Termites cost U.S. property owners over $5 billion annually. The reason termites do so much damage to structures is that they're sneaky insects. Bite by bite, over the course of years, termites can eat you out of house and home.
If you want to avoid termite damage, you need to know how to detect termite infestations in Plymouth, why they may choose your home, and how to stop them in their tracks. These are our topics today. We'll share some facts about termites to help you detect signs of termites in your yard. We'll look at why and how they infest Plymouth homes so you can detect active termites or warning signs of termites in your home. Then, we will tell you what works to guard your property and prevent a termite problem.
For immediate assistance with professional termite pest control in Plymouth, jump to our contact page or call us. The service team at Combat Pest Control is here to help you find an effective solution to address your pest issues or concerns.
How To Identify A Termite Infestation
Sometimes, you don't have to wonder if you have termites – it's obvious. But the clear signs of a termite infestation are not the best way to detect termites. Why? Because these signs often come long after your home has been damaged. Let's look at these signs first, and then look at the subtle signs you can find long before termites harm your property.
- Termite swarmers. A termite swarm in your house is definitely a sign that you have a problem. Swarmers are hard to miss when they're crawling on your indoor window panes or window sills. But swarmers signify that your home has had a nest inside or near it for several years. It takes years for a termite nest to produce swarmers.
- Holes. Termites may create holes you can see. Drywood termites create tiny holes called kick-out holes. These kick-out holes are the size of a pencil tip. They may also create larger holes due to the damage they're causing. When you see holes, you may inspect them with a flashlight and see termites moving inside. If you do, you won't have to wonder if you have active termites in your home.
- Frass. Drywood termites create a material called frass. It is the droppings of termites that are pushed out of tunnels by the workers. Termite droppings look like hard, wooden pellets because they are dry, hard, and the same color as the wood the workers are eating.
- Shelter tubes. Subterranean termites create mud tubes. The appearance of tubes is a clear sign of termites in your home. A shelter tube is made of mud and will likely look like a little, wiggly mud line.
If you see swarmers, damage, frass, or mud tubes, they are indications of a current and active infestation and warning signs that your home is already damaged. While these things are certainly helpful evidence of termite damage and an active infestation, there are better ways to detect termites.
- Catch termite workers in your yard. While termite workers are incredibly sneaky, you can detect them in your yard if you know what they look like and where they hide. A worker termite is pale and about ⅛ of an inch long. When you pick up wood debris, take a peek underneath. You may catch a glimpse of these insects.
- Catch a tiny swarmer before it creates a nest. Finding one little swarmer may provide early detection. A swarmer is black or orange with long wings that are rounded at the tips. We say long, but that is relative to the length of the swarmer's body, which is incredibly small. A swarmer is only ⅜ of an inch long, wingspan included.
- Find wings. When swarmers mate, they shed their wings. If you see a few wings on the ground, on an exterior surface, or in a spider web, take notice. In some circumstances, wings are an early warning sign.
When you catch termites early, you can stop them from damaging your property, but detecting termites isn't the only way to protect your property. Let's look at the conducive conditions that attract termites to your Plymouth home and how to address these conditions.
Why And How Termites Infest And Destroy Homes
Another way to detect termites is to look for the signs they provide when they get into your home. If you know why and how termites infest your home, you'll know where to look for these warning signs in and around your home.
Termites eat wood and other materials that have cellulose. They have a preference for natural wood sources and wood that is damaged by water. Old and rotted structural timbers are most vulnerable to damage. When you search for the warning signs of an infestation, check sole plates. They're the horizontal wood timbers that rest on your foundation slab or walls. Here are a few things to check for in this zone:
- Exposed tunnels. These will look like trenches stacked on top of each other. Some describe termite tunnels as looking like corrugated cardboard.
- Mud patches and muddy trenches. Termites bring soil up into their tunnels to hold moisture. When tunnels are exposed, the tunnel walls feel gritty to the touch. If the tunnels are not exposed, you may see tiny mud patches on the wood. Termites create those tiny patches to seal their tunnels and keep the moisture in.
- Mud tubes. These structures, often called shelter tubes, are created by worker termites to go from the soil to structural wood. They will look like a wiggly line of mud at first. As more tubes are created, the worker termites may stack the tunnels, and they will start to look like a thick pillar. They also branch their tunnels as they move up the side of a foundation wall. These branching tunnels look like a wiggly, muddy river, or you might see them as a lightning bolt pattern.
- Damage. When termites damage the inside of wood, the outside sometimes splinters. You may also tap on wood to see if it sounds hollow.
The most common termites in Plymouth are subterranean termites. These insects live in the ground and come up from the ground to damage structures. You need to check under decks and patios, in crawlspaces, and on basement walls. You can also dig soil away from wood structures that enter the ground, such as the posts on your back deck or a backyard fence.
Why Annual Termite Inspections Are So Important
One of the reasons quality termite control is worth the money is that you get annual inspections performed by a licensed and experienced pest control professional. Termite detection in the yard, under your home, and indoors can be tricky. There are many ways termites can elude detection. Your technician also has tools to detect moisture and heat. With specialized knowledge and the right tools, your technician has the best chance of detecting termites on your property.
Along with checking for active termites, your technician will evaluate conducive conditions and report their findings to you. The data shared will help you to address issues that can increase the risk of a termite infestation.
Life gets busy, and it is easy to put a termite inspection on the back burner. When you have a professional handle your termite control, you don't have to remember to perform inspections. We schedule them and make sure they're done every time.
Best of all, when you have quality termite control, we do the work. You don't have to crawl around underneath your home with a flashlight or deal with termite control products. That leads us to our last point.
Professional Termite Control Is The Best Termite Control Solution
There are many over-the-counter products available. Many of these products work when they are installed properly. Unfortunately, there are many ways to install them incorrectly. A termiticide that promises that workers will pick the material up and share it with their colony can definitely get the job done, but it won't work if rain washes it away or dilutes it.
When you have Combat Pest Control install your termite control, a certified professional installs Termidor, the most trusted name in termite control. Your technician will inject the product all the way around your foundation perimeter and make sure the barrier is complete. During the process, some drilling and trenching is required. Our technicians have the training and experience to ensure the work is done correctly.
Along with Termidor, we also offer the option of having a termite monitoring system installed. We use Advance monitoring stations. Termite workers take the bait from these stations and share it with the other termites in their colony. Not only does Advance work to help with colony elimination, it is a foolproof method to detect sneaky termites.
Using termiticide and bait together is the most effective solution for termite control. When combined with professional inspections and a warranty you can trust, you don't have to worry about termite damage.
Getting quality termite control is like deciding how much you are going to allow termites to cost you. You don't have to wait and find out if you have extensive damage you have to deal with during your retirement years. You can decide right now to get the best termite control possible and put that cost right into your budget. Life has enough surprises. Termite damage doesn't have to be one of them!
For more information about termite control, navigate to our contact page and drop us a line. We would love the opportunity to discuss your options with you and help you find the right fit for you.
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