Tips From Hello Pest

Termites feed on wooden structures and nest in walls or under floorboards, causing severe structural damage to homes. If left undetected, a termite infestation can compromise the safety of your home. Prevention is the best way to mitigate termites, and professional intervention may be the best option to ensure a safe home.

This blog will guide homeowners through termite prevention and termite damage treatment. Read on to learn how to identify termite damage, prevent infestations, and take the right steps to protect your home.

How to Identify and Prevent Termite Damage

Termite infestations can be difficult to eliminate once they take hold, making prevention essential for homeowners. By taking proactive steps, homeowners can significantly reduce the risk of termites damaging their homes and property.

Here are measures you can take to keep termites away:

• Inspect and Maintain Wood Structures: Regularly check wooden structures for signs of damage, focusing in on attics, crawl spaces, sheds, and basements. Treat exposed wood with termite insecticides and repair any weak or rotting areas to reduce vulnerability.
• Eliminate Moisture Sources: Termites thrive in damp environments. Fix leaks, improve ventilation, and use dehumidifiers in basements and crawl spaces to keep your home dry and less attractive to termites.
• Remove Attractants: Dead trees, rotting wood, and stacked firewood provide an easy food source for termites. Keep these materials stored 20 feet away from your house and dispose of decaying wood. Avoid storing large amounts of cardboard, boxes, or paper in the home.
• Declutter Around the Foundation: Avoid piling mulch, leaves, or wood against your home’s foundation. Keep plants trimmed and gardens well groomed to deter termites from nesting on the property.
• Seal Cracks and Crevices: Small gaps in foundations, walls, and around plumbing can serve as entry points for termites. Use caulk, silicone sealant, or wood putty to seal these cracks and create a physical barrier that termites cannot enter through.
• Regular Professional Inspections: Annual inspections from a pest control company can identify early signs of termite activity or prevent infestations from occurring. Professionals can detect termites in areas homeowners often overlook.

Common Signs of Termite Infestations

By understanding the early warning signs of a termite infestation, homeowners can avoid expensive home repairs, structural damage, and compromised safety.

Know the warning signs so you can catch an infestation early:

• Mud Tubes: Subterranean termites build thin but irregularly shaped tubes along foundations and walls. Mud tubes are made out of mud, frass, and wood shavings and serve as a way for termites to travel between their nests and food sources.
• Hollow-Sounding Wood: Termites eat wood from the inside out, leaving behind hollow and weakened structures. Tap on wooden beams–if they sound hollow or feel weak, termites may be present. Drywall can become discolored or start to sag as termites consume the wood behind it.
• Frass (Termite Droppings): Drywood termites leave behind tiny, pellet-like droppings called frass. These are usually found near wooden furniture, window sills, or baseboards.
• Discarded Wings: After mating, termite swarmers shed their wings before establishing a new colony. Finding small, translucent wings is a strong indication of termite presence.
• Warped Wood or Tight-Fitting Doors/Windows: As termites tunnel through wood, they can cause warping. Check your doors and windows to make sure they still open and close easily. If they become misaligned or difficult to open or close, it could be due to termites.

What to Do When Termite Prevention Fails

DIY methods for termite prevention can be effective, but once termites have established a colony, they are difficult to eliminate without professional intervention. Over-the-counter treatments are rarely effective at eliminating an entire colony. Without a professional, targeted approach, termite colonies can continue to grow, causing further structural damage.

Professional pest control companies like Hello Pest Control offer tailored solutions and termite damage treatment for homeowners.

Hello Pest Control’s treatment options:

• Baiting Systems: Bait stations placed strategically around the home and property attract termites, who carry the bait back to their colony. This helps eliminate the entire population.
• Soil Treatments: Soil treatments form a protective shield around your home's foundation. This technique utilizes liquid termiticides to block termite entry and kill any that touch the treated soil.
• Wood Injections: By applying specialized termiticides directly to the affected wood, wood injections eliminate termites that are actively feeding and causing damage within the structure.

Protect Your Home from Termite Damage

Termites cause considerable damage before you even realize they’re in your home. Regular inspections, moisture control, and sealing entry points are essential to preventing infestations. If you suspect termite activity, act quickly and contact Hello Pest Control.

Don’t wait until the damage is done—book your inspection and termite damage treatment with Hello Pest Control today!