When the warm season starts, people sometimes see signs of unwelcome visitors known as swarmers or flying termites emerging to breed and create new colonies on vulnerable properties. Termites can often go undetected for long periods, with visible signs presenting themselves when serious damage has already been done. If you want to prevent your home from facing this calamity, you need experts in pest control in Aiken from Aiken Pest Control. If you want to learn more about noticing termite infestations, the damage they bring, and an efficient way to get rid of these destructive pests, read on.
Clear Signs Of A Termite Infestation In Your Home
There are red flags that can indicate the presence of termites in your home. Keep an eye on these pests by looking for the following signs of termites in your home:
- Mud tubes: Subterranean termites build mud tubes to supply moisture as they carry food to their colony. You will also find mud tubes close to the foundation of your property.
- Swarmers or discarded wings: Swarmers or the presence of wings on the ground is due to the emergence of termites from their nest to mate and pick new locations for colony building.
- Wood damage: Termites consume wood from the inside out. If you knock on wood and hear a hollow sound, it can signify a termite infestation.
- Bubbling or uneven paint: When moisture builds up on a wall, the paint bubbles or becomes uneven, which can mean water damage or the presence of termites.
- Frass: When drywood termites eat, they produce wood-colored droppings. If you find a small pile of pellet-like deposits, it could be a sign of a termite infestation.
Once you see a few of these signs around or inside your home, contact a termite specialist near you from Aiken Pest Control, who can deal with these voracious pets in the fastest way possible.
How Quickly Can Termites Destroy A House?
When termites identify a wooden property to feed on, they can chew it down, but how fast? The rate at which they eat wood depends on various factors. One termite can eat 1,000 square feet of property in 3,144 years. Unfortunately, termites are not solo eaters. Mature colonies can contain between 60,000 and two million workers. Smaller colonies can typically consume about 2.3 feet of a 2x4 board over a year. At this rate, it would take several years for termites to destroy a house, but the sooner you catch the infestation, the better.
Effective Termite Prevention Tips For Aiken Properties
Termites are some of the most dangerous pests that can invade your home. The more they reside in your home, the more expensive the repairs to your property will be. Here are five effective prevention tips you can check out:
- Reduce moisture in and around the home: Termites, like most pests, need water to survive. It is also helpful in digesting cellulose in wood.
- Remove termite access: A space of about 1/32 of an inch is what a termite needs to enter your home. So, you need to identify and seal any potential entry points.
- Eliminate food sources: Anything with cellulose is a favorite food for termites. This ingredient is common in grass, plants, and paper products.
- Reduce wood-to-ground contact: We know that termites love to eat wood, so eliminating wood touching the ground is important. That’s why you need to keep wood frames and wood siding six feet off the ground.
- Protect wooden decks: Use termite control products containing borax, which soaks into the wood and naturally repels termites.
Unfortunately, these preventative tips are not enough; hire termite specialists for your Aiken property and keep these nasty pests away.
How Does Aiken Pest Control Get Rid Of Termites?
At Aiken Pest Control, we use Sentricon® Termite Colony Elimination System with Always Active™ technology to trace the home colony of the termites. As an authorized operator of the Sentricon® System, we will identify termites and eliminate the entire colony, including the queen. Talk to us today and get an effective method of controlling adult termites on your property.
Termites are damaging pests that can cause you thousands of dollars in repairs or complete property damage. So as much as it is important to apply preventative tips like keeping wooden aspects of a house six inches from the ground, you need professional pest control experts to help you deal with the signs of termite infestations.