They say you never know what you’ve got 'til it’s gone. This is very true, especially when it comes to your home. In life, there are a number of uncontrollable ways your home can be destroyed. Most involve a natural disaster. One way, however, involves tiny little wood-eating insects. Today we are talking about termites. Given enough time, they are able to destroy a home. Termites cost US home and business owners 5 billion dollars each year. To keep you out of this statistic, we have the secret of keeping termites away from your Chester home.
What Is A Termite Infestation?
Termites typically live outside beneath the ground inside colonies. Each termite colony must live near a source of wood to survive. These sources of wood provide food for colony members and allow for quick expansion. Infestations begin when homes have available sources of wood that termites can easily harvest. Once inside your home, worker termites will consume wood and then return it to their colony in the form of partly digested cellulose. Given enough time, this activity can severely damage the structure of your residence.
How To Spot Termites Early
Termite activity is difficult to spot due to how they invade. For one, if your home’s wood is directly touching exterior soil, termites are able to get inside completely under the radar. If there is a stone or cement barrier between your home’s structural wood and exterior soil, termites will be forced to build mud tubes up its exterior foundation. This is one sign you can look for to spot termite activity early on.
Another sign you can look for is frass, otherwise known as termite droppings. This find sawdust-like substance will appear stuck to walls or at their base, usually around pin-sized holes. If found, you can safely assume that either drywood termites or carpenter ants are nearby.
What Attracts Termites?
The good news is that termites are picky eaters and will not eat just any kind of wood. They prefer wood that has been water damaged or softened by rot and/or decay. This type of wood is more easily digested by their bodies. Over time the wood around your home can lose its protective coating and be affected in this way by sources of moisture, or fungus.
Other Signs Of Termites
Most often termites are not spotted early. Over time, however, signs of a termite infestation can grow more and more obvious. Most commonly structural damage is the first sign that alerts homeowners to the presence of termites. This could be anything from an overly squeaky floorboard, to a buckling support beam with visible tunnels running through it.
Another late sign of termites is termite swarmers. These winged termites are a great sign that a fully mature colony of termites is nearby, most likely already eating away at your home’s wood.
How To Deter Termites
To deter and keep termites out of your home, you will need to address moisture issues in and around your home. This can be done by fixing leaky pipes, repairing broken gutters, and by installing dehumidifiers around humid areas inside your home. We also recommend repairing any water-damaged or softened wood. This will give termites less of a reason to invade if they are around.
How To Keep Termites Away For Good
The only sure-fire way to keep termites off your property for good is by calling in the professionals. At M.A.D. Exterminators, INC, we offer quality treatments designed to eliminate and deter termites. If your home is in need of termite protection, we have your solution. Give us a call today to schedule an inspection or treatments for your Chester home.