Millions of hungry termites can consume more than 100 pounds of wood in a year, causing serious damage to your structure. They dig tunnels inside the wood and keep eating it to stop you from suspecting anything.
While insurance companies cover other forms of house destruction like lightning strikes and flooding, they shy away from termite destruction, leaving the burden of repair to the house owner. Depending on the size of the damage, termite treatment and damage repairs may cost thousands of dollars.
Termite control begins with knowing how to detect them in your home and the steps to eliminate them and protect your home from future attacks.
Signs of Termite Infestation in Your Home
Termite activity can remain undetected for a long time, especially if you don’t know how to identify them. Therefore, you must be vigilant and employ effective termite control methods to eliminate them and prevent further damage.
Here’s what to look for when inspecting your home for termite activity.
Discarded wings from swarming termites
Swarming termites usually come out of their nests and go together to reproduce and start a new colony. They fly around in swarms looking for a new home, and that could be your home. You’ll know they are around your home when you find their wings scattered around your porch, on the windowsills, and at the door.
Mud tubes along surfaces
Termites build their nest away from your house, but they get their food there. So, they build mud tubes to act as shelter and provide moisture as they make trips to and from your house. Mud tubes signify that the termites (subterranean termites) are actively damaging your structure.
Drywood termite droppings
As drywood termites eat through the wood, they leave behind a pile of droppings with similar wood colors. If you find such piles of droppings inside or outside your house, then you should know that drywood termites are already damaging your structure.
Damaged wood
Termites’ favorite source of food is wood. So, when they come to your home, they’ll go for the wood available and create a hollow space within the wood as they eat silently from inside the wood. Such hollowed and damaged wood should indicate a termite infestation.
What Should You Do If You Confirm Termite Activity in Your Home?
Massive structural damage by termites occurs over a long period. SO, when you find out that they are already in your home, take time to determine the type of termites you have, analyze the extent of damage and then take necessary steps to stop them.
Here are some steps to approach the situation:
Treat the termites yourself
According to your assessment of the termites, their type, their infiltration point, and the extent of damage so far, is it possible to get rid of them without involving a professional? Depending on the amount of damage, it’s usually not advised that you treat your own termite infestations.
Get professional termite control services
No one does it better than the experts, so it will be better to call them in and control the termites for you, especially if the infestation is severe. At Avista Pest Control, we use liquid treatment methods to deal with the termite situation in your home, depending on the nature of infestation and how severe it is. Since the termites stay some distance from the house, they dig a trench and pour the liquid treatment into the groove.
The liquid infiltrates into the termites’ path, and they go through it without realizing it because the liquid is non-repellent. The liquid treatment gets rid of the termites damaging your home.
The concept is to create a barrier that kills them without realizing whether they are coming to or from the house.
How to Prevent Termite Re-Infestation in Your Home
After treatment, your home is now free of termites. But, there’s a chance that the termites will come back and damage your structures again.
You can do the following to keep the termites at bay in future seasons.
Seal their previous entry points
Termites enter your house through cracks or any openings. So, it’s important to identify these entry points and seal them. This will ensure that they’ll not be able to enter your home when they come next time.
Keep your home dry
Termites love moist areas. So, you ensure that you keep your home dry as much as possible. If possible, expose the hidden places to sunlight or any other thing that might attract them to your home. They do not stay long in dry places.
Inspect your home regularly
The greatest preventive measure is to keep watch on any signs of termite infestation so that you can stop them before they go too far. Look out for the signs mentioned in the above section so tell whether there are termites or not.
Finding out that your home is infested with termites is not the best news, but Avista is here to help you when needed. Call to request a quote and get started on eliminating termites from your home today.