners on Michigan Avenue who say they've suffered at the hands of termites too.
Key Insurance across the street lost a huge chunk of its building — 12-feet wide by 40-feet long and two stories up.
And the Sign Shop of Sheboygan two doors down from the salon has racked up around $6,000 worth of termite treatment and prevention fees.
Both owners say the whole block has been a hot spot for these pests, but no one talks about it.
"You can't get rid of these on your own," Pouliot explained. "You have to trust the professionals on this one. There just aren’t many professionals to choose from.”
Insurance companies don't cover termites either because they consider the infestations to be preventable.
In the meantime, Pouliot said she is going to have a great bonfire with all the damaged wood from her building, and go on with business as usual.
“These termites aren’t going to take me down," she assured. "I'm not going to let them.”
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