As you probably already know, termites are pests that can cause serious damage to your property. Without showing any mercy or discrimination, they invade any home or building with wooden materials—whether furniture or any wooden structure. More than just a nuisance, termite infestation can destroy your home and its value if you are not aware of its early signs. Thus, knowing signs of termites can definitely help you prevent further invasion before a more serious problem occurs.
Here are some of the tips to help you determine signs of termite infestation:
- Carefully inspect your home and property. Occasionally, swarms of termites may be found on the ground, in a crawlspace, or on an exterior wall of the house. A colony may also swarm from wood structures inside your household. You may also notice some piles of wings, as termites shed their fragile wings shortly after flight. If you didn’t see any signs of termites, check windows, heating vents, doors, sinks and bathtubs for dead termites or termite wings. Groups of termites (dead or alive) or mounds of wings are a clear indication of a termite colony nearby.
- Using a screwdriver handle, gently tap along the wood beams or other wooden structures in your house. A hollow sound can be a sign that termites have been aggressively munching on the interior part of the wood. And if the area is severely damaged, the handle may crack the wood’s surface. If the area is still active, you may be able to witness worker termites inside. Dark areas or blisters in wooden floors are also an indicator of termite infestation. Once again do not disturb active termites and contact a pest control company to eradicate them for you.
- Watch out for mud tubes. Unlike ants, termites do not roam around exposed. They either burrow through wood or travel inside pencil-sized (or larger) mud tubes that they build from wood particles, soil and other materials. Check for mud tubes along cracks, under flooring, around baseboards, on pipes, chimneys, behind siding, plumbing and other fixtures. Also called “mud tunnels,” mud tubes may as well extend over concrete foundation walls and other exposed surfaces. Break open the mud tubes and look for active signs of invasion. Even if you do not see termites, it doesn’t mean that termites are gone; they may have just abandoned this particular mud tube. Check again the area after a few weeks to see if the termites have rebuilt the mud tubes.
- Be wary of any holes that suddenly emerge in walls, most especially if you see any signs of soil close by. While the tunnels may be deep within the walls, termite holes can sometimes be found in painted drywall, and even in wallpapers. Some small surface holes may already be a clue of huge termite damage, just a few inches behind the walls.
Unfortunately, without a regular inspection of your home or building, termite activity can remain hidden for years. Some signs of termite infestation show up unexpectedly or accidentally—others, only during renovations. So, it is crucial to have some understanding about signs of termites to treat this problem before it escalates—and destroys your property! Have regular termite inspection by a pest control company.