Prevent significant financial and structural damage in your home from happening right under your nose. Knowing how to identify and control a termite infestation can help you save your home before damages are too extensive to repair.
homeemergency.wordpress.com gathered the following information to help you recognize and stop a termite infestation before it makes your home too dangerous to be occupied.
How Do You Know if You Have a Termite Infestation?
In the beginning, termite damage can eerily mimic water damage or aging wood and drywall. Behind the scenes, however, a termite colony may be feasting on your home’s structure and dangerously weakening its support. Consider the following signs that indicate you have an urgent situation to get under control:
- Discolored or Sagging Drywall
- Peeling Paint (Resembles water damage)
- Wood Sounds Hollow When Tapped
- Stuck Windows or Doors
- Damage Beneath Paint or Wallpaper
- Small, Pinpoint Holes in Drywall, Wood Trim, and Wood Furniture
- Buckling Wooden or Laminate Floor Boards
- Crumbling Baseboards
- Tiles Loosening from Added Moisture
- Excessively Squeaky or Detached Floorboards
- Termite Swarms & Discarded Wings
- Mud Tubes
- Termite Droppings
- Accumulated Sawdust
Typically, you can identify termite droppings by their location. Most termites will push droppings out of their tunnels, which causes a pile to form near the tunnel entrance. If you spot a mound of droppings or sawdust, you likely have a termite infestation.
Tip: A window or door that feels stuck or suddenly becomes much harder to open or close is a sign of an advanced infestation (it is a signal that your home’s structure is shifting).
How Fast Can Termites Destroy a Home?
A newer colony may have about 100,000 workers, while an older colony can have over 2 million hungry termites. With 2 million termites working away under the right conditions, they can cause significant, noticeable damage within the first few months. A home can be completely destroyed in as little as a year or two.
How to Control Termites
When caught in its early stages, a termite infestation can be controlled and eliminated before irreparable damage is caused to your home’s structure. Consider the following products and their applications:
What Kills Termites Naturally? – Boric acid is commonly recommended for termite elimination. Boric acid is a natural pesticide and is typically found in its powdered form. You can sprinkle it in infested areas or mix it with water and spray it in the area. In either case, it may be best to use personal protective gear (goggles, masks, and gloves).
What Kills Termites Permanently? – Two frequently used chemicals kill termites. One is fipronil, and the other is hexaflumuron.
- Fipronil is a specially designed chemical used in many different commercial liquid termiticides.
- Hexaflumuron is a termiticide. This chemical is used as part of a termite inspection or monitoring and baiting system. Hexaflumuron is the first active ingredient registered with the EPA as a reduced-risk pesticide.
Tip: When purchasing a commercially available termiticide, look for either of these chemicals on the product label.
What is the Best Way to Control Termites? – One of the most common techniques for treating termite infestations is using the soil-applied barrier treatment. Termiticides used for barrier treatments must be specifically labeled for that use.
Note: This control method will help eliminate current and prevent future infestations.
Do Termites Come Back After Treatment? – In some cases, termites will come back after treatment. In fact, termites are one of the toughest pests to eliminate from a property.
Tip: Once a termite problem has been identified, multiple follow-up treatments may be required to prevent further or repeat infestations.
Hire a Professional Pest Control Company – Whether you have taken steps to control your termite problem or not, it is strongly recommended to hire a professional to evaluate your home and take further actions (tenting, treating, etc.) to definitively eradicate your termite infestation issue.
Termite Infestation Prevention
Especially in the case of termites, prevention is your greatest weapon against the catastrophic damages they can cause. Consider the following termite infestation preventive measures:
- Eliminate or elevate any wood in contact with the ground
- Avoid storing any firewood or wood debris against your home’s foundation or inside its crawlspaces
- Reduce or eliminate any excess moisture or humidity in crawl spaces
- Avoid letting any water or moisture accumulate near your home’s foundation
- Use organic mulch sparingly, especially if you have already detected termites or other conducive conditions
- Have your home annually treated in late winter or early spring (before male and female swarmers emerge from their nests)
- Use soil-applied insecticides and pressure-treated lumber in new construction projects and sites
Note: Termites swarm after their colony has reached its capacity level and is ready to expand. For most colonies, this will happen annually. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of swarmers, called alates, are produced solely for reproduction and colony expansion.
Termite Infestation
In this article, you discovered the signs to help you identify a termite infestation, what you can do to control them, and how to prevent future infestations.
Knowing how to identify and control a termite infestation will help you stop your home from literally being eaten away.
Ignoring the signs of a termite infestation will lead to structural instability and, potentially, the unthinkable when your home collapses in on itself.
Sources:
epa.gov/safepestcontrol/termites-how-identify-and-control-them
entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef605
fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/26674
extension.msstate.edu/content/methods-termite-control
Home Emergency 